Meridiam’s TNFD Roadmap to Protect Nature and Investments

Protecting nature is one of Meridiam's top global priorities, deserving attention across all aspects of their investment activities. Building on the work initiated with WSP in 2022 to explore how to begin their TNFD journey and develop a comprehensive roadmap, Meridiam became an early adopter of TNFD in 2023. This commitment aimed to establish new standards for managing biodiversity and other nature-related considerations within their investment portfolio. For the second phase of their TNFD implementation, Meridiam engaged WSP to apply the LEAP approach and prepare for their inaugural TNFD report.

Overcoming barriers to TNFD reporting

Meridiam’s main challenge lies in establishing a structured way to assess nature-related risks, including biodiversity and other key components, across a diverse portfolio of over 100 assets. WSP conducted a TNFD gap analysis to identify areas for improvement at the corporate level and crafted a global TNFD roadmap tailored to Meridiam’s needs.

To prioritize key nature-related risks and opportunities at scale, WSP implemented the LEAP approach at distinct levels: a High-Level Portfolio Assessment to provide a global perspective across the entire value chain, and a Critical Asset Pilot Assessment to refine and validate the LEAP methodology. This pilot approach will serve as the foundation for deploying the LEAP process across Meridiam’s portfolio in future phases.

Location

Worldwide

Client

Meridiam

Project status

Complete

Through a series of workshops, WSP guided Meridiam through the LEAP steps at the portfolio level using the following methodology:

Locate: Identify across the value chain critical type of assets. and suppliers interacting with Nature-Sensitive Locations
Evaluate: Assess the impacts and dependencies on nature of these critical assets.
Assess: Identify and prioritize the top-material nature-related risks, mitigations, and opportunities within the value chain based on impacts and dependencies for Critical Type of Assets.
Prepare: Develop metrics and targets to track top material nature-related Risks and opportunities progress and report against it in the TNFD Report.

By addressing these challenges, Meridiam is setting a precedent for global investors, ensuring that nature-related risks are no longer overlooked but actively managed to create value for communities and ecosystems.

Positioning for the future: Benefits and outcomes of managing nature-related risks

With WSP’s approach, Meridiam gained a global understanding of nature-related risks across the whole portfolio, as well as a detailed understanding of them for material areas of focus (critical type of assets) positioning it as a sustainability leader with the knowledge to effectively manage nature-related risks. The project provided Meridiam with:

Strategic Roadmap: A customized TNFD roadmap aligning with nature-related goals, guiding Meridiam in prioritizing actions and setting a clear plan to prepare for TNFD Reporting.
Long-Term Vision: A framework for continuously managing nature-related risks, ensuring Meridiam can align TNFD reporting with broader sustainability goals.
Potential of Enhanced Reputational Standing: As an early TNFD adopter, Meridiam has positioned itself as a pioneer in biodiversity management. This early commitment demonstrates strong leadership in nature stewardship and builds a foundation for earning trust with stakeholders and investors.

Working with WSP on our TNFD-aligned approach has been an invaluable experience. Their deep expertise in nature-related risk management and their ability to communicate complex concepts with clarity made a significant difference to our team. Through strategic insights and practical recommendations, WSP greatly enhanced our approach. Their professionalism and dedication truly set them apart.

Ginette Borduas Partner, Head of ESG and Sustainability, Meridiam

Ginette Borduas Partner, Head of ESG and Sustainability, Meridiam

A holistic approach to TNFD biodiversity strategy

WSP’s approach to TNFD and nature-related risk management uniquely combines strategic advisory and technical expertise. By aligning nature-related strategies with Meridiam’s corporate goals, WSP’s advisors provided big-picture insights, while our experts brought additional Biodiversity technical expertise over standard tools proposed such as ENCORE, and developed actionable steps grounded in rigorous data. This comprehensive approach allowed us to create and deploy a tailored TNFD roadmap that was not only ambitious but also practical and achievable, positioning Meridiam as a forward-thinking leader in nature stewardship.

WSP’s role in nature-related risk management

Julie Pizzutto, a strategic advisor at WSP, bridges corporate strategic plans for sustainability and practical implementation. With expertise in TNFD and nature-related risk management, she works closely with clients like Meridiam to define long term strategies and design innovative, effective, and actionable solutions that drive positive environmental impact.

Meridiam wanted more than a standard TNFD framework implementation —they wanted a strategy that worked for them. We worked hands in hands to understand how their portfolio interacted with Nature, and co-defined their biodiversity goals and priorities, while creating new tools and involving them in methods they could reuse moving forward. It’s rewarding to see how this approach sets them up for long-term leadership.

Julie Pizzutto Strategic Advisor, WSP

Julie Pizzutto Strategic Advisor, WSP

Key takeaways for TNFD implementation

Lessons learned for other industries

This project offers valuable insights for other organizations beginning their TNFD journey:

The importance of scoping: Each organization’s TNFD journey is unique, influenced by its sector, size, maturity regarding nature-related issues, strategic priorities, and leadership involvement. Taking the time to understand what TNFD means for your organization is critical to building a relevant and optimized path to success.
Stakeholder engagement: Engaging key stakeholders and increasing their awareness of nature-related issues and TNFD requirements is essential from the outset. Educating them ensures clear decision-making and alignment of nature-related goals with overall business strategy.
A “Funneling approach” for portfolio analysis: Adapting the TNFD journey to the complexity of your sector and value chain is crucial. Focusing on the most impactful assets or areas within the value chain through a funneling approach helps prioritize targets and initiatives that deliver the greatest value.

These lessons demonstrate that with the right approach, organizations can transform complex challenges into opportunities to lead in sustainability and create lasting environmental and societal impact.

Additional resources: Get started with the TNFD essentials guide

For organizations ready to begin or enhance their own TNFD journey, we collaborated with the UN Global Compact Network Canada to create the TNFD Essentials Guide. This comprehensive guide simplifies TNFD’s complexities into actionable steps, offering insights to help companies, like Meridiam, prioritize and manage nature-related risks.

Learn more