BofA and Eurazeo seed $40 million biodiversity fund

French investment firm Eurazeo and Bank of America are cornerstone investors in the Lighthouse Initiative, a biodiversity fund launched with $40 million in commitments alongside the Sustainable Markets Initiative.

Eurazeo will manage the vehicle inside its Future Industries Fund III, and fee terms were not disclosed. The partners say the initiative is designed to add investors and scale beyond the initial $40 million. ESG Today reported the launch on Nov. 2.

For allocators, the operative question is measurement: what the biodiversity footprint assessment actually counts and whether it is reported per holding. Eurazeo says each investment will be monitored through its impact framework with biodiversity indicators including that assessment. A wealth platform offering the vehicle would need those answers before describing the strategy to clients.

The mandate spans four areas: ecosystem protection and restoration through regenerative agriculture and forestry; the transition of industries and supply chains toward sustainable materials and processes; financing platforms built to pull institutional and public capital into nature-related projects; and technologies for measuring, monitoring and verifying biodiversity outcomes. Investments will be minority positions in project development platforms and technology-based solutions across developed and emerging markets.

Each investment is expected to contribute to at least one target of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. That includes conserving and managing at least 30% of the world's land, inland waters, coastal and marine areas by 2030. The initiative also backs the objectives of the Sustainable Markets Initiative's Terra Carta.

Matthieu Bonamy, a partner in Future Industries at Eurazeo, said: “Nature is the foundation of the industries we invest in, yet biodiversity remains one of the most underfunded investment themes.” Jennifer Jordan-Saifi, president and global envoy of the Sustainable Markets Initiative, said the launch reflects the coalition's aim of mobilizing private capital into nature and nature-based solutions. The Sustainable Markets Initiative is a global sustainability coalition launched by King Charles III.