- New initiative to help ventures that accelerate positive outcomes for nature and biodiversity.
- Four impact enterprises or purpose-driven start-ups will receive bespoke consulting, tax or accounting services from KPMG to assist scale-up and grow their nature-positive impact.
- KPMG Nature Positive Prize of $100,000 to be granted to the winning venture.
The KPMG Nature Positive Challenge launched today by KPMG Australia acknowledges biodiversity as one of the biggest and most urgent issues facing our planet. This new initiative is designed to encourage and support the growth of the nation’s most innovative startups and impact ventures working on ideas, solutions and technology addressing nature and biodiversity-related challenges.
The KPMG Nature Positive Challenge will select and support four high-potential impact ventures working in areas such as reforestation, regeneration, conservation, carbon removal, disaster resilience, resource circularity and bioproducts. A pool of tailored support valued at $200,000 is available to help scale their businesses, drawing on KPMG’s expertise in a wide range of consulting, tax and accounting services.
The venture with the most potential to scale its business, and also, the most potential to have a significant impact on nature, will also receive the ultimate KPMG Nature Positive Prize – a no-strings-attached payment of $100,000.
KPMG Australia CEO, Andrew Yates, explained the initiative honoured the firm’s commitment to invest in new sustainable technology and enterprise as part of its own Climate Action Plan. He said: “We are proudly launching our inaugural Nature Positive Challenge to recognise the importance of shaping a nature positive future, and support Australia’s burgeoning impact economy. This Challenge represents the start of a significant long-term investment by the firm to support positive environmental outcomes based on regeneration, resilience and resource circularity. It is my hope our actions encourage more eco-startups to flourish.”
With more than half of global GDP dependent on nature, The World Economic Forum estimates that transitioning to a nature-positive economy could create 400 million new jobs and generate US$10 trillion in annual business value.
Carolin Leeshaa, KPMG Natural Capital & Biodiversity Global Lead at KPMG and one of the judges of the Challenge commented: “Our economies, livelihoods and well-being all depend on nature. If we take time to get the question right, the imperative is very clear: we need to grow within the limits of the earth’s biosphere and catalyse the systemic shift required to grow in harmony with nature. The KPMG Nature Positive Challenge creates a platform for collaborative action to embrace nature as an opportunity, transform ideas into impact, and accelerate transformative business models, technologies, data and innovative approaches that protect and restore nature whilst also generating broader economic, social and cultural benefits.”
The launch of the Challenge is timely, with KPMG Australia welcoming the beta framework introduced recently by the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD). The beta framework aims to incorporate nature-related risk and opportunity analysis into the heart of corporate and financial decision-making and accelerate the conversation on the relationship between business and nature. Carolin Leeshaa is one of 34 global Taskforce Members, and also, one of only three Australian representatives.
KPMG Senior Sustainability Manager, and Nature Positive Challenge Lead, Jonathon Collins commented: “We are excited to be launching an industry-leading scaling program that will accelerate the nature positive movement.
“We are seeking expressions of interest from organisations with the unambiguous intention to protect and restore ecosystems, halt biodiversity loss, or improve resilience to the impacts of climate change.”
The KPMG Nature Positive Challenge – at a glance
- A new initiative to help ventures that accelerate positive outcomes for nature and biodiversity.
- Open to the nation’s most innovative startups and impact ventures working on ideas, solutions and technology addressing nature and biodiversity-related challenges.
- Four ventures will share a pool of bespoke consulting, tax or accounting services valued at $200,000 from KPMG to assist scale-up and grow their nature-positive impact.
- KPMG Nature Positive Prize of $100,000 to be granted to the winning venture.
- The Challenge will also connect ventures to beneficial industry, business, science, knowledge and community partners, and impact investors.
- Will run from May to August 2022, with the KPMG Nature Positive Prize to be awarded in June. All four ventures will feature at a Nature Positive Showcase event to be held in August.
