Biodiversity & Finance Workshop - Singapore Green Finance

As biodiversity rises on the agenda of regulators and financial institutions, the demand for reliable data and analytical tools has been met with a range of emerging solutions, each requiring critical discussion and validation. Building on the edition held at Imperial College London in June, this workshop convenes academics and experts in finance and ecology to Singapore to foster cross-disciplinary dialogue on integrating ecological complexity into financial analysis and economic decision-making.

Key areas of discussion will include the robustness of existing metrics for biodiversity measurement and valuation, the development of novel metrics, the projection of these metrics along climate pathways, the quantification of the economic impacts of biodiversity loss, and the design of financial instruments for nature restoration and conservation.

Read the workshop summary. Explore SGFC research.

Agenda

-                                        DAY 1
+                                        📅 Wednesday, 8 October 2025

📍Seminar Room B2-01 (Level B2), SMU Yong Pung How School of Law, 55 Armenian Street, Singapore 179943
--0900
+                                        Registration
--0915
+                                        Welcome Address
 Bert de Reyck, Dean of SMU Lee Kong Chian School of Business
--1015
+                                        Keynote Speech
 Franklin Allen, Professor of Finance and Economics; Executive Director of the Brevan Howard Centre, Imperial College London: "Biodiversity & Finance" 
Chair: Zhang Hong (SMU)
--1030
+                                        Coffee Break
--1130
+                                        Session 1: Measuring the Impact of Business on Nature
Chair: Lou Yun (SMU)
- Hao Liang (SMU): “Quantifying and Valuing Biodiversity Impact of Business”
- Janice Lee Ser Huay (NTU): “Drivers and Solutions to Southeast Asia’s Biodiversity Crisis - A Focus on the Agribusiness”
--1230
+                                        Session 2: The Economic Impact of Nature Loss
 Chair: Yao Tianhao (SMU)
- Eric Zou (U Michigan): “Trade, Trees, and Lives”
- Cara Vansteenkiste (U Sydney): “The Political Economics of Nature: Tax-Exempt Lobbying and Local Biodiversity Regulation”
--1400
+                                        Lunch Buffet
--1530
+                                        Session 3: Valuation, Stress Testing, and Scenarios
 Chair: Simone Cenci (UCL)
- Enrico Biffis (Imperial): “Exploring Endogenous Feedbacks in Nature”
- Olivia Morris (Imperial): “Measuring the Value of Biodiversity Through Ecosystem Function: Southeast Asia as a Case Study”
- Simon Schillebeeckx (SMU): "Unpacking the Assetization of Nature: From Fishing Quota to Biodiversity Credits"
--1545
+                                        Coffee Break
--1715
+                                        Session 4: Carbon Markets and Biodiversity Credits
Chair: Simone Cenci (UCL)
- Yiwen Zeng (NTU): “Ecological Integrity of Avoided Deforestation Carbon Projects”
- Eleanor Slade (NTU): "Accounting for Biodiversity Using the Climate, Community & Biodiversity (CCB) Standards: A Case Study From Sabah, Malaysia"
- Will Pearse (Imperial): “Some Ways We Should, and Some Ways We Definitely Shouldn’t,
 Build a Biodiversity Crediting System”
--1730
+                                        Conclusion Remarks for Day 1
--2000
+                                        Dinner (Invited guests and speakers only)
-                                        DAY 2
+                                        📅 Thursday, 9 October 2025

📍Seminar Room B2-01 (Level B2), SMU Yong Pung How School of Law, 55 Armenian Street, Singapore 179943
--0900
+                                        Registration
--0945
+                                        Keynote Speech
 Simon A. Levin, James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University: “Sustainability and the Economics of Biodiversity”
 Chair: Holly Yang (SMU)
--1045
+                                        Session 5: Models for Nature-Related Risk Assessment
Chair: Terry van Gevelt (SMU)
- Colin Prentice & Minxue Tang (Imperial): “Ensemble-Based Risk Assessment for Southeast Asian Ecosystems”
- Alexander Ruggles Cobb (NTU): “Uncertainty in Conservation and Restoration Baselines”
--1100
+                                        Coffee Break
--1230
+                                        Session 6: Industry Panel - How to Make Nature Bankable?
Chair: Nikki Kemp (SMU)
- Ann-Marie Wun, Head of Sustainable & Impact Client Solutions (APAC), Goldman Sachs Asset & Wealth Management
- Audrey Lim, Director of Nature Finance, Standard Chartered
- Melissa Moi, Head of Sustainable Business, UOB
- Megan Roux, Manager, Impact Institute
--1400
+                                        Lunch Buffet
--1530
+                                        Session 7: Policy Panel - Building an Enabling Ecosystem for Biodiversity Finance & Investment
Chair: Mandy Tham (SMU)
- Mervyn Tang, Head of Sustainability APAC, Schroders
- Steve Kim, Asia-Pacific Regional Counsel, Conservation International
- Ashley Brosnan, Diplomat, Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
- Theodor Cojoianu (SMU)
--1630
+                                        Session 8: The Nature Premium
Chair: Simone Cenci (UCL)
- Theodor Cojoianu (SMU): “The Climate-Biodiversity-Pollution Nexus: The Pricing of Environmental Credit Risks for European Industrial Polluters”
- Katharina Bauer (Impact Institute): “Nature-positive Real Estate”
--1645
+                                        Concluding Remarks

