Return-based investments for nature include a range of finance strategies and mechanisms that seek both positive environmental impacts as well as financial returns to a business owner or investor. Investments are defined as: “the outlay of money usually for income or profit” (Mirriam-Webster, accessed Jan 10th, 2020). In conservation finance terms, there are multiple elements that would make financial investments beneficial for conservation as well as multiple elements that could make investments detrimental to conservation (and thus a potential target of finance strategy that reduces harmful impacts or decreases harmful investments). While return based investments are often associated with for-profit enterprises, NGOs and other non-profits, including The Nature Conservancy, can and have executed return-based investments.
These strategies and mechanisms can be divided in a number of ways, including private vs capital markets, impact vs finance priorities, investment size (microfinance through large sovereign bonds), and debt/loan-based products vs equity and ownership-based approaches (Forest Trends 2016, The Nature Conservancy 2019). The following categories are not exclusive but capture some of this variation (Credit Suisse, 2016).
Microfinance
P2P Investing and Crowdfunding
Angel Investing, Incubators and early stage funding
Venture Capital
Leasing, Bank loans, Notes, and Trade Finance
Private Equity
Debt and Equity Capital Markets
Sustainable Investment Strategies