Nature Benchmark shows EU leading 750 companies

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The World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA) has released the results of their Nature Benchmark which tracks and measures how 750 of the world’s most influential companies are reducing their negative impacts on nature and contributing to the protection and restoration of ecosystems.

WBA is a partner in the EU-funded GoNaturePositive! project, co-ordinated from Trinity College Dublin,  which supported this independent and scientifically rigorous benchmarking process as part of joint efforts to build an evidence base for transformative change towards a nature-positive economy.

EU companies dominate top performers

The results of this Nature Benchmark show that EU-headquartered companies account for 11 of the top 20 best performing companies, rising to 18 out of 20 when companies from the UK, Switzerland and Norway are included. Arla Foods from Denmark is the only private company making it into the top 20, with publicly quoted companies making up the vast majority of top performers.

Graph with different colours for each region
WBA reports that across all 750 companies benchmarked, European companies are the global leaders on nature performance, followed by strong performances from South African, Thai, Australian, Japanese and Taiwanese companies. Companies in China, Vietnam and India lag behind, along with those in North and South America.

However, the results also show that the performance bar is low with an average score of 17/100 across all companies, with even the best performing companies scoring under 60/100. Particularly poor performance was noted against indicators which are considered important for transformation towards a nature-positive economy with only 2% of companies disclosing a nature transition plan aligned with the Global Biodiversity Framework or nature-positive principles. These early movers show that some large businesses are starting to embed the concept of nature-positive in their business plans and strategies.

Siobhan McQuaid, Coordinator of GoNaturePositive!, Trinity College Dublin, commented:

“In GoNaturePositive!, we are seeing that while business awareness of nature-related impacts and dependencies is generally low, the financial community and insurance sector are increasingly aware of these risks and are calling for urgent action. We are activating a whole-of-society approach to address these risks – working with businesses, investors, policy makers and communities to accelerate action towards a nature-positive economy.”

Read more on the Nature Benchmark at the World Benchmarking Alliance site.

Need guidance to lead the nature-positive transition in Ireland by developing a Nature Strategy for your organisation? Businesses can now join our Nature Strategy Accelerator Programme, now recruiting for 2026 – sign up here for more information.

Site will showcase members’ leadership on biodiversity

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Business For Biodiversity Ireland (BFBI) is delighted to announce a new partnership with SustainabilityExamples.com – a collaboration to help our member organisations share biodiversity and climate action initiatives to contribute to collective knowledge exchange to inspire action across the Irish business community.

SustainabilityExamples.com is a dedicated platform where organisations showcase their biodiversity and environmental initiatives in a global community of peers, sustainability leaders, procurement professionals and beyond. It’s a unique space where credible progress is made visible, valued and, increasingly, rewarded through new clients, partnerships, talent, media and potential investment attraction.

Since 2022, Business for Biodiversity Ireland has been driving the transition to a nature-positive Irish economy, where business strategy and activities are geared to enhancing our natural systems and minimising impact, while unlocking opportunity and boosting resilience.

Why our Sustainability Examples partnership matters for our members:

Many companies want to talk about the work they’re doing for nature and climate action but feel hesitant to share “imperfect” stories publicly. This leads to greenhushing, missed commercial opportunities, and slower overall progress. Together, SustainabilityExamples.com and BFBI aim to change that.

The platform is specifically designed to be a safe, non-judgmental environment where sustainability leaders can share their initiatives with likeminded key stakeholders – no algorithms or critics waiting to pounce – but a community who want to share knowledge and constructive feedback, take action and collaborate with others committed to making strides in sustainability, even if still learning. It offers a chance to stand out in a competitive market by publicly sharing impact on an independent third-party platform dedicated to showcasing real, practical, verified progress. There is no time to waste, as we face increasing global supply chain disruption, and insurance and reputational issues, accelerating daily due to climate and nature shocks, with the potential to affect every business, damaging our economy and society as a whole.

Dr Maria Fitzpatrick, BFBI Executive Director said:

“Our Nature Strategy Accelerator Programme members have been working closely with us to develop and hone their Nature Strategy and feed back to us, in an ongoing and transparent process, about the challenges they are facing in developing, monitoring and assessment of biodiversity actions. As they progress, we hope they will take every opportunity to share their evolving nature strategies and concrete actions to protect and boost biodiversity. From the small wins to sharing how your strategic approach to stakeholder engagement, ESG reporting and nature-related risk benefits your business and supports the delivery of the SDGs and nature-positive goals, Sustainability Examples will inform and inspire action and accelerate collaboration for a Nature Positive Economy for Ireland.”

