Companies' net zero targets surged more than 40% between 2022 and 2023, which means that, based on Net Zero Tracker's latest analysis, 66% of the annual revenue of the world’s largest 2000 companies are now committed to net zero goals.
Since it has become inevitable for businesses to set climate agendas, most sustainability strategies and finance are driven by a climate-first approach, sidelining other important areas, such as biodiversity.
“There is a need to emphasise that climate change and loss of nature are inextricably linked since both drive each other, and neither can be solved in isolation,” says Thomas Ball, Director of Nature and Land Use at KPMG’s Sustainable Futures.
The concept of creating a nature positive economy is gaining momentum in the business, policy, and finance sectors and becoming more recognised as a way to address global ecological and societal challenges.
Based on the definition promoted by the global Nature Positive Initiative, it practically means that we ‘halt and reverse nature loss by 2030 on a 2020 baseline and achieve full recovery by 2050’, also known as the Global Goal for Nature.
Image resource: Nature Positive Initiative
As Thomas explains, nature positive is "a world where nature - species and ecosystems - is being restored and is regenerating rather than declining.”
Although it is tempting to say that my business is unrelated to nature, very few companies can function in complete isolation from ecosystems, and it is becoming more expensive to keep problems away and pay off rather than address root issues.
The continued loss of biodiversity and degradation of nature are looming threats to businesses and communities alike, and in 2020, the World Economic Forum warned that, based on the New Nature Economy Report, approximately $44 trillion of economic value is at moderate or severe risk due to nature loss.
“Businesses have a critical role in nature stewardship, but it is challenging to bring their attention to biodiversity and make the link between their operations and impacts visible,” says Lucy Gaffney, Platform Manager at Business for Biodiversity Ireland.
To support that process, Business for Biodiversity Ireland created a library of resources available for businesses that would help them better understand how to contribute to a nature positive economy and what the benefits are.
Lucy points out that learning always includes making mistakes, and they try to encourage open and honest discussions that could lead to better solutions.
“When you are experimenting with new ideas, there is a fine line between being courageous and being accused of greenwashing. This can lead to greenhushing, a term for consciously concealing sustainability efforts.”
Thomas adds that forward-thinking businesses are already integrating nature and climate strategies and that ready-to-use resources are available to help companies design meaningful plans and outline required steps. A practical tool he recommends is the LEAP framework, a four-step practical process set out by the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures, which stands for Locate, Evaluate, Assess and Prepare.
He highlights that “if you don`t consider nature in your decarbonisation process and take the services it provides for granted, you are missing something vital.”
It is also a question of positioning nature-related investments and business strategies to identify new potential growth areas. Changing the optics on how acceptable it is to exploit or sideline nature could also spark change.
Thomas explains: “You would not hear a company disclosing that modern slavery is just an inevitable consequence of running their business - they would know this is unacceptable and needed to be tackled immediately. We need the same to happen for nature so a company knows that it is unacceptable for their business to be associated with deforestation in the Amazon or in biodiversity rich regions such as Borneo."
However, he notes, "The list of requirements and challenges for businesses is immense, and so many don’t have the capacity or personnel to take on what is regarded as a separate or less important issue.”
Despite the challenges, some encouraging progress has been made in Ireland, such as the recent Citizen’s Assembly on Biodiversity Loss or the publication of the 4th National Biodiversity Action Plan.
“The tone and scope of the conversation have changed, and there is more openness and willingness to learn and consider the importance of the topic. This has yet to translate into any radical shifts in how we do business in Ireland or globally, but we are starting to see some positive signs,” Thomas adds.
There is a need to build up the skillset that allows people in various roles to understand business and nature alike so they can connect the dots and drive projects that integrate both.
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Written by Szilvia Szabo
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