By Elena Zafirova, Founder & CEO of DIONZ | Advisor | Lawyer | Podcast Host – DIONZ
How was the experience of collaborating with other organisers and speakers in preparation for Building Bridges 2024?
For Building Bridges 2024, I felt incredibly humbled and privileged that a young organisation like DIONZ was selected by the Building Bridges team to present in the main conference room, a session that was live-streamed and allowed for the largest audience. This speaks to the opportunities that Building Bridges creates—not only for the most established organizations at the intersection of finance and sustainability but also for emerging organizations that are actively working to make a difference.
How did it feel to see your event come to life onsite at Building Bridges?
I am deeply grateful for the incredible engagement and positive feedback our session received, especially for our eight DIONZ Members and André Hoffmann, who captivated both the live audience and those watching remotely. It was an unforgettable moment to see their voices and ideas resonate so strongly.
Were there any memorable moments on the day of your event?
The connections formed at Building Bridges have already started to materialise in exciting ways. Follow-up conversations are slowly but surely turning into real-world collaborations, and we are committed to nurturing these relationships.
How have the bridges you built in December evolved, and how do you see them going forward?
At DIONZ, we believe that bridges are not built once—they require ongoing dialogue, trust, and a shared commitment to impact through community and continued learning. Looking ahead, I see these bridges evolving into long-term partnerships that challenge conventional thinking and drive collective action—ensuring that the world continues to prosper in a sustainable and purposeful way.
We Build Bridges Storytelling Series
Building Bridges is more than just an event—it’s a space for meaningful collaboration, fresh perspectives, and lasting connections. Through our storytelling series, we highlight the personal experiences that shape each edition. If you have a story to share about your journey at Building Bridges 2024—whether it’s a key insight, a memorable moment, or the impact of the bridges built—we’d love to hear from you!
Do you have a bridge-buidling story to share? Click here to submit one for review.
The 6th edition of Building Bridges will take place from September 30 to October 2, 2025, in Geneva, Switzerland, bringing together key decision-makers from finance, business, government, civil society, academia, and international organisations. This annual flagship event serves as a dynamic platform to share insights, foster collaboration, and drive collective action at the intersection of finance and sustainable development.
At the heart of Building Bridges is the Action Events. Together, they offer a unique crowd-sourced program, where organisations have the opportunity to showcase their initiatives, highlight innovative solutions, and engage in meaningful discussions that advance sustainable finance. Whether addressing decarbonization, biodiversity, sustainable supply chains, climate risk, or the evolving regulatory landscape, we welcome proposals that contribute to a diverse and impactful agenda. Relevant for all, yet crucial for those moving capital.
Who Can Apply?
Organisations from around the world—including financial institutions, corporations, non-profits, government entities, multilateral organisations, and academic institutions—are invited to submit proposals. While based in Switzerland, Building Bridges is an internationally-focused event, and many organisers successfully participate remotely during the planning and preparation stages.
Submission and Selection Process
Applications open: March 4, 2025
Deadline: April 2, 2025
After submission, all proposals will be reviewed by the Building Bridges Action Events Selection Committee, with final notifications sent by mid-May.
Qualification Criteria
Proposals must focus on sustainable finance and/or financing the SDGs.
Events should align with the vision and mission of Building Bridges and appeal to diverse sectors, particularly private finance and sustainable development stakeholders.
Sessions should not be solely promotional for a single company or organisation.
Events must be open to all Building Bridges participants.
At Building Bridges 2024, one of the standout moments came from Elisabeth Stern, a cultural anthropologist, peace and environmental activist, and a board member of KlimaSeniorinnen Switzerland, who delivered thought-provoking insights about the urgent need to protect our planet.
We are excited to dive deeper into Elisabeth’s impactful journey in the latest episode of The Founder Spirit podcast, hosted by Jennifer Wu. This episode was recorded live at #BB24 and offers a unique glimpse into Elisabeth’s perspective on climate activism, as well as the personal and professional experiences that have shaped her path.