Andrew Sheehan, Founder of SustainabilityExamples.com, said:

“Biodiversity and nature action deserve far more visibility than they currently get, and BFBI has been leading that charge. This partnership gives their members a dedicated safe space to showcase their work, and inspire wider action. Most importantly, publishing their BFBI initiatives helps their members demonstrate real leadership at a time when buyers and stakeholders increasingly expect it. We’re thrilled to welcome BFBI and its members into our community of organisations who are proving that progress – not perfection – is what moves sustainability forward.”

What the partnership means in practice:

  • SustainabilityExamples.com will begin showcasing BFBI’s own offerings, helping businesses better understand nature as a strategic advantage.
  • BFBI members are invited to publish the initiatives they’ve developed with BFBI and beyond – offering real-world examples and giving visibility to a high-intent audience of sustainability leaders, decision-makers and potential partners.
  • SustainabilityExamples.com is free for BFBI members to showcase your initiatives. You can also avail of further promotion of your brand and impact using any of the platform’s paid features at a 15% discount using a unique discount code provided.
  • SustainabilityExamples.com will assist BFBI’s members in crafting the stories they would like to share and amplify to thousands of professionals visiting their platform, newsletter, and social channels, daily.

Unlike other social platforms, SustainabilityExamples.com is purpose-built for sustainability champions. Googled 170,000 times per month globally, the community are engaged and supportive of progress. Sharing your story can lead to:

  • New business conversations
  • Supplier and partnership opportunities
  • Invitations to speak, collaborate or co-create
  • A stronger reputation for leadership in nature and sustainability
  • A shared commitment to progress, not perfection
  • Most importantly, a more resilient future for your business and our planet

Foundational to this partnership is that we believe that the fastest way to scale environmental action is through honest storytelling and open knowledge sharing. The BFBI team look forward to working with Andrew at SustainabilityExamples.com to showcase the positive work of our Nature Strategy Accelerator Programme members. Once you have signed up to the BFBI Discovery Track on our site, visit SustainabilityExamples.com to set up your account there, and start showcasing your biodiversity and other sustainability initiatives, and learning from others within this innovative community.

We’ll get in touch directly with members on our Action Track, Strategy Track & coming soon, Evolution Track, to discuss exclusive options for facilitating your participation in this partnership and highlighting your work on the SustainabilityExamples.com site.

Assess: Disclose nature impacts and dependencies

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BFBI Business Programme Lead Dr Catherine Farrell CIEEM, Assistant Professor in Business and Nature at Trinity College Dublin, writes on emerging nature-related disclosure requirements and how stakeholder engagement is a key process step in building collective understanding for business and nature, as workshopped with businesses in our Nature Strategy Accelerator Programme, delivered in collaboration with the Deloitte WorldClimate team.

“It was a beautiful autumn day when our group met in the Deloitte offices in Dublin’s city centre for the last of our three Action Track workshops that focused on the assess phase of the ACT-D framework. In our first workshop, our keen focus was on building an understanding of our value chain – what we do, where – and how that impacts on nature and, importantly, how much we depend on nature.

Too often businesses are experiencing chinks in the flow of essential components of their supply chains due to a fault in a lengthy global chain, with many of those faults related to climate and biodiversity related risks. If we understand these aspects, we can begin to address ways (opportunities) to mitigate those risks.

The next step is to take a metaphorical LEAP (literally: Locate, Evaluate and Assess our impacts, dependencies, risks and opportunities, and then Prepare to report) and draw a map whereby we can begin a deeper dive and evaluate and assess those dependencies, risks and impacts.

But as we draw that map, we must take time to draw out what stakeholders matter, where, and why. Thanks to the Deloitte team for outlining key stages in a stakeholder engagement and communications plan. Stakeholder engagement isn’t just an option – it’s fundamental to being part of a global community, expressed through global and local links in our value chain.

