Piloting the TNFD’s risk and opportunity assessment approach on IndusInd Bank’s agriculture-related corporate loans portfolio

IndusInd Bank case study on piloting the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures’ LEAP approach.

IndusInd Bank, an India-based bank, took part in Global Canopy’s Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) piloting programme prior to the launch of the TNFD Final Recommendations in September 2023.

The TNFD has developed a set of recommendations and guidance for organisations to identify, assess, manage, and – where appropriate – disclose, their evolving nature-related dependencies, impacts, risks and opportunities. Its recommendations and guidance help organisations to integrate nature into decision-making, and ultimately support a shift in global financial flows away from nature-negative outcomes, toward nature-positive outcomes.

Supported by The Biodiversity Consultancy and Global Canopy, IndusInd Bank piloted the TNFD’s LEAP approach to identify and assess its nature-related issues.

The pilot focused on applying the first two phases of the LEAP approach to the agricultural sector component of IndusInd Bank’s corporate loan portfolio in India. These phases comprised locating the bank’s interface with nature, and evaluating its dependencies and impacts on nature in relation to its agriculture sector lending. By enhancing its understanding of its nature-related issues, IndusInd Bank aims to potentially offer targeted products and informed advice to its agriculture sector lending clients, helping them to address their nature-related risks and transition to adopt sustainable business practices.

“Joining Global Canopy’s TNFD piloting programme is a testament to our commitment toward making holistic lending decisions that benefit not only the bank but also the ecosystem that the bank serves. From this pilot programme, IndusInd Bank generated an in-depth understanding of how best the bank can factor nature-related externalities to make holistic lending decisions and support the agriculture sector while contributing toward a sustainable future. Thank you to Global Canopy for extending the opportunity to IndusInd Bank to pilot nature-related financial disclosures in the agriculture sector in India.”

Roopa Satish, Head of Sustainable Banking, Portfolio Management & CSR, IndusInd Bank

ENCORE is among the tools that IndusInd Bank used to identify agriculture sector-level nature dependencies and impacts. The free, online tool jointly developed by Global Canopy, UNEP-FI and UNEP-WCMC provides organisations with data that enables them to identify the nature-related impacts and dependencies they are exposed to through their business activities. Find out more about ENCORE and how it can support organisations undertaking the TNFD LEAP approach here.

Read the IndusInd Bank case study, ‘Piloting the TNFD risk and opportunity assessment approach on IndusInd Bank’s agriculture activities-related corporate loans portfolio.’

Read the case study

Global Canopy is a founding partner of the TNFD, and was an official piloting organisation for the TNFD prior to the launch of the TNFD Final Recommendations in September 2023. We continue to provide technical expertise to the TNFD, and to build capacity among businesses and financial institutions, preparing them to get started with adopting the TNFD recommendations.

This case study was generously funded by USAID.