During her participation in Building Bridges 2024, she was a featured speaker on two influential panels. On December 10th, she shared her experiences and insights as a key advocate for environmental justice and peace. A major highlight of her work, which she discussed in the podcast, was her role in KlimaSeniorinnen’s historic and challenging victory in the climate case against the Swiss government, which culminated in a landmark ruling at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg in April 2024.
Elisabeth takes us through the roots of her activism, reflecting on the influences and individuals who have shaped her worldview. Her childhood was filled with the guidance of strong women. Elisabeth also credits Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland and a fellow speaker at Building Bridges, as a significant source of inspiration.
Tune in to this inspiring conversation now and learn more about Elisabeth’s journey, her work with KlimaSeniorinnen, and the vision she holds for a sustainable and just future: Listen to the episode here
Explore Building Bridges’ full podcast libraryhere.
Building Bridges is excited to share that the first season of The Geneva Connection podcast was recorded at Building Bridges 2024, bringing expert insights on sustainable investing, nature finance, and impact-driven capital to a global audience.
Building Bridges Foundation was proud to make its flagship annual event and 5th edition in December 2024 the focus of Season 1, providing a platform for thought leaders to explore how finance can drive positive change. The five-episode series features discussions on Nature Finance, Impact Investing, Transition Finance, and the Social and Equity Dimensions of Finance, capturing key conversations from the Building Bridges Summit.
This collaboration will continue into Building Bridges 6th edition, taking place from 30 September to 2 October 2025, ensuring ongoing discussions on the future and relevance of sustainable finance.
Tune in to the first episode, from February 17th, 2025 on Spotify and Apple Podcasts!
The decline in nature threatens nearly a million species with extinction and severely ecosystem integrity, globally. In recent years, the issue has gained prominence in public discourse and corporate communications. The 16th Conference of the Parties (COP16) to the United Nation’s Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in Colombia underscored the urgency for international action and effective implementation of the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), an ambitious international agreement to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030 and achieve a harmonious relationship with nature by 2050.
Role of Businesses and Financial Institutions
Businesses have a crucial role in restoring and protecting nature. By doing so, they also address risk and strengthen their resilience, as most value chains and business operations depend one way or another on ecosystem services. Key actions include biodiversity integration in decision-making, developing nature-related transition plans, reducing negative impacts, investing in activities that protect and restore biodiversity. The GBF encourages the mobilisation and scaling-up of nature-related finance from all sources, public and private. This includes reforming harmful public incentives, and promoting innovative financial solutions.
Regulatory Developments in the European Union
Recent EU regulations like the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and Regulation on Deforestation-free Products (EUDR) aim to strengthen environmental and social sustainability into business strategies. These require enhanced reporting and due diligence measures to ensure corporate activities do not contribute to deforestation and nature loss.
BNP Paribas’ Commitment to Biodiversity and Natural Capital
BNP Paribas recognizes biodiversity and natural capital as one key pillar of its sustainability strategy. The Group includes criteria related to biodiversity, natural capital and deforestation in its financing and investment policies. It engages constructively with clients, offers products and services related to the conservation and restoration of nature, and allocates investments towards biodiversity-themed funds. BNP Paribas also supports research and development through philanthropic partnerships and business initiatives such as the TFND. In 2018, it supported the launch of Act4Nature International, a coalition of large businesses to support commitment building towards nature. In 2022, BNP Paribas Asset Management also supported the launch of NatureAction100, a coalition for stewardship on nature, at COP15 of the CBD.
BNP Paribas refers to science and the main drivers of nature loss defined by IPBES to prioritize its action. It recognizes linkages with the ocean and climate change mitigation and adaptation. According to Camille Maclet, BNP Paribas Group’s Biodiversity and Natural Capital Expert, “we engage with our clients to support their management of nature-related risks and impacts, relying on robust approaches, recognizing that nature is diverse and each business may have specific exposure and means of action”.
As part of its 2022-2025 strategic plan, BNP Paribas committed to reaching €4 billion by 2025 in financing for activities that support terrestrial and marine biodiversity conservation. This objective was exceeded in 2023, with €4.3 billion allocated.