Woman speaks at large screenshowing text in blue boxes and small icons

Under the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosure (TNFD) and other guidance such as the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and ACT-D, (Assess/Commit/Transform/Disclose), stakeholder engagement is essential for a thorough Double Materiality Assessment process, and critical to any business’ local and global reputation. We were fortunate to have Janice Leonard of SAP Landscapes, above, a business in the next track up, Strategy, present her own journey through DMA and stakeholder engagement, bringing a real-world / learning-by-doing perspective. The SAP Landscapes journey is inspiring, and we all benefited from Janice’s insights, which included the need for steady dedication and the benefits of drawing on the Business for Biodiversity Ireland community within the Nature Strategy Accelerator Programme.

While there is a steep learning curve for many businesses in building awareness and understanding in relation to biodiversity and ecosystems, and the role business is poised to play in driving Nature Positive ambition, Business for Biodiversity Ireland is a reliable support to help businesses of every size and sector work through inter-connections and complexities.

Thanks to all our Action Track businesses for their generosity in sharing their own journeys and we look forward to working with you on the Strategic next phase. Thanks to SAP Landscapes, CIÉ, CIÉ Tours, Cloud Assist, Dublin Airport Authority, FuturEnergy Ireland, Irish Rail, Irish Trees, Scott Cawley Ltd, Shannon Airport, Trinity College Dublin and Watermark.

Join us at the Business Post ESG Autumn Summit 2025

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Business for Biodiversity Ireland is delighted to once again be partnering with the Business Post ESG Autumn Summit, on Thursday, November 20th in Croke Park, Dublin. BFBI Business Programme Lead Dr Catherine Farrell CIEEM, Asst Prof at Trinity Business School, will be moderating the deep dive panel on Making the Business Case for a Nature-Positive Future, alongside John Barcroft, Sustainability Consultant at The Environmental Edge.

The panel, covering data challenges, evolving regulations, tech and metrics to integrate nature and climate into strategy, will feature Dr Shane McGuinness, FRGS, Asst Prod in Sustainability in the School of Geography, UCD, Founder/Chair, Peatland Finance Ireland, Paul Kennedy, Chief Commercial Officer, Proveye and Tom Popple, Founder and Chief Impact Navigator, BE IMPACTFUL & Climate Cocktail Club.

Regardless of the ESG pushback in some quarters, the reality is that all businesses will be required to decarbonise and reduce their impact on the planet as climate and nature-related shocks such as weather extremes and disrupted supply chains become more frequent. ESG is no longer just a compliance issue – it has become a core part of business strategy. This ESG Summit offers a platform for dialogue, innovation and action in addressing the challenges facing today’s businesses and sustainability professionals. Join business leaders, forward-thinking organisations, policymakers and changemakers for practical strategies to navigate regulatory changes, acquire actionable insights and build valuable networks. View the agenda HERE.

The BFBI Team will be here hosting an exhibition stand to discuss how we can help Irish businesses to tackle all of the above – come and ask us about our Nature Strategy Accelerator Programme!

Discounted Ticket Offer: As part of our partnership with the Business Post’s, ESG Summit, get a 15% discount on the standard ticket price by using the discount coupon code BIO15.
(If you require any further information or require assistance with your booking, you can contact Jackie Bryan on 00353 87 0557913 or on email: jackie.bryan@businesspost.ie)

Register for the ESG Autumn Summit HERE.

BFBI at the EU Nature and Business Summit 2025

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Business For Biodiversity Ireland attended the European Business & Nature Summit 2025 in Helsinki, Finland, on October 23 & 24, 2025, with our Head of Research Dr Emer Ní Dhúill joining a Business For Nature panel on ‘Embedding nature in your business strategy’ alongside Geoff Hamilton, Biodiversity Lead for BFBI Strategy Track members ESB. 

The event, supported by the EU Business For Biodiversity Platform and Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra, brought together leaders from across Europe to discuss the integration of nature into business strategies, focusing on practical steps, collaboration, and the economic importance of protecting natural capital. BFBI was also represented at the event by Team BFBI members Dr Maria Fitzpatrick (Executive Director), Iseult Sheehy (Head of Operations) and Dr Catherine Farrell (our Business Programme Lead), with thanks to National Parks & Wildlife Service.

The Day 1 Business For Nature session also featured sustainability leaders Anni Vuohelainen (Director Nature, Tetra Pak), Hing Kin Lee, (Group Leead For Nature, NextEnergy Capital), Marie-Morgan Grebente (Nature & Biodiversity Lead, Decathlon), Holly Metcalfe (Manager, Roadmaps to Nature Positive, WBCSD), and Jesus Carrasco Narajo (Biodiversity Global Responsible, Iberdrola) with the panel chaired by Lizzy Elli (Global Engagement Lead, Business For Nature), the discussion covering the challenges facing businesses including gathering biodiversity data, and the need for support for businesses in navigating this evolving space.

