Strategic Planning

ICONS employs a participatory, stakeholder driven process to build resilient strategies that allow organizations to achieve and sustain their full potential. Our work has produced strategic plans to create enduring learning organizations for a wide range of clients, including private land conservation associations, conservation NGOs, science based research institutions, international donors, private foundations, local and international banks, and corporations.

Sustainable Banking Practices and ESG Standards

We advise Equator Banks on implementing the Equator Principles and on broader initiatives around sustainable banking. ICONS works with local banks to design and implement ESG standards that capture the key elements of the EPs and IFC Performance Standards. ICONS helps banking clients conduct environmental and social scoping and due diligence for loan applications or set up a function so you can do it internally. We also offer monitoring and impact assessment to help lenders better understand and improve the effectiveness of sustainability standards and certification.

Conservation Trust Fund Design, Implementation, and Operations

Trust funds feature prominently among the tools for providing financial resources for managing protected areas and other critical natural areas. ICONS assists governments, NGOs, banks, donors, and financial institutions to design and implement CTFs, and then manage them for optimal performance. We also provide training to CTF staff and board members to ensure optimal trust fund operations and investment management.

Leadership Training and Coaching

ICONS brings decades of experience in training and coaching for businesses, financial institutions, governments, civil society, and members of the donor community. We design individualized training events and programs for personnel at all institutional levels, from new employees to senior leaders. We integrate topics that range from leadership skills to strategic and financial planning to biodiversity scoping and standards. For a more specialized experience, we offer coaching to your management teams in one-to-several and one-to-one formats. We offer training in English and Spanish, among other languages.

public and private blended finance strategies and alliances

National governments, Native and Indigenous agencies, and other entities responsible for conserving protected and critically important natural areas often face funding gaps for their management operations. ICONS identifies ways to fill financial these gaps. ICONS works with international funders, banks and financial institutions, corporations, NGOs, and government agencies worldwide to identify opportunities to bring private finance and innovative approaches to public funds together to find enduring solutions.