Geneva, 10 March 2022 – The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) released a new whitepaper on Business readiness to step up action on nature – trends & insights on corporate reporting analyzing business readiness to contribute to the Global Goal for Nature.
WBCSD undertook a baseline analysis with the aim of providing insights into how a subset of 55 members who are already active with respect to nature are currently performing related to the nature-positive “building blocks”.
The objective of this whitepaper is to assess perceived performance of business based on their public disclosures on nature, as well as setting a baseline of members readiness level for nature action. It provides insights to members with a gap analysis to inform next topics of focus and identifies key trends & insights on corporate reporting on nature. Real examples also serve to guide other businesses as they identify and take the next steps on their nature-positive journey.
Our key findings validate that nature is indeed emerging as a key priority for business. Nevertheless, we found an evident lack of standardization in assessing nature-related topics as material. There is also growing momentum related to target-setting and commitments, yet business need to further develop its ambitions to introduce more measurable, timebound targets. Businesses are acting to both halt and reverse nature loss, however there is still a focus on actions to reduce, and fewer business are first considering how to avoid. Finally, while half of businesses assessed have strategies in place for nature and biodiversity, reporting on nature is in general overly focused on stand-alone projects or actions.
These trends & insights help business and stakeholders working with business to better understand and identify shared challenges, as well as potential areas for future collaboration to accelerate the transition to nature-positive value chains as part of a net-zero emissions, nature-positive and equitable world.
As we approach the adoption of the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, this information is critical to inform discussions on the role of business contributions to the GBF targets, and to further enlighten the development and engagement of business in upcoming frameworks and methodologies that will help business halt and reverse nature loss, such as the Science Based Targets for Nature SBTN and the Taskforce for Nature-related Financial Disclosures TNFD.
With sustainability at the heart of everything we do, we are taking significant steps to improve our biodiversity and water stewardship in a measurable and science-driven way. As a member of TNFD we fully support business transparency around nature-related financial risks and opportunities.
Magali Anderson, Chief Sustainability and Innovation Officer at Holcim