The Finance for biodiversity (FfB) Foundation is an independent non-profit organisation established in 2021 that unites approximately 220 global financial institutions representing over €27 trillion in assets. This guidance aims to help investors identify relevant companies and engage on the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the utilisation of Digital sequence information (DSI) on genetic resources, particularly in light of the newly established Cali Fund.

Overview

The report serves as a first step towards raising awareness of the macro-trends linked to the emergence of DSI, especially in the pharmaceuticals and biotechnology sectors. It provides financial institutions with knowledge and practical tools to start integrating benefit-sharing from the use of DSI into their engagement activities and broader biodiversity finance strategies. The guidance is developed in the context of the Cali Fund, the financial engine of the Multilateral mechanism (MLM) developed by the Convention on biological diversity (CBD).

Understanding DSI and its commercial relevance

DSI is the digital representation of information contained in genetic resources, allowing researchers to store, share, and analyse genetic material at scale. It acts as a major research enabler, accelerating innovation cycles and improving research productivity. The cost of genome sequencing has fallen dramatically; for example, the cost to sequence a human genome dropped from almost US$100 million in 2002 to approximately US$500 in 2026, representing an 181,000-fold decrease. This digitisation means researchers no longer require physical access to living organisms to study their genetic code.

Practical applications of DSI are already widespread. During the COVID-19 pandemic, publicly available genomic sequences allowed for the rapid development of vaccines. In the pharmaceutical sector, genomic studies of the Gila monster lizard informed the development of GLP-1 drugs, which are projected to reach US$111 billion in sales by 2033. Furthermore, the company Novonesis utilises a library of over 100,000 microbial strains and AI to develop “biosolutions” for industrial processes. Tools such as Google deepmind’s alphafold have predicted over 200 million protein structures, assisting research in malaria, crop resilience, and heart disease.

Anticipating the regulatory risks linked to DSI

Fair and equitable benefit-sharing is a core objective of the CBD. While the Nagoya protocol traditionally regulated physical genetic resources, the digitisation of this data created a perceived loophole. At COP16, the Cali Fund was established to ensure that users of DSI contribute to biodiversity conservation. The fund targets large entities that meet two of three criteria: total assets of at least US$20 million, annual revenue of at least US$50 million, or annual profit of at least US$5 million. Eligible companies have the flexibility to contribute either 1% of annual profit or 0.1% of annual revenue.

The report notes that as of 2026, only US$54 million has been collected across all Parties since 2014 under existing mechanisms, which is negligible compared to the Global biodiversity framework (GBF) target of mobilising US$200 billion per year for biodiversity by 2030. At least 50% of the Cali Fund’s resources are earmarked for the needs of Indigenous Peoples and local communities, including women and youth.

A snapshot of how to assess and engage with companies

Market maturity regarding DSI is currently low. The 2026 Nature action 100 benchmark revealed that only two out of 100 assessed companies had a commitment to equitable benefit-sharing. To bridge this gap, the report provides an “Engagement Starter Rationale” for investors, linking DSI to economic opportunities, dependencies on genetic diversity, and emerging legal risks. It suggests that investors identify companies through sectoral screening, focusing on information and AI, animal and plant breeding, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, laboratory equipment, nutraceuticals, and cosmetics.

Engagement should focus on asking companies how they monitor their use of genetic resources, how they are preparing for evolving international arrangements like the Cali Fund, and how they incorporate biodiversity expertise into strategic decisions. Approximately 22,000 eligible companies have been identified globally, with a median revenue of US$95 million, that could fall within the scope of the Cali Fund.

Recommendations and next steps

The FfB Foundation recommends that policymakers communicate clearly on the modalities of the Cali Fund to build trust and scale up private sector contributions. It calls for the inclusion of DSI use in disclosure frameworks like the TNFD and GRI. Furthermore, it suggests exploring a “tranche approach” to contribution rates to account for DSI intensity and providing legal certainty through the issuance of certificates to avoid the “stacking of obligations” across different jurisdictions.

Financial institutions are encouraged to build their understanding of DSI as a nature-related dependency and assess their portfolio exposure to DSI users. The foundation plans to launch a collaborative engagement initiative and explore dimensions of DSI as a biomonitoring tool for biodiversity impact assessment.