"The launch of the Cali fund during COP16.2, held in Rome last February, marks an important advance in the financing of dematerialized genetic resources (DSI)," explains Luc Olivier, financial analyst and manager at La Financière de l'Échiquier.
Used notably in the pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and agri-food sectors, digital sequence information (DSI) constitutes an essential component of the environmental and energy transition. Nicknamed "green gold", DSI leverages the richness of biodiversity and comes from data extracted from the genetic heritage of plants, animals, or microbes. This data is then stored in global databases that are freely accessible.
Their use allows, among other things, the replacement of ingredients derived from the petroleum sector. However, the massive exploitation of these free, nature-derived digital resources relies entirely on the preservation of biodiversity.
At the heart of the COP16 discussions dedicated to biodiversity, the launch of the Cali fund during COP16.2, held in Rome last February, marks an important advance. Its objective: to finance, through contributions from companies that use DSI, actions to protect biodiversity. concrete actions to protect biodiversity, thanks to contributions from companies using DSI.
While the Cali fund is still in its infancy, we are convinced of the urgency of financing biodiversity, a key to the transition. Companies using DSI are moreover encouraged to contribute to the fund at a rate of 0.1% of their turnover or 1% of their profits.
While this contribution seems indispensable to us in the long term — both to preserve biodiversity and to sustain the economic models of companies highly dependent on nature —, it can, in the short term, have a significant impact on their stock market valuation.
For the Danish biotech Novonesis, for example, this contribution would amount to between 4 and 6 million euros per year (based on 0.1% of revenues and 1% of the company's adjusted profits in 2024). Positioned directly in the DSI segment, Novonesis designs bio-solutions from living organisms capable of producing molecules previously derived from synthetic chemistry.
These innovations are transforming every link in the value chain and affect many sectors: biofuels, the agri-food industry, probiotics, detergents, etc. By relying on nature rather than on fossil resources, they actively contribute to the preservation of biodiversity — and therefore to the ecological transition.
Convinced that the impact of companies on ecosystems is one of the key drivers of the transition, we are interested in pioneering actors across all sectors — such as Novartis, which has set itself the goal of carbon neutrality by 2040. The pharmaceutical group is also at the forefront on issues related to DSI in its industry.
From the early 2000s, Novartis entered into a partnership with the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute of the University of Panama, concerning the analysis of biological resources from the tropical forest, with the aim of developing a cancer treatment.
In exchange for access to these plant extracts, the company transfers its expertise in bioanalysis, supports biodiversity conservation, and funds local research teams.
The challenges to be met are multiple. To achieve the objectives of the Paris Agreement, actions must be massively strengthened. Regarding the preservation of biodiversity, the World Bank estimates financing needs at 700 billion dollars per year by 2050.
We are convinced that as investors, we have a responsibility to support companies in understanding these issues and in implementing the necessary actions. This synergy between investors and companies is decisive in addressing one of the great challenges of our century: preserving our planet.
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