What does it take to make nature finance cool? That’s the question at the heart of a new advocacy organisation called The Nat, whose founder Gail Gallie is hoping to kick things off with a bang.
On Sunday, 300 cultural icons, activists, financiers and global decision-makers descended on the Classic Car Club in New York for the inaugural Nat Gala, a fundraising event of epic proportions, whose founders aim to close the approximately $700 billion nature finance gap and galvanise support for one of the most pressing issues of our time. Nature and biodiversity have historically been overlooked, as industries grapple with carbon tunnel vision, says Gallie, but it’s time for that to change. If organisations like The Nat can’t raise the right level of investment to promote nature-based solutions, we will continue to accelerate past climate tipping points at an unprecedented rate. But closing the nature finance gap means convincing investors that nature can be a viable investment, and finding innovative ways to put nature on the balance sheet.
A former ad exec, who has been working with the United Nations (UN) for over a decade, Gallie leveraged her extensive network to curate a starry line-up for the gala. Fashion designer Stella McCartney was honoured by actress Jane Fonda. Marine biologist and oceanographer Sylvia Earle was honoured by ‘Ocean Eyes’ singer Billie Eilish. And Indigenous leader Nemonte Nenquimo was honoured by theatre director and playwright Sophie Hunter. Among the celebrities that walked the “natural carpet” were television presenters Gayle King and Van Jones, and former US Vice President Al Gore. Harrison Ford gave a rallying speech about the need to reconnect with nature, while Doechii’s emcee Miss Milan rounded out the evening with a special performance.
But it wasn t just the heavy-hitters of Hollywood that made an appearance. Gallie has also invited a slew of financiers and investors, hoping to bridge the gap between raising awareness and mobilising funds. When the fundraising portion of the evening kicked off in earnest, Apple’s Lisa Jackson (VP of environment, policy and social initiatives) and Conservation International co-founder Peter Seligmann were there to drum up donations. (Conservation International was the main beneficiary of the evening, alongside Unicef and Open Planet.)
“If that doesn’t get the FOMO [fear of missing out] going, I don’t know what will,” says Gallie.
Curating an event — and guestlist — that appeals to such a diverse array of guests is more of an art than a science, she adds. “We tried to put something in there for everyone, so it’s a smorgasbord of talent. There are legacy figures that signal an old-school commitment and might appeal to family offices and investors. Then, there are younger stars, who are also credible and committed to this work. It can’t look like an investment conference, but it can’t look like a Democratic convention either,” Gallie says.
That last part is crucial, says Gallie. Across the US, political divides are deepening, and the anti-ESG backlash whipped up by President Trump threatens to undermine movements like The Nat before they have really even begun. “We are trying to depoliticise nature and make this a non-partisan issue,” she explains. “We have consciously reached out to family offices and investors who have never been to a climate event or thought about supporting nature finance before, but they really do care about their acres of ranch land, or their forests or wetlands, or the coasts where their houses are. We have been very intentional about our language and careful not to assign blame. We are just talking about the natural world — what it is and how to help it.”
How to build a movement
Gallie’s roots are firmly planted in the advertising world, where she was previously CEO of award-winning agency Fallon, before stints at the BBC and Comic Relief. She later led the UN Global Goals campaign, using her skills to accelerate progress towards Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which was also the mission behind Project Everyone, the non-profit Gallie co-founded with filmmaker Richard Curtis. But progress towards the SDGs has been slow, partly due to how amorphous and overwhelming the goals are. Nature, however, is a finer point.
“We’re bringing out the big guns from the beginning, using all the tricks we learnt working on the SDGs, but hopefully moving much faster because it’s easier to mobilise support when your cause is more focused,” she explains.
Her ultimate goal is very specific: divert 2 per cent of privately held capital towards nature-positive solutions. It’s a figure she worked out two years ago, at the COP28 climate summit in Dubai, with her now-co-founder, financier Jay Lipman. “We worked out that just 2 per cent would close the nature finance gap. Nature can be so overwhelming, but that was a lightbulb moment. It felt so tangible and achievable,” Gallie says.
For investors, the call to action is clear: “Whatever your portfolio looks like, there’s a good chance it could be better for nature and biodiversity,” says Gallie. “It may require a transition plan or a slightly different calibration of timing and returns, but there is money to be made in nature and nature needs money.” One of The Nat’s straplines is “nature returns”, a double entendre of the organisation’s method and its goal. “You can get returns from nature and you can help nature return if you do it in the right way.”
The Nat Gala was designed as an initial “moment in time” for people to rally behind, but the long-term vision is to build a network that connects decision-makers and capital-holders with solutions. The gala took place on the eve of New York Climate Week, during which The Nat will host a series of industry-specific closed-door roundtables. The fashion convening will take place on Tuesday, with input from climate journalist and The Nat adviser Sophia Li, Textile Exchange CEO Claire Bergkamp, The Circularity Project founder Indré Rockefeller, Dirt founder and model Arizona Muse and The RealReal chief sustainability officer Bert Barnes.
How can fashion get involved?
The first fashion-related call to action was the dress code. “Fashion has always told powerful stories. At the Nat Gala, it told one about nature as the ultimate source of inspiration, and culture as the spark,” says The Nat advisor Samata Pattinson, whose company Black Pearl served as cultural responsibility partner for the gala. Prior to the event, Pattinson circulated a sustainable style guide, encouraging guests to consider sourcing their looks from rental or resale platforms, supporting Black and Indigenous-owned brands, or prioritising designers that use plant-based fabrics and pay fair wages. Among Pattinson’s favourite looks of the night were Never Have I Ever actress Maitreyi Ramakrishnan in Stella McCartney; You actress Tati Gabrielle in a thrifted Christian Lacroix look; and The Office actor Rainn Wilson in a blazer from Goodwill with the tag left on display.
When it comes to mobilising the fashion industry, that’s something honouree McCartney knows a thing or two about. Based on her experiences running a sustainability-centric luxury brand, the eponymous designer says she has built up a blueprint for change that other brands could follow. “The first thing is to stop relying on virgin, conventional and animal-based materials, and move towards next-gen, circular and lower impact alternatives,” McCartney tells Vogue Business over email. “Other brands aren’t doing this right now because changing supply chains and investing in innovation is expensive. Bio-based leather alternatives can cost 30 per cent to 100 per cent more than conventional leather. But without investment, these innovators can’t survive. I build those costs into my margins because it’s the right thing to do, but we need governments to step in and incentivise innovation so more brands can afford to follow in our footsteps.”
While The Nat itself is striving to make nature a non-partisan issue, McCartney is unequivocal in calling for tighter regulations and financial controls that incentivise positive change. “We need governments to incentivise the use of sustainable alternatives, to make them more accessible and scalable,” McCartney explains. “Right now, virgin and animal-based materials are still cheaper and easier to source, which is madness. We need penalties for over-using virgin and high-impact materials. Without that stick, most of the industry won’t move and we will all lose.”
In the meantime, fashion has a huge role to play in generating buzz and mass appeal, she continues. “Fashion touches everyone,” McCartney continues. “We all wear clothes, and fashion is deeply embedded in culture. It’s an incredible platform to call for change.”
But awareness alone isn’t enough, she adds, pointing to the SOS Fund the designer co-founded to funnel $200 million into the next generation of sustainable innovators. “This is what fashion can do. We can use our cultural capital to inspire, but also invest directly in solutions that will change the system.”
Correction: Sophia Li is an adviser to The Nat (19/09/2025).
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