E109 Bevis Watts: Banking on Nature

What happens when a banker goes in search of beavers—and ends up helping reshape the future of finance?Bevis Watts returns to the Shoot Room for a conversation that spans wild rivers and radical investments. A conservationist in a corporate suit, a scuba diver with a PhD in Management Science, and a CEO unafraid to challenge the foundations of traditional banking—Bevis brings clarity, urgency, and soul to a sector often defined by jargon and inertia. As he prepares to step down as CEO of Triodos Bank UK, he reflects on a legacy that includes pioneering a £20 million loan for rewilding, spearheading a commitment of £500 million into nature based investment, and writing a book that uncovered Britain’s secret beaver population.Can banks lead the charge against biodiversity loss? What happens when carbon credits, conservation, and capital markets collide? And why does nature need its own financial language—and perhaps its own financial system?In a bold alignment of values and action, Bevis Watts and Triodos Bank are supporting the launch of Oxygen Conservation's debut book on Scaling Conservation. Not just a gesture of support, but a strategic signal: storytelling is part of the infrastructure we need to shift systems. If policy is slow and markets are hesitant to act, then maybe it’s stories—messy, honest, field-tested stories that can accelerate change. Will this book spark the next wave of innovation we so desperately need in the nature-based economy?Bevis makes the case for nature as a stakeholder—and dares the rest of the finance world to keep up.