BNP Paribas Asset Management has launched the Easy ESG Eurozone Biodiversity Leaders PAB UCITS ETF.

The ETF offers investors exposure to companies with a low potential impact on biodiversity and is classified as SFDR Article 9. It replicates a Euronext index consisting of around 60 Eurozone stocks selected according to their potential impact on biodiversity, calculated using Iceberg Data Lab’s ‘Corporate Biodiversity Footprint’ score.

Portfolio companies, which are Euronext Eurozone 300 Index constituents, are selected according to a ‘best-in-class’ methodology that retains 30% of companies from each sector. Companies subject to UNGC controversies or in sectors such as controversial weapons, coal mining, uranium, shale gas, or tobacco production are automatically excluded.

Denis Panel, Head of Multi-Asset, Quantitative & Solutions at BNPP AM, says: “A quarter of the planet’s species are in danger of disappearing by 2050, and half of the world’s GDP is threatened by the progressive degradation of nature. This new ETF offers clients the opportunity to invest in companies whose potential impact on biodiversity is lower than that of their peers, while adhering to strict requirements regarding the exclusion of fossil fuels and reducing carbon intensity. The launch reaffirms BNPP AM’s position as the European leader in thematic ESG index management”.