Event Summary
This foundational course provides a detailed “101” on biodiversity, focusing on its role within ESG strategies and corporate sustainability efforts. Participants will gain a comprehensive understanding of biodiversity, its technical components, and its integration into environmental compliance and project management. The course will explore key frameworks, including the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) and the LEAP methodology, alongside SASB and GRI biodiversity metrics, highlighting how these tools help assess dependencies, impacts, risks, and opportunities related to biodiversity.
Attendees will learn the essential components of a biodiversity policy, the difference between policies and programs, and practical examples of effective biodiversity initiatives. The course explores how environmental desktop reviews, site visits, and ecological surveys form the foundation of effective biodiversity evaluations. These assessments provide essential information throughout a project, helping to structure and define mitigation and avoidance strategies, along with the requirements for monitoring, reporting, and regulatory compliance, to build a strong and effective biodiversity framework.
Attendees will receive 2 Professional Development Hours (PDH) upon completion.
Learning Objectives
- Understand biodiversity’s technical and ecological foundations, including its dependencies, impacts, and role in ESG strategies.
- Explore global frameworks like the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) and LEAP methodology, learning their application in assessing risks, opportunities, and ecological dependencies.
- Differentiate between biodiversity policies and programs and explore examples of effective initiatives.
- Gain knowledge about mitigation and avoidance strategies, regulatory compliance, and the importance of monitoring and reporting in biodiversity programs.
Who Should Attend
This course is designed for sustainability professionals, compliance officers, environmental managers, C-suite and corporate leaders interested in learning more about various biodiversity frameworks and principles and those specifically responsible for integrating biodiversity into ESG strategies and project management. It is particularly suited for organizations seeking to align with global biodiversity frameworks, enhance regulatory compliance, and implement effective biodiversity policies and programs.
Meet the Instructor
Nidhi Chadda
Founder and CEO, Enzo Advisors
Chief Impact Officer, Richmond Global Sciences (RGS)
Nidhi Chadda is a generalist growth investor and advisor across public and private markets. She is the Founder and CEO of Enzo Advisors, a female and minority-led sustainability consulting practice she founded that focuses on helping private, small and mid-cap companies build best-in-class sustainable business models and works closely with institutional investors to integrate environmental, social and governance (ESG) policies and frameworks across their investment processes. Enzo Advisors is at the nexus of finance, strategy and technology, taking a holistic qualitative and quantitative approach advising corporate and investor clients on how to integrate sustainability initiatives to mitigate risk and unlock value creation.
She is also the Chief Impact Officer for Richmond Global Sciences (RGS), where she focuses on developing and executing business strategies aligned with market and customer insights with a keen focus on RGS’ portfolio construction investment solutions linking financial criteria to various environmental and social impact drivers. Prior to launching Enzo Advisors, Nidhi was a portfolio manager at RBC Global Asset Management, where she spearheaded the initiative to drive ESG integration across investment processes for her team managing $3 billion in assets under management in aggregate across 3 funds. Nidhi also serves on several advisory boards and investment committees at angel associations and venture funds.
Nidhi has hosted numerous webinars related to ESG / impact / climate – related topics and has been featured across a number of media engagements including CNBC, the Women in Asset Management Summit, ESG Clarity magazine, Women’s Wear Daily (WWD), ESG Today, and Venture Capital Journal. Nidhi is also an instructor for the Southern Gas Association where she teaches courses on ESG / sustainability; decarbonization and the pathway to net zero; emerging climate technologies; and climate risk modeling. She also spearheaded the launch of the quarterly ESG Series on behalf of the Board of the Harvard Business School Women’s Association, which has hosted sold out events since inception. Nidhi has 20+ years of experience as an investment banker, strategic consultant, and investor.
She earned her MBA from the Harvard Business School and a BS in Economics from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania where she was a Benjamin Franklin and Joseph Wharton Scholar, as well as the recipient of the Dean’s Award for Innovation.
She is the recipient of the Impact Investment and Advisory Award (June 2024, NRI Achiever Awards) as well as the recipient of the Outstanding Leadership in Finance Award (July 2023, MORE 2.0 Conference.) Nidhi has also received numerous accolades including being named one of Aspiring Women Leaders for 2022 by Aspioneer Magazine, was a finalist for the Next Generation Leader Award in 2021 and a finalist for the Women in Asset Management Award for US Small / Mid-cap Equities in 2019.
