ANSA Merchant Bank in Trinidad and Barbados, and ANSA Bank, believe that creating and sustaining lasting value for our community and our shareholders is dependent on the health of the natural world we live and work in.
We have therefore adopted a Natural Capital approach for advancing and enhancing our shareholder value.
This approach integrates the concept of Nature’s stock of capital (living and non-living resources), and the services they provide, into business decision-making.
As we identify and quantify the ways in which our business affects, and is reliant on, natural resources, we will be compiling the first ever private sector led Natural Capital Report in the Caribbean.
This Report will help us account for the economic and financial value and condition of our natural capital assets, and will inform our short-, medium-, and long-term goals.
Using a Natural Capital approach is placing a financial value on the resources in Nature that are available to us, and accounting for the way that we both use and replenish them.
Nature provides us with most of our basic needs – air, water, food, shelter and the resources to clothe ourselves.
She also provides us with most of the raw materials that our businesses depend on to produce and be profitable.
Think of Natural Capital as the Bank of Nature that all businesses should carefully draw upon – and repay – in order to survive and prosper. Our well-being depends on the capital reserves held in Nature, and their lasting availability.
The Natural Capital Challenge 2023 is sponsored by ANSA Merchant Bank in collaboration with ANSA Bank and The Cropper Foundation. It is open to Small or Medium Enterprises (SMEs) registered in Trinidad and Tobago who incorporate nature-based interventions or contribute directly to the conservation/restoration of natural assets.
The grant competition aims to challenge SMEs to explore natural capital approaches in business planning and decision-making across various sectors in T&T.
As financial institutions, ESG goals (Environmental, Social and Governance) help us to approach how we serve our clients better, and with a view to the bigger picture of a habitable and sustainable future.
These combine traditional investment and banking approaches with environmental, social and governance insights. We will deliver both beneficial and purpose-driven outcomes for our clients and shareholders.
We believe this is the right thing to do in our commitment to harness and manage the natural capital at our disposal.
As responsible corporate citizens, we are committed to pioneering better ways of doing business and creating the momentum to encourage more people to opt into the kind of future we envision.
To help us achieve our vision of providing value to shareholders through the sustainable relationship with our natural capital, ANSA Merchant Bank and ANSA Bank have teamed up with The Cropper Foundation and the Capitals Coalition.
The Cropper Foundation is a globally recognised non-profit organization headquartered in Trinidad and Tobago. It promotes sustainable development throughout the Caribbean Region in collaboration with Government and international funding agencies, businesses in the private sector, community groups, and individuals. Its mission is to educate and advise on environmental best practices and natural resource management.
Together with The Cropper Foundation we have established the ground-breaking Caribbean Natural Capital Hub. The finance sector is one of the most influential sectors for reversing the loss of biodiversity globally due to its ability to influence the behaviour of other corporates and consortia.
The Capitals Coalition is an international collaboration of over 400 organizations that represent all parts of society and unite under a common vision of a world that conserves and enhances its natural capital.
We now represent this global Coalition in the Caribbean and have committed to championing the integration of nature into business decisions.
Our hope is that by 2030, businesses, financial institutions and governments will include the value of natural capital, social capital and human capital in their decision-making.
The establishment of ground-breaking leadership to clearly define and articulate financial risks and opportunities associated with biodiversity and ecosystem services in the regions/sectors in which the Banks operate using the Natural Capital Protocol.
Published at the same time as our annual report, this additional document or section clearly defines and articulates financial risks and opportunities associated with biodiversity and ecosystem services where ANSA Merchant Bank and ANSA Bank operate by using the Natural Capital Protocol.
A grant challenge focused on new and disruptive green/blue business and ideas, to enhance the Bank’s operational knowledge of impact investing and national awareness of green/blue business opportunities. Targeted to SMEs and start-ups, youth entrepreneurs.
Generate innovative, market-ready, business-driven solutions for key Natural Capital problems in Barbados.
The first Caribbean-wide environmental news network generated by citizens and communities.
The Natural Capital initiative will equip us with the tools to navigate the challenging waters ahead and continue to realise our vision: “To build and maintain leadership in the domestic financial services industry through prudent and strategic growth led by our merchant banking and retail banking activities.”