In an era defined by unprecedented challenges, the call for transformative solutions has never been more pressing. With the global population anticipated to climb to 10 billion by 2050, the need to address challenges around food demand, climate change, waste, while upholding and improving social equity and community well-being is paramount. Addressing these issues requires urgent action and innovative solutions, with an estimated investment of $5-7 trillion needed annually to achieve the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)[1], significantly more than the $1.6 trillion pool of impact investments according to the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN)[2]. Impact investing has emerged as a crucial method for mobilising capital towards initiatives that generate meaningful social and environmental benefits alongside financial returns.
Impact investing has significantly evolved in recent years, making disclosure and transparency essential for ensuring integrity among asset owners, managers, and allocators. While early efforts focused on quantifying impacts, it’s now evident that measurement alone does not ensure authenticity. A thorough approach must consider both positive and negative impacts and maintain due diligence throughout the investment lifecycle.
To navigate the challenges of impact investing, the nine Operating Principles for Impact Management (OPIM), promoting practices such as annual disclosures and independent verification. Schroders has committed to these principles, becoming a signatory in 2022. Following the acquisition of BlueOrchard, a pioneer in impact investing, Schroders developed a proprietary Impact Framework, which has been independently verified by BlueMark, a leading independent provider of impact verification services receiving top marks and subsequently featuring on BlueMark’s Practice Leaderboard.
Delivering impact in public equity investing
While historically dominated by private markets, expanding impact investment strategies to listed equities opens significant opportunities to address global challenges. Recent guidance from the GIIN encourages the application of established industry standards from private markets to public investments[3]. Leading industry standards like OPIM, Impact Frontiers, and IRIS+, which have established impact integrity in private markets, should also be applied to listed equities.
A common critique of listed equities is the perceived lack of investor contribution, as investments in secondary markets do not inject new capital, making non-financial contributions through engagement essential. Impact-focused strategies synchronise these engagements with a fund’s ‘Theory of Change’ to support long-term objectives, such as increasing impact-related revenues and improving the measurement of a company’s
Additionally, addressing the complexities of multinational and diversified companies is vital for evaluating impact in listed equities. Rigorous transaction-level impact assessments using frameworks like the Impact Frontier’s 5 Dimensions of Impact and IRIS+ can yield valuable insights into businesses’ contributions, including product-level mapping and robust KPI measurement.
Impactful investing in listed equities represents a powerful opportunity to mobilise capital and tackle pressing global challenges. By implementing robust frameworks and prioritising long-term relationships, investors can foster genuine social and environmental impact, paving the way for a more equitable and sustainable future.
Discover more about Schroders approach to impact here.
As the world grapples with the increasingly pressing consequences of climate change, the transition to a net-zero economy has emerged as a critical goal. Over the past twelve months, the global average air temperature was 1.62°C above the 1850–1900 pre-industrial average.[1] With this, we are crossing an important threshold that is putting us on a path towards weakened economic resilience and exponentially rising adaptation costs.
A net-zero future is therefore not only an ecological imperative, but also an economic one, especially against the backdrop of a growing world population and expanding middle class.
After all, the cost of inaction will be much higher over the long term than the cost of investing in the transition, ultimately boosting inflation, as Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC, told world leaders during COP29 in Baku, warning that, “worsening climate impacts will put inflation on steroids.”[2]
However, governments cannot meet the staggering financial requirements needed to achieve net-zero emissions alone. At this point, we are a long way off the trillions of dollars of climate finance that must be mobilised.
Private investors have the potential to help fill this funding gap by directing capital toward sustainable projects and technologies, acting as a catalyst for innovation and investment in sustainable practices and solutions.
But unlocking this potential is no easy feat. Sustainable investment strategies have disappointed many investors in recent periods, and in the current environment, investors are primarily focused on geopolitical news and market volatility.
