Case study Astorg
SE Advisory Services supported Astorg in defining and implementing a biodiversity strategy across its entire portfolio. The approach combined team training, an assessment of impacts, risks, and opportunities (DROs), an in-depth analysis of a portfolio company, and a benchmark of industry best practices. This work resulted in a structured roadmap covering the financial ecosystem, investment strategy, portfolio management, and operational action plans. Astorg now has a clear and actionable framework for integrating biodiversity considerations into its investment decision-making and the management of its portfolio companies.
Biodiversity is declining at an unprecedented rate, threatening the balance of ecosystems and the stability of our societies. Although it receives less attention than climate change, biodiversity underpins a significant share of the global economy. Its degradation directly increases economic and financial risks, making it essential to realign business models with the limits of nature.
Private equity investors have a critical role to play in halting biodiversity loss. As long-term, engaged shareholders, they can help steer companies toward more nature-positive business models by integrating nature-related considerations into corporate strategy, transforming supply chains, implementing action plans, and fostering business model innovation. They can also strengthen environmental requirements throughout the investment process, establish robust governance frameworks, and collaborate with peers to drive change across the industry.
For Astorg, the primary challenge was to demonstrate the materiality of biodiversity issues for portfolio companies that were still relatively unfamiliar with the topic. The complexity of existing tools, the lack of standardized methodologies, and the difficulty of conducting analyses across different scales (company, portfolio, and ecosystem levels) highlighted the need for a pragmatic, holistic, and operational approach.
Following an initial assessment of biodiversity impacts, dependencies, and risks across its portfolio, Astorg wished to further strengthen the capabilities of both its investment teams and portfolio companies. The firm also aimed to bridge the gap between Nature and climate-related topics to facilitate understanding and engagement, while leveraging a pilot company to translate the approach into practical action. The objective was clear: reduce complexity, focus on meaningful actions, and gain a clear view of the impacts, risks, and opportunities associated with Nature.
Astorg is a leading pan-European private equity firm with more than 24 billion euros in assets under management. Astorg works alongside entrepreneurs and management teams to acquire global market-leading companies headquartered in Europe or the United States, providing them with the strategic guidance, governance, and capital necessary to achieve their growth objectives. With a strong entrepreneurial culture, a long-term shareholder perspective, and an agile decision-making structure, Astorg has recognized sector expertise in healthcare, software, technology, business services, and technology-intensive industrial companies.
Biodiversity is a complex issue for us as investors; the challenge is to take action. With SE Advisory Services, we’ve reached a key milestone: turning analysis into concrete decisions. We will now accelerate our efforts by expanding the number of practical case studies and integrating supply chains—where the greatest impacts occur.
A holistic approach to making biodiversity a strategic lever at every level.
To support Astorg in structuring and deploying its biodiversity strategy across the company, its portfolio, and the broader investment industry , SE Advisory Services implemented an approach built around five complementary workstreams.
SE Advisory Services delivered an interactive webinar for Astorg’s investment teams and portfolio companies to establish a common understanding of key biodiversity concepts. The session helped clarify the business implications of biodiversity-related issues, demonstrate how biodiversity strategy can be integrated with broader ESG objectives, and share practical experience and real-world examples to support the transition from awareness to action.
A thorough review of Astorg’s existing assessments of biodiversity-related impacts, dependencies, risks, and opportunities (IROs) enabled SE Advisory Services to build on prior work while identifying opportunities for improvement. The review led to a set of actionable recommendations designed to strengthen the robustness of the analysis, improve the consistency and management of IROs across the portfolio, and enhance the interpretation of results to better support investment decision-making.
An in-depth assessment was carried out with Solina to establish the foundations of its biodiversity strategy. The work included mapping the company’s value chain, identifying geographic biodiversity hotspots, and prioritizing Nature-related risks and opportunities through a dedicated workshop bringing together Sustainability, Risk, Finance, and Operations teams. This collaborative process helped foster a shared understanding of biodiversity challenges and opportunities across the organization.
To assess Astorg’s level of maturity on biodiversity-related topics, a benchmark of private equity peers was conducted, covering key areas such as governance, awareness-raising, tools and methodologies, portfolio company engagement, and strategic commitments. A complementary review of industry initiatives and international working groups helped identify the most relevant networks and collaborative platforms through which Astorg could deepen its influence and peer engagement across the private equity landscape. .
Upon completion of the project, a biodiversity roadmap structured across four levels, company, portfolio, strategy, and ecosystem, was developed. It consolidated the key insights generated throughout the project and defined the next steps for Astorg’s biodiversity strategy across different investment phases and time horizons. It provides a clear framework for prioritizing actions, tracking progress, and guiding the organization’s transformation journey on biodiversity-related issues.
Recommendations to Strengthen Biodiversity-Related IRO Assessments
Astorg’s roadmap
A structured roadmap defining priority actions across the full investment cycle — from acquisition through to exit.:
Solina’s Biodiversity Strategy
Figures: Excerpt from Rapport 2025 Sustainability de Astorg (p.22)
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Biodiversity Footprinting and Accounting 
Climate Risk Assessment