Why nature belongs in every boardroom

More than half of the world’s GDP is directly dependent on healthy ecosystems according to the World Economic Forum. Yet while over 80% of companies have climate mitigation strategies, only 5% have goals addressing biodiversity loss. This disconnect poses an existential risk. 

Nature underpins the stability of the global economy but remains relatively invisible in commercial decision-making. The degradation of ecosystems threatens long-term resource availability, disrupts supply chains, and creates mounting regulatory and reputational risks.

 

Investing in nature-positive strategies presents tangible business benefits: reduced supply risk, enhanced resilience, improved brand value and access to emerging markets. 

Companies that make nature a part of their core strategy timely, will be better positioned to deal with a number of challenges: 

The European Commission’s recently announced Roadmap towards Nature Credits represents a critical shift from the somewhat carbon tunnel vision approach that has developed to creating scalable financial tools for implementing biodiversity and nature. 

Nature credits represent verified, science-based, and independently certified improvements in ecosystem health. If implemented effectively, they will channel private capital into nature restoration at scale. For businesses, this represents a strategic opportunity to turn nature-positive action into a financial asset and lead in the shaping of future biodiversity markets.

 

There are a number of options open for companies to start to embed a nature-focused approach. 

1. Mapping biodiversity dependencies and risks: Understanding how business operations depend on, and impact nature is fundamental to identifying risks and opportunities. Over 55% of global GDP is moderately or highly dependent on nature, yet most companies lack visibility into where and how these dependencies occur (see Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures). Mapping these dependencies or measuring nature footprint across land-use, water use, marine ecosystem impacts, and biodiversity pressures is the first step to approaching nature strategically and practically.

2. Implementing sustainable sourcing: Given that supply chains are responsible for up to 90% of a company’s environmental impact (according to the Carbon Disclosure Project) sustainable sourcing is a critical lever for reducing biodiversity loss and achieving corporate nature goals. This includes looking critically at land-use change, deforestation, water use and pollution. Major multinationals have already established sustainable sourcing goals. Nestlé, for example, has committed to sourcing 20% of key ingredients through regenerative agriculture by end of 2025.

3. Investing in nature-based solutions: Nature-based solutions are interventions that protect, sustainably manage or restore ecosystems while delivering measurable benefits for climate, biodiversity and human well-being. Supporting on-the-ground efforts such as regenerative agriculture, aquaculture for marine biodiversity or agroforestry, companies can reduce supply chain risk, enhance community resilience, and contribute meaningfully to both scope 3 emissions reductions and nature-positive outcomes.

4. Establishing accountability frameworks: Clear accountability is essential to ensure biodiversity commitments lead to real impact. Currently, fewer than 10% of companies have set measurable targets or disclose progress for biodiversity. Tools such as biodiversity risk filters, spatial monitoring platforms, and blockchain-enabled monitoring, reporting and verification systems can enable traceable, science-based reporting. Once implemented, the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) will further mandate biodiversity disclosures for 50,000+ companies, making accountability not just best practice, but a compliance issue.

Recently, Innovation Forum organised a closed-door workshop with Pure Strategies looking at how companies can effectively converge climate and nature strategies. There is more about what a structured approach for companies to assess their impacts, align internally and drive strategic action across climate and biodiversity can look like here. 

 

The path forward is clear: embedding nature-positive strategies into the core of business and investment models is clearly beneficial for long-term profitability, regulatory compliance and supply chain resilience. 

Nature is not just a moral imperative but a business one. By redefining nature as a strategic asset and making it a part of the core sustainability strategy, businesses and investors can play a decisive role in shaping a future where people, planet, and profit thrive together.