Business readiness to step up action on 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”.  Real examples also serve to guide other businesses as they identify and take the next steps on their nature-positive journey.

The objectives of the white paper are to:

• Assess the performance of business disclosures on nature.
• Set a baseline of members readiness level for nature action.
• Provide insights to members with a gap analysis and inform next topics of focus.
• Identify key trends & insights in reporting.

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.