In a recent closed-door workshop, hosted at the Sustainable Apparel and Textiles conference in NYC by Innovation Forum in partnership with Pure Strategies, sustainability professionals and corporate leaders explored how to effectively integrate climate and nature strategies.
Nature and climate strategies are too often separated, which leads to untapped opportunities for more efficient, resilient, and impactful supply chain improvements. When tackled together, companies can form synergies that drive better outcomes for business and the planet.
In the session facilitated by Tim Greiner and Cheryl Baldwin of Pure Strategies, participant reflected on where their organisations currently stand and how to advance efforts to address both climate and nature simultaneously.
The session was built around Pure Strategies’ Planet Forward Playbook, which offers a structured approach for companies to assess their impacts, align internally, and drive strategic action across climate and biodiversity.
The state of play
The workshop began by acknowledging the severity of the global nature crisis, referencing the WWF Living Planet Report 2022, which highlights ongoing biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation.
Where we invest in protecting and restoring nature matters, as some areas have more “weight” in terms of potential impact. Strategic investment in protecting and restoring nature, particularly in areas with high biodiversity or ecological leverage, can lead to outsized positive impacts.
The five threats to biodiversity include: land and sea use change, climate change, pollution (land, air water), species overexploitation, and invasive species and diseases. The workshop explored how these systems are interconnected. These forces are deeply interlinked, with nature degradation accelerating climate change and vice versa.
The connection between nature and climate
Nature and climate are not separate silos; they are interconnected systems. For example:
Nature stores and sequesters carbon on land and in marine environments, helping mitigate climate change.
Nature also helps buffers climate change, from reducing urban heat to managing flood risks.
Nature loss leads to greater greenhouse gas emissions, and vice versa.
The four realms of nature are water, marine, land and air. The three kinds of biodiversity are ecosystem diversity, species diversity, and genetic diversity. Planet-forward strategies bring these realms together.
Key global frameworks shaping business action and bringing together these realms:
The Paris Agreement, aimed at limiting global warming to 1.5°C.
The UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15), which targets the protection of 30% of nature and the restoration of another 30% by 2030, along with other targets.
Why businesses need to act
S&P Global reports that 85% of the largest companies have direct operations that are significantly dependent on nature. Despite this, only a small fraction has robust biodiversity or deforestation commitments. 13% of companies have deforestation commitments and even less have biodiversity commitments. In contrast, over 80% of those companies have a commitment to climate.
According to the workshop participants, key drivers for why companies should care about nature recovery include examples such as:
Value chain dependencies, as businesses rely on natural resources such as forests, water, and agriculture.
Regulatory pressure, including upcoming policies like the EU Deforestation Regulation.
Investor scrutiny, as reflected in frameworks like the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD).
Reputational considerations and the growing expectation that companies act responsibly.
Case studies reinforced the value of nature-based strategies. For example, protecting forests in Asia has been shown to reduce water treatment costs, and supporting diverse pollinating habitats increases cotton yields.
In addition to business opportunities, companies also face risks from inaction, such as supply chain disruptions, consumers asking for businesses to do more, higher costs, and stakeholder disengagement.
Benefits for companies include cost savings, risk management, growth opportunities, and innovation. Pure Strategies reinforce that we can’t solve climate without solving nature at the same time.
Reflections from group discussion: how are you integrating nature into the climate work you are doing now?
Participants discussed practical challenges in integrating nature into business strategies:
Companies often invest in projects but struggle to gain recognition or “credit” for them within existing climate-focused standards such as the SBTi.
Private companies tend to have more flexibility than publicly traded firms, as they are not constrained by shareholder demands.
There is a dominant focus on carbon reduction, highlighting the need to broaden the conversation to include adaptation and nature recovery.
Nature-based strategies can feel more emotionally compelling than abstract climate metrics, especially when linked to specific geographies and supply chain tiers.
What is a nature footprint?
A nature footprint is a high-level metric that quantifies a company’s impact on nature. It includes elements such as:
Land use (primary focus)
Water use
Marine ecosystem impacts
Biodiversity pressures
In many sectors, particularly agriculture, apparel, and food, the land footprint is a practical starting point.
While biodiversity metrics can quickly become complex (tracking specific species or ecosystem changes), the land footprint offers a simplified, high-level view of a company's impact on nature. It refers to the total amount of land used directly or indirectly through a company’s operations and supply chain. This approach helps organisations identify and prioritise high-impact areas, set measurable goals, and align with global biodiversity targets, all while integrating with existing climate and water strategies.
Using a land footprint lens helps companies not only manage nature-related risks but also unlock cross-cutting benefits in climate, water, and biodiversity.
How to get started: simplifying nature strategy
Drawing on the Global Biodiversity Framework, the session outlined three types of action companies can take:
1.Protect: Protecting areas that equate to 30% of the company’s nature footprint, with a focus on priority locations. For example, Walmart has a program to conserve one acre for every acre developed.
2. Restore: Restoring areas that equate to 30% of the company’s nature footprint. Reverse ecosystem degradation through activities like agroforestry or regenerative agriculture. For example, VF Corporation’s partnership with Terra Genesis to produce regenerative rubber in Thailand. However, regenerative agriculture alone is not always sufficient; more diverse and complex systems are often required.
3. Sustainably manage: Using natural resources responsibly, avoiding harmful practices such as deforestation and species overexploitation. This is where much of corporate activity currently falls, including sustainable sourcing and water conservation. Companies including EILEEN FISHER are advancing efforts in areas such as regenerative wool and responsible water use.
KERING’s approach: a case study
Kering, the global luxury group behind brands including Gucci and Saint Laurent, offers a leading example of how companies can integrate biodiversity into their sustainability strategy using a structured and measurable framework. Their approach aligns closely with the Global Biodiversity Framework, which includes action across the three pillars mentioned.
Kering has embedded these pillars into its nature strategy as follows:
1. Protect: Kering invests in conservation projects that safeguard ecosystems outside of its direct supply chain. The company has committed to protecting one million hectares of critical habitat by 2025 through partnerships and conservation finance mechanisms.
2. Restore: Within its value chain, Kering aims to restore one million hectares of degraded land. This includes supporting regenerative agriculture and landscape restoration initiatives in regions where its raw materials, such as leather and cotton, are sourced.
3. Sustainably manage: Kering has implemented robust sustainable sourcing standards to reduce its environmental footprint. In 2023, it announced a goal aligned with SBTi to reduce its land footprint by 3% by 2030, a target that reflects efforts to increase efficiency, adopt circular practices, and scale regenerative sourcing.
Kering’s use of the land footprint as a guiding metric helps connect its nature goals with broader climate and sustainability efforts.
Moving forward
Climate and nature strategies must be integrated, not only to meet environmental goals, but to future-proof business operations. Participants were encouraged to look beyond siloed approaches and embrace strategies that recognise the interconnectedness of people, climate, and ecosystems. From understanding the value of the nature footprint to exploring the Global Biodiversity Framework’s pillars of protect, restore, and sustainably manage, participants left with practical tools and insights to take action.
The Planet Forward Playbook and report from Pure Strategies offer a roadmap for progressing from early-stage awareness to impactful integration of climate and nature.
Here are some useful resources from Pure Strategies:
Planet Forward Playbook - provides a straightforward starting point to help companies identify the next steps for integrated climate and nature strategies
To reach out to the Pure Strategies team, contact Cheryl (CBaldwin@purestrategies.com)
Interested in hosting a workshop with Innovation Forum?
Amsterdam
21st - 22nd October 2025