The winner of this new award category was praised by judges for bridging the gap between the three pillars of environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing, and highlighting the 'social nature' of nature-based investments.

Investing in 'natural capital' can be defined as investing in nature-based solutions: sustainable economic models based on production from natural systems, such as land or oceans. It covers sustainable agriculture, forestry and fisheries, as well as investments in conservation and biodiversity protection.

Natural capital is a relatively new asset class that captures many social problems, for example feeding a growing population, avoiding conflicts, and issues around involuntary migration.

To address the lack of funding for nature-based investments that are often considered too risky, Mirova advocates for public and private capital to develop products for investors that are market-based in terms of their risk profile, creating an investment case that many institutional investors have begun to understand and support.

In 2020, Mirova launched the Biodiversity Fund Brazil offering, which aimed to deploy blended finance into sustainable activities that protect, restore or otherwise improve biodiversity and community livelihoods in the Amazon.

Then, in early 2021, its Sustainable Ocean Fund hit its final close. It is dedicated to making pioneering impact investments into marine and coastal projects and enterprises that can deliver sustainable and economic returns in fisheries, aquaculture, associated seafood supply chains, ocean waste, recycling and marine conservation.

Those two projects, praised by judges, form part of Mirova's $400m of nature-based investments, where the 'E' of ESG meets the 'S'.