Balancing short-term risks with long-term trends
However, apart from the immediate climate-related risks, climate change is largely unconcerned with short-term worries. Adopting a longer-term view is therefore key for harnessing the potential of private capital in the transition and building robust and resilient portfolios that can effectively mitigate short-term shocks, navigate long-term trends and optimise risk-adjusted returns across market cycles.
When adopting this sort of longer-term view, the financial case for investing in the decarbonisation journey becomes increasingly strong, with investment opportunities arising across a range of sectors, from energy, construction and agriculture to transport and industry.
While we see more investors expressing an interest in such investments, they encounter challenges in converting credible climate valuation and risk models into practical insights for investment decision-making. The lack of reliable information, coupled with the limited availability of financial instruments to support sustainable initiatives in critical transition sectors, constrains investors’ opportunities.
Nevertheless, there is a discernible positive shift in the market. Companies are progressively implementing reporting and transparency standards, speeding up R&D into sustainable, scalable, and competitive solutions, and aligning the goals of their leadership with environmental and social performance objectives, reflecting an evolving commitment to climate issues.
As this trend continues, investors will be in a better position to assess the sustainability and long-term viability of climate-related investments and have access to more opportunities to invest in the net-zero transition.
– Author: Nicolas Barben, Global head of ESG Solutions, Union Bancaire Privée (UBP)
– This contribution is brought to you by UBP, a valued silver event partner of Building Bridges 2024.
Geopolitics affects the life and prosperity of countries and people across our globe with spillovers to the economy and financial markets. Especially now, with the coming US presidency of Donald Trump in combination with the conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine, the eyes of many are on geopolitical issues. It may seem like other priorities such as climate change and energy transition have dropped down from the agenda of politicians. However, geopolitics and climate change mutually impact one another. Any substantial green transition will dramatically redistribute the geopolitical balance of power. As countries with resources that are crucial for the energy transition and the associated technologies gain greater influence, the countries that have leveraged their fossil energy resources over the last century may need to adapt in the geopolitical powerplay. Investors need to position themselves in this changing landscape of powers and priorities and access the risks and opportunities associated with the energy transition.
On November 21, 2024, we hosted the third session of the “Constructing Change Webinar Series”, as part of the lead-up to Building Bridges 2024 in Geneva this December. Titled “Blended Finance: Unlocking Private Investment for Climate Action”, the session brought together experts from public and private sectors to discuss the transformative role of blended finance in scaling investments for climate adaptation, biodiversity, and sustainable development.
With global milestones like COP16 on Biodiversity in Cali and the ongoing COP29 discussions in Baku, the urgency of mobilizing capital for emerging markets has never been clearer. These economies, where over 90% of countries are non-investment grade, represent both the greatest need and the greatest opportunity for impactful investment. Blended finance that mobilizes private investment has emerged as the critical strategy to address and overcome the investment gap for climate action, and more recently seen as a prospective solution for biodiversity restoration and nature-based solutions.
Moderator Chris Club, Managing Director at Convergence Blended Finance, opened the discussion by defining blended finance as a mechanism that combines public and philanthropic funds to de-risk investments and attract private capital. “Despite its potential,” Chris noted, “blended finance accounts for only 1% of the SDG and climate investment needs in developing economies.”
Barriers that inhibit private capital flows into emerging markets
Daniela Savoia, EM Debt Fund Manager – Edmond de Rothschild, highlighted the lack of transparency around project risks, often deterring private investors. She emphasized that better visibility and blended finance tools, such as guarantees and concessionary financing, can address these challenges. VikramWidge, Senior Advisor at the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI), pointed to the fragmented nature of projects in emerging markets, which often lack the scale needed to attract institutional investors. Andrey Shlyakhtenko, Lead of Blended Finance Operations, Blended Finance and Corporate Strategy Department – International Finance Corporation, noted that biodiversity and nature-based solutions often lack immediate financial returns, making private capital reluctant to engage without strong de-risking mechanisms. Patrick Nussbaumer, Strategic Partnerships Director from UBS Optimist Foundation, highlighted that many private investors are hesitant to adopt long-term perspectives required for complex, multi-decade climate adaptation projects.