“Nature literacy is quite a large barrier for businesses, also getting buy-in from the different parts of an organisation and a lack of expertise in the businesses to enable them to act…”Dr Emer Ní Dhúill, BFBI Head of Research.

“Inaction on biodiversity is the biggest risk. Don’t let perfection be the enemy of good. Act and then change or iterate as more and better data becomes available.”- Geoff Hamilton, ESB

The biggest takeaway was that boosting biodiversity is an economic imperative, as stated by EC Director-General of Environment Eric Mamer in his opening remarks: “Protecting and restoring nature is a strategic economic choice. Europe must invest in what makes our economy resilient. Natural Capital is part and parcel of Europe’s competitiveness. Nature provides the Natural Capital that keeps our economy running.”

Collaboration Is Key
At the Plenary Session 3 panel discussion on Business action for Circular and Bioeconomy, Rolf Ladau, CEO, Paulig Group, emphasised: “You can only achieve a certain degree of change by yourself, to get beyond that you need to work with others. Collaboration is key…When it comes to securing a resilient food value chain in Europe we need to have a predictable regulatory environment…a functioning single market…and a clear, and long-term commitment.”

Heather Grabbe, Senior Fellow of Belgian think-tank Bruegel, commented on how extreme weather is clearly affecting markets, saying the best way to protect ourselves is a rapid move towards circularity while considering our supply and value chains here in Europe with a global lens. “There is an economic justice element – we need to consider the embedded environmental costs in the items we import and their negative impacts in other countries.

Jessika Roswall, Commissioner for Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy commented: “We need to focus on better regulation and move faster, which is hard in the democratic way that we work. We also need to explain to businesses, which we are sometimes not good at, why we are enacting regulation. We need to have a change of mindset – as politicians, as businesses and consumers.”

New documents launched

The summit also saw the launch of the ‘It’s Now For Nature Pulse’ – a new Business for Nature report reflecting progress in corporate nature strategies, two years on from the launch of It’s Now For Nature Handbook. It shows how businesses are integrating biodiversity into their strategy using the leading frameworks and science-based methods (as aligned with our BFBI Nature Strategy Accelerator Programme as the coalition’s Irish partners.)

BFBI also participated in the interactive session on Day 2 for the launch of ‘Policy Imperatives for a Competitive and Resilient Nature Positive Economy’ a publication in collaboration with Trinity College Dublin and the European Commission, in conjunction with the Directorate-General for Research and Innovative Horizon Europe and Invest4Nature, to show how embedding nature into policy can secure Europe’s resilience and prosperity through strategic investment, coherent regulation, empowered local engagement and systemic reform. Geoff and our team also joined breakout discussion tables, pictured below, on ‘Navigating policy & stakeholder complexity.”

Horizon Nua Director Siobhan McQuaid moderated the discussion on ‘Rationale and roadblocks for business transformation to nature positive’ while launching the TF3 EC Expert publication which features new research and case studies from over 40 EU-funded projects.  Co-authored by Siobhan and Horizon Nua EU Project Manager Martina Brophy, it sets out both the reasons and challenges for nature-positive transformation from a business and policy perspective. Access the new publication HERE.

The lively two days of discussion and networking rounded off with a dialogue by EU Commission Director of Biodiversity Humberto Delgado Rosa. EBNS2025 was streamed live –  you can watch the recordings HERE.

Business For Biodiversity Ireland is here to support Irish businesses to meet the challenges of boosting resilience through nature action. To find out more about our Nature Strategy Accelerator Programme, sign up today or email our Executive Director Maria Fitzpatrick – our intake is open for 2026!

Dr Maria Fitzpatrick is our new Executive Director

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Business For Biodiversity Ireland is delighted to welcome Dr Maria Fitzpatrick as our new Executive Director.

Maria originally joined BFBI as our Business Development Manager and will continue to work closely with our business members as they embark on our Nature Strategy Accelerator Programme.

Maria has a PhD in Freshwater Ecology, looking at Irish headwater streams, and worked as an Environmental Consultant before moving to London to work at Queen Mary University of London and then to the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew to build and head up the Research Funding Services for Kew Science.

She is Circular Economy trained with a CSRD professional qualification and blends