Risk, Resilience, and Returns: Biodiversity as Competitive Edge for Business

Banner

About this event:

Almost every company now factors the risks and costs of the climate crisis into its strategy. Biodiversity is not yet given the same priority, even though the two are deeply and inherently connected. Treating biodiversity as secondary leaves material risks unseen and resilience unrealized.

Meanwhile, biodiversity analytics are translating nature from a perceived “nice-to-have” into hard strategic intelligence, revealing sources of risk and resilience that are directly synergistic with carbon accounting. This conversation brings together leaders who are integrating nature- and climate-related risk into core business, investment, and decision-making frameworks to build competitive advantage and reduce exposure.

Presenters:

Moderator: Viorel Popescu, Associate Research Scientist in the Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology; Adjunct Assistant Professor in Evolution and Environmental Biology

Speakers:

  • Kevin Webb, Co-Founder & Managing Director for Superorganism

    Kevin Webb is the cofounder and managing director of Superorganism, the first venture capital firm dedicated to biodiversity. Superorganism invests in ambitious startups across three areas: within industries driving biodiversity loss, at the overlap of biodiversity and climate, and in enabling technologies that unlock new ways to protect nature. Beyond this, they are pledging 10% of fund profits to ongoing conservation efforts.

    An early-stage VC for over 15 years, Kevin has worked from the earliest stages with companies like Verkada, Turo, Ginkgo Bioworks, and Ironclad. He graduated from Stanford with a degree in Human Biology (Humans, a Changing Environment, and Infectious Disease), and Columbia with an MS in Sustainability Science.

  • Edward Pollard, Founder, Positive by Nature

    Edward Pollard is a world leading expert in the field of business and biodiversity, with over 20-years’ experience of integrating biodiversity within decision making and operations of many of the world’s largest companies. Edward has supported dozens of clients for a diverse array of sectors to understand their potential impacts and dependencies on nature, and develop strategies to address them at site, and corporate levels. He has worked closely with major initiatives including Science-based Targets Network, Taskforce for Nature Related Financial Disclosure, and Business for Nature. His career provides him with an extensive network spanning civil society, academia, finance and business.

    Edward was a pivotal part of the world leading consultancy The Biodiversity Consultancy for 13 years and now works as a freelance advisor to corporate, financial institutions, and industry bodies. He has published widely on topics ranging from Nature Positive to Zero Deforestation and illegal logging. Edward is also a Director of the UK Business and Biodiversity Forum CIC, and on the board of Business for Biodiversity Ireland.

    Edward’s passion is built from a lifelong fervour for the natural world. His experience has covered volunteer management at nature reserves around the UK, 15 years of tropical forest conservation in Southeast Asia, and the past 14 years in consultancy. In his free time Edward volunteers with conservation initiatives around Cambridge.

  • Dr. Maria Uriarte, Professor of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology; Chair, Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology

    María Uriarte is Professor and Chair in the Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology at Columbia University. She also is a member of the Climate School at Columbia and serves as affiliate faculty in the Dept. of Statistics at Columbia and adjunct faculty in the Dept. of Ecology, University of São Paulo, Brazil. Uriarte studies the processes that drive forest change in tropical regions, with a focus on forest recovery and restoration after agriculture and extreme weather events (e.g., hurricanes, fire), and the consequences of these changes for biodiversity and ecosystem services. Her research is geographically centered in Latin America. Uriarte received her Ph.D. in Ecology from Cornell University and her MS from Yale University.

    Dr. Uriarte has published ~200 peer-reviewed publications, including papers in Nature, Science, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Ecology Letters, Ecological Monographs, Ecology, and many other top-ranked publications. She has advised and mentored over 100 students throughout her career. Her work has been recognized with a Leopold Leadership Fellowship from the Woods Institute for the Environment, Stanford University and a Science without Borders Fellowship from the Brazilian government. Her research has been featured in multiple media outlets including the New York Times, CNN, PBS and others.

    Uriarte has served on the advisory boards of multiple governmental and non-profit institutions, including Biological Sciences of the US National Science Foundation and the US Dept. of Energy, Next Generation Ecosystem Experiment.

For more information, please contact the Biodiversity Data Analytics team, biodiversityanalytics [[at]] sps [[dot]] columbia [[dot]] edu.

In spring 2026, Frame Your Future, a public series from Columbia University’s School of Professional Studies, spotlights the forces redefining organizations and leadership. Featuring practitioner faculty and alumni across sectors, from sustainability to technology, the conversations examine how shifting demands, markets, and new tools are reshaping professional advantage. The message is clear: In a volatile economy, lifelong learning is a strategic investment. Join us to stay sharp and stay ahead.

To obtain additional information about program offerings at Columbia University’s School of Professional Studies, please contact an Admissions Counselor at inquire [[at]] sps [[dot]] columbia [[dot]] edu.

If you require closed captioning, sign-language interpretation, or any other disability accommodations, please contact Disability Services, disability [[at]] columbia [[dot]] edu, at least 10 days in advance.

Please visit Columbia University’s Hub for Emergency Preparedness (https://preparedness.columbia.edu/) to stay up to date on the latest campus health and safety policies.


This event is open to individuals irrespective of identity and sex.