Practical Solutions for Scaling Investments
The session offered actionable strategies for overcoming these challenges and scaling blended finance for greater impact:
De-Risking Investments – Daniela provided examples of concessionary finance reducing risks for African corporates, demonstrating how blended finance can unlock private capital.
Catalytic Partnerships – Patrick emphasized philanthropy’s role in amplifying private investments through catalytic capital and impact transparency. He shared insights from the SDG Outcomes Fund, which is a $100 million blended fund which deploys outcome-base finance.
Aggregating Projects for Institutional Investors – Vikram advocated for securitizing smaller projects into portfolios, a method that increases their attractiveness for institutional investment. “We need to make investments big, bold, and boring to bring in the scale we need,” he said.
Focusing on Long-Term Resilience – Andrey encouraged a shift in evaluating projects, emphasizing their long-term cash flow stability and resilience benefits rather than short-term profitability.
Inspiring Collaboration for a Sustainable Future
This webinar demonstrated that blended finance is not just a tool but a catalyst for transformative change in emerging markets. By aligning public, private, and philanthropic capital, blended finance can unlock opportunities that otherwise wouldn’t exist, paving the way for scalable solutions to climate and biodiversity challenges.
As moderator Chris Club concluded, “Blended finance holds the key to mobilizing the trillions needed for the Paris Agreement and SDG goals, but it requires bold partnerships, trust, and a willingness to innovate.”
With these insights, the stage is set for Building Bridges 2024, where public and private leaders will explore how finance can accelerate global progress towards sustainability.
Switzerland, like most developed economies, is targeting net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050. Thanks to several advantages, resulting from both previous policy decisions and geography, the country has the lowest carbon intensity (emissions per unit of GDP) of any developed country, and the third lowest globally. Further, it has the lowest energy use per unit of GDP of developed countries, and second lowest globally. Third, it has mostly zero carbon domestic electricity generation, with the majority produced by either hydro or nuclear. And lastly, its carbon pricing is one of the highest in the world, which, at CHF 120 per ton, albeit with various exemptions, lies within the 2030 range recommended to limit warming to below 2oC. [1],[2]
Switzerland’s domestic GHG emissions technically peaked in 1973, though they did not enter a persistent down-trend until the mid-2000s. From 2005 to 2022 they have fallen by a quarter, to just under 42 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2). Versus 1990, the comparison year for official Swiss emissions targets, overall emissions have fallen by 24%. These reductions have come mostly from a 44% reduction in emissions from buildings, and a 29% reduction in emissions from industry. In 2021 the Swiss government published its long-term strategy for reaching net zero by 2050.[3] It includes interim targets for domestic emission reduction: a 35% cut by 2025, and a 50% cut by 2030, both against a 1990 baseline
Policy guardrails to stay on track
Switzerland has a raft of supporting policy and legislation to meet its climate goals. Some have been in place for many years, such as the CO2 levy, which was introduced in 2008. But much of it is new, entering force in 2025. These include acts like the Electricity Law, the CO2 Act, and the Climate and Innovation Act, which will define the legislative parameters of Switzerland’s transition to a net zero economy. The economic impact of this legislation can vary by sector, company size, and geography.
However, no legislative effort will be enough to eliminate emissions completely for sectors like agriculture and industry. Significant carbon capture and removals capacity, equivalent to around a quarter of current Swiss emissions, will be required. This is both a technological, logistical, and financial challenge, but one that must be tackled if net zero is to be reached.
Stronger together
While Switzerland is currently on target to decarbonize by 2050, challenges persist, and staying the course will be a stretch. Existing and emerging challenges include safeguarding energy security, achieving popular consent for new infrastructure, and maintaining a stable power market and grid while ramping up electrification. This requires careful balancing of environmental, economic, and political priorities.
[1] OECD (2023), Effective Carbon Rates 2023: Pricing Greenhouse Gas Emissions through Taxes and Emissions Trading
[2] World Bank, (2024), State and Trends of Carbon Pricing
