Common standards for assessing nature could help businesses evaluate risks and

Using common, science-based standards to assess the state of nature could help companies identify their impacts on nature, assess their dependence on natural systems and understand the associated financial risks and business opportunities. These issues were discussed at a press conference held during COP17.

Participants included Marco Lambertini, Convenor of the Nature Positive Initiative; Tony Goldner, Executive Director of the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD); Gemma Parkes, Head of Communications at the Nature Positive Initiative; and Ross Barton, Senior Manager in EY’s Climate Change and Sustainability Services.

The speakers said demand for clear, comparable data on the state of nature was growing amid biodiversity loss, deforestation, pollution and pressure on water resources. Such data are important both for environmental accountability and for companies’ strategic decisions, risk management and long-term sustainability.

Marco Lambertini presented the Nature Positive Initiative’s work to develop common, scientifically grounded metrics for assessing the state of nature.

He said businesses and financial institutions increasingly need to understand both the scale of nature loss and its effects on the economy, society and human well-being. This requires a common measurement methodology that enables changes to be assessed, results compared and responsibility taken for improving the state of nature.

The initiative’s proposed system includes four core metrics: ecosystem extent, ecosystem condition, species extinction risk and species population status.

These metrics make it possible to assess whether ecosystems are being conserved and expanded or are deteriorating. They also help determine the importance of particular areas for preventing species extinction and maintaining essential functions of natural systems.

Lambertini said one objective of developing common standards was to align approaches used across different frameworks, enabling companies to use shared metrics for various assessment and reporting purposes.

He said the standards had already been adopted within TNFD and the Science Based Targets Network (SBTN), while other organisations were also considering alignment.

TNFD Executive Director Tony Goldner said the new state-of-nature metrics complement the organisation’s assessment approach, allowing companies to understand more clearly how their activities relate to nature.

He stressed that companies should first identify where their operations and supply chains interact with nature, then assess the environmental condition of those areas. These data can help put companies’ impacts and dependencies on natural systems into context and clarify the resulting risks and opportunities.

Goldner said impacts on nature and dependencies on natural systems can be measured in physical units, such as area or water volume, whereas business risks and opportunities are often expressed in monetary terms. Identifying the connection between environmental data and financial consequences is therefore an important step in assessing companies’ activities.

“TNFD’s LEAP approach helps organisations systematically assess their relationship with nature. It involves locating their interfaces with nature, evaluating impacts and dependencies, analysing risks and opportunities, and preparing to respond,” Goldner stressed.

He said more than 1,100 organisations were already voluntarily disclosing nature-related information. He suggested that investor expectations could increase, particularly in sectors where deforestation, pollution and water use are significant concerns.

Ross Barton, Senior Manager in EY’s Climate Change and Sustainability Services, presented the firm’s involvement in developing and testing the new standards.

He said EY had supported the Nature Positive Initiative for two years, from defining initial threshold metrics through to an international pilot study involving 29 companies. An important part of the work involved translating scientific and technical approaches into practical guidance so businesses could apply the standards.

Barton said these tools should be seen as more than a means of reporting. They can help companies understand whether the natural systems on which their activities depend are at risk of deterioration and use that information in strategic decision-making.

He said assessing the state of nature could support risk management, strengthen business resilience and preserve long-term value. Companies could make better-informed decisions about where to locate their operations and how to conserve and restore natural systems.

Barton also highlighted the role of professional services organisations. They can provide advice to help companies translate scientific standards into practical decisions and offer independent assurance on the reliability of disclosed information.

He said investors and financial institutions need confidence that companies’ data are credible and reflect genuine conservation and restoration outcomes.

During the discussion, the speakers stressed that comparable data on the state of nature could improve the quality of decisions made by companies, investors and financial institutions.

Common standards make it possible to connect environmental changes with economic consequences, identify dependencies and risks, and assess opportunities created through the conservation and restoration of natural systems.

This approach treats the assessment of nature’s condition as both an accountability requirement and a tool for aligning long-term business sustainability with nature conservation goals.