Verra is developing a biodiversity methodology in its Sustainable Development Verified Impact Standard (SD VISta) Program. This new methodology will enable the independent assessment and verification of the real-world biodiversity benefits and certification of nature-positive investments. The development of this methodology will be supported by the SD VISta Nature Framework Advisory Group, which includes leading conservation NGOs and biodiversity experts motivated to close the biodiversity finance gap.

Project developers will be able to use the methodology to quantify the biodiversity benefits of their conservation and restoration activities. Once a project has been verified using SD VISta’s world-leading systems, companies can purchase the resulting biodiversity credits to invest in biodiversity and progress their nature-positive commitments.

The biodiversity methodology responds directly to the call to action by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres at this year’s United Nations General Assembly:

“The world must agree on a post-2020 global biodiversity framework — one that sets ambitious targets to halt and reverse biodiversity loss, provides adequate financing and eliminates harmful subsidies that destroy ecosystems on which we all depend.”

Finance is critical for ensuring that nature conservation and restoration projects can deliver on-the-ground biodiversity impacts at scale. McKinsey Sustainability reports that 51% of companies acknowledge biodiversity loss, but just 5% have quantified biodiversity targets. A biodiversity methodology in Verra’s SD VISta program will drive finance to the highest-impact projects with the most tangible conservation outcomes.

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