12 July – Edmund Dickens, Business and Nature Project Manager, discusses why nature is everyone’s business and how businesses tackling climate change can use their experiences as a springboard for action on nature.

Can you describe a supply chain that cannot be traced back to some level of dependence on nature? Of course, some of the products and services provided by modern economies are directly derived from natural systems, such as the food we eat and the water we drink. But what if I’m an automotive company? How about an insurance provider? Why should these organisations worry about how a decline of 69% in wildlife populations over the last 50 years[i] will affect their business?

Increasingly, many corporate actors have been asking themselves these questions and coming to the same conclusion. Nature is the fundamental source of value from which virtually all economic activity is derived: nature is everyone’s business. But nature is also in a perilous state of decline which, if left unchecked, will continue to erode the foundations on which our global economy rests. Just one example is the $423 billion/year global economic cost of invasive alien species (an amount which has quadrupled every decade since 1970)[ii].

Solving this crisis requires ambition, agility and, above all, fast and decisive action. CISL, in collaboration with a wider network of business groups and NGOs such as Business for Nature, the World Economic Forum and WBCSD, is leading the way to help businesses on their journey to nature positive.

A global challenge

The scale of the challenge should not be underestimated; with rates of species loss up to 1000 times higher than would normally be expected, many scientists believe the world is currently going through its sixth mass extinction event[iii]. The World Economic Forum (WEF) lists biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse as the third-highest risk facing humanity over the next 10 years[iv] (after only extreme weather events and critical Earth system changes – both linked and escalating environmental challenges).

Recognising the scale of the issue, governments came together in 2022 to agree the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) at a meeting of the parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). Of the targets laid out, one in particular – target 15 – is significant for compelling governments to require large companies to assess and disclose their impacts on nature[v]. Over 400 business and financial institutions from 52 countries and with combined revenues of over $2 trillion backed a call for this target, recognising the critical role natural systems play in the continued prosperity of their organisations[vi].

Continuing the positive momentum around the GBF, CBD COP16—the ‘biodiversity COP’—will take place in Colombia in October 2024. Businesses are encouraged to use the milestone to share their nature strategies as the promise of regulation on corporate nature disclosures grows[vii].  

But what about climate?

One of the key items likely to be discussed at COP16 is the links between countries’ plans to protect and restore nature under the GBF and reduce carbon emissions under the Paris Agreement on climate. Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) is far from alone in recognising the critical interdependencies between action on nature loss and climate change[viii]. Biodiversity loss reduces ecosystem functioning, which in turn affects the land and ocean’s ability to store carbon. Degraded ecosystems increasing the likelihood of wildfires is just one of the numerous, tangible interlinkages between these two global challenges[ix].

The good news for businesses is that existing company efforts to tackle climate change can act as a springboard for action on nature, and in the case of nature-based solutions for example, both issues can be tackled at once. This recognition extends to several of the leading nature assessment and disclosure frameworks such as the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD – of which CISL is an inaugural knowledge partner) and Science-based Targets for Nature (SBTN), which grew out of existing models for addressing climate change. These frameworks help businesses integrate nature into decision-making by providing an understanding of risks and dependencies against which targets for improvement can be set.

How much of an impact can business really have?

The business case for action is clear, whether motivated by risk (such as the $577 billion in annual global crop production at risk from pollinator loss) or opportunity (shifting to nature positive business models could create annual business opportunities worth $10 trillion by 2030)[x]. Businesses, together with financial institutions as enablers, are the only organisations capable of moving at the scale and ambition required to address the nature crisis, and there are many routes to impact at their disposal.

I want to help – what can I do?

• Make use of the ever-growing bank of resources for companies at all stages of their nature journey, from organisations such as Business for Nature, the World Economic Forum and WBCSD, as well as CISL
• Take the first step by looking at the priority actions that should be taken by your sector
• Begin assessing your nature-related impacts and dependencies. The World Benchmarking Alliance may have already ranked you against your peers!
• Engage in advocacy with policymakers in both your regional areas of focus and at the international level. CISL’s Corporate Leaders Groups (in the UK and EU), groups for financial institutions, and global members of the Corporate Leaders Network are a good place to start
• Deepen your understanding of the financial materiality of nature loss and how to integrate this into broader sustainability conversations with colleagues
• Become a changemaker in your organisation by taking an online course, such as Business Sustainability Management

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