Speakers

Welcome Address

Bert de Reyck Dean of SMU Lee Kong Chian School of Business
Keynote Speakers

Franklin Allen Professor of Finance and Economics; Executive Director of the Brevan Howard Centre, Imperial College London		Simon A. Levin James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University
Chairs & Presenters

Hong Zhang Professor of Finance; Keppel Professor in Financial Economics; Director, Sim Kee Boon Institute for Financial Economics, SMU	Yun Lou Associate Professor of Accounting; Associate Dean (Research), School of Accountancy, SMU	Hao Liang Associate Professor of Finance; Recipient, Ho Bee Professorship in Sustainability Management; Co-Director, SGFC; Sustainable Business Research Peak Co-lead, SMU	Lee Ser Huay Janice Teresa Associate Professor, Asian School of the Environment, NTU

Tianhao Yao Assistant Professor of Finance, Lee Kong Chian School of Business, SMU	Eric Zou Sanford R. Robertson Assistant Professor of Business Administration, Assistant Professor of Business Economics and Public Policy, University of Michigan	Cara Vansteenkiste Horizon Fellow; Senior Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Finance, University of Sydney	Simone Cenci Lecturer in Economics and Finance of Sustainability, UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources

Enrico Biffis Professor of Actuarial Finance; Imperial Business School	Olivia Morris Research Associate, Hitachi-Imperial Centre for Decarbonisation and Natural Climate Solutions, Imperial College London	Simon Schillebeeckx Assistant Professor of Strategy & Entrepreneurship, SMU	Yiwen Zeng Assistant Professor, Asian School of the Environment, NTU

Eleanor Slade Assistant Chair (Academic), Asian School of the Environment; Associate Professor, Asian School of the Environment, NTU	Will Pearse Associate Professor in Evolutionary Ecology Department of Life Sciences (Silwood Park) - Faculty of Natural Sciences, Imperial College London	Holly Yang Associate Professor of Accounting; Co-Director (Academic Research), School of Accountancy Research (SOAR); Lee Kong Chian Fellow, SMU	Terry van Gevelt Associate Professor of Urban Sustainability; Programme Co-Director, Master of Sustainability (MST); Urban Fellow (Urban Growth) Lee Kong Chian Fellow, SMU

Colin Prentice Chair in Biosphere and Climate Impacts Department of Life Sciences (Silwood Park) - Faculty of Natural Sciences, Imperial College London	Minxue Tang PhD Candidate, Department of Life Sciences (Silwood Park) – Faculty of Natural Sciences, Imperial College London	Alexander Ruggles Cobb Assistant Professor, Asian School of the Environment, NTU	Nikki Kemp Executive Director, Singapore Green Finance Centre, SMU

Ann-Marie Wun Head of Sustainable & Impact Client Solutions (APAC), Goldman Sachs Asset & Wealth Management	Audrey Lim Director of Nature Finance, Standard Chartered	Melissa Moi Head of Sustainable Business, UOB	Megan Roux Manager, Impact Institute

Mandy Tham Associate Professor of Finance (Education), SMU	Mervyn Tang Head of Sustainability APAC, Schroders	Steve Kim Asia-Pacific Regional Counsel, Conservation International	Ashley Brosnan Diplomat, Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

Theodor Cojoianu Associate Professor of Sustainable Finance Urban Fellow (Urban Growth), SMU	Katharina Bauer Senior Associate, Impact Institute

Directions