The Swiss Finance Institute hosted this high-profile conference in partnership with Swiss Sustainable Finance and in association with Building Bridges. Marking the sixth edition of the event, the hosts—Prof. François Degeorge, Managing Director of SFI, and Sabine Döbeli, CEO of SSF—had the pleasure of welcoming well over 350 on-site attendees and the conference's distinguished group of experts.

SFI Prof. Zacharias Sautner, Professor of Sustainable Finance, UZH, and Senior Chair, SFI, kicked off proceedings with an exciting keynote speech that addressed the financial materiality of nature risks. Using a simple childhood memory, he illustrated the manifestation of biodiversity loss and explained why it matters not only from an ethical but also from a financial perspective. Drawing on his research, he showed that investors do care about nature-related risks from a financial perspective, how to measure such risks, and what lies ahead for nature-related risks.

Renata Pollini, Head of Sustainable Construction & Nature, Holcim, delivered the second keynote, exploring how nature has evolved from a sustainability topic into a strategic business priority. Drawing on practical examples from the real assets sector, she highlighted what financial stakeholders are asking companies today and how businesses can respond credibly and effectively.

The first session focused on nature risks, and featured SFI Prof. Thomas Giroux, Assistant Professor of Sustainable Finance, ETH Zurich, and Faculty Member, SFI. He explored ways to make nature conservation and restoration investable. He evaluated the potential of blended finance and identified key hurdles to mobilizing private capital for nature on a large scale. Jose María Ortiz, Managing Partner, Nature-Co, Lombard Odier, followed, with a speech on "Nature as Infrastructure: Investing in Regenerative Value Chains". The session was rounded off by Victor Neamtu, Executive Director, ESG & Impact, LGT Capital Partners, who spoke on "Where the Number Ends and the Opportunity Begins: Integrating Nature in Private Debt".

The second thematic block of the conference—entitled "Real Estate and Carbon Emissions"—was launched by Federica Zeni, Senior Economist, Bank of Italy, and former SFI Professor, addressing the subject of "Carbon Lock-In: Financing Real Estate Decarbonization in Europe". Robert Radmilovic, Partner, Wüest Partner AG, gave a presentation on "The Low-Carbon Premium: Evidence on Rents, Yields, and Real Estate Values". The session concluded with a presentation by Daniela Jorio, Head of Sustainability Real Estate DACH, UBS, titled "Investing for Resilience: How Climate Risks Are Integrated in Direct Real Estate Decisions".

The conference, moderated by Tanya König, culminated in the panel discussion "Nature, Climate, and Finance: From Risk Assessment to Action", featuring Fredy Hasenmaile, Chief Economist, Raiffeisen Schweiz, SFI Prof. Zacharias Sautner, Lina Terei, Head Responsible Investing & Initiatives, Group Asset Management, Swiss Re Management Ltd, and Peter Zollinger, Head Impact Research, Globalance Bank. The day ended with an aperitif, offering attendees an opportunity both to network and discuss the insights shared throughout the conference, and for further knowledge exchange.