137 Dr Martin Stuchtey: rethinking how we invest in nature

Prof. Dr. Martin Stuchtey - a geologist, economist and entrepreneur - is challenging and helping to rethink industrial, farming and economic systems. He founded The Landbanking Group, a Nature Fintech aiming to bring natural capital onto our balance sheets in service of the Paris and Montreal agreements. Dr. Martin Stuchtey is a former Senior and Managing Partner at McKinsey & Co., where he co-founded and led the global sustainability activities. He then founded systems change company SYSTEMIQ, and is also professor for industrial systems in transition at the University of Innsbruck. Martin is an investor, multiple board member and owner of an organic farm in Austria. He’s authored numerous papers, press, radio and TV publications and a book, "A Good Disruption - Redefining Growth in the 21st Century". I was keen to ask Martin about a chapter he co-authored in a recent book published by Factor X – The Impossibilities of the Circular Economy: separating aspirations from reality. Then we move onto talk about The Landbanking Group, born out of Martin’s frustration with the lack of progress in pushing back against the current, extractive economy. Martin also realised that we need to rethink how we invest in nature as the fundamental building block of our future on this, our home planet. The Landbanking Group’s ambition is to change the way we make land-use decisions worldwide. Their first-of-its-kind platform allows land stewards to earn income from accruing natural capital (such as biodiversity, carbon, soil, water). It allows companies to invest into balance-sheet grade natural capital contracts (or “Nature Equity”). The Landbanking team aims to create the hardest currency for nature by combining the latest science and accounting practices into a coherent, transparent, and compliant way to invest into natural capital - because nature is critical infrastructure – for companies, economies and societies.