15 November 2023
Tackling climate change and biodiversity loss
We've teamed up with science and conservation partners to generate investment for science solutions to planetary challenges.
Working together for nature
We are delighted to be part of an exciting partnership with the potential to expand the impact of our science and conservation through nature-based solutions.
Sustainability investor Greensphere Capital expects to invest up to £100 million in the coming years to scale up research in areas including biodiversity, forestry and habitat restoration in the UK and internationally.
Greensphere is partnering with ZSL – along with 11 other science and conservation partners including Kew Gardens, and research institutes including John Innes, Earlham and Quadram – to generate investment for science activities with real-world conservation applications ranging from agriculture to green financial technologies.
ZSL will work with Greensphere to identify potential new investment opportunities arising from ZSL research.
Our science and conservation
ZSL has 140 scientists and PhD students working on science that supports and informs our conservation in more than 50 countries worldwide, and more than 150 conservation staff busy developing, testing and using innovative techniques and technologies.
Building on almost 200 years of scientific discovery in the fields of zoology and conservation, along with access to living collections and dynamic feedback from field programmes, ZSL is uniquely positioned to explore solutions to these challenges.
The conservation challenge
Globally there is a $750bn funding gap for conservation, and initiatives like this help us to directly address that challenge through a like-minded and well-funded commercial partner.
ZSL CEO Matthew Gould said: “This is a brilliant opportunity for us to expand our impact and scale ZSL innovation at the kind of speed the world needs. It means our scientists and conservationists will have access to experts and investors as they develop solutions for our planet.”
Divya Seshamani, Managing Partner of Greensphere Capital explains: “We are committed to investing in solutions to some of the world’s greatest challenges around climate change and biodiversity loss, and believe that nature-based solutions are critical levers to managing these systemic risks. Having seen that much of what we could invest in was not based on hard science or verifiable evidence, we have sought out partners like ZSL that share our values and vision but have a deep and respected science base.”
Scaling up marine conservation
A great example ZSL’s science and conservation being scaled up is Coast4C, a now-independent social enterprise which began life as a ZSL conservation project looking for ways to reduce marine plastics by redesigning global supply chains. Through the project we developed a relationship with Interface, a manufacturer that could turn discarded fishing nets, retrieved from the ocean by coastal communities, into carpet tiles. You can see these carpet tiles in Tiny Giants at London Zoo.
By working with Greensphere and partner institutions we can identify opportunities like this quickly, and access potential funding to make real-world impact as soon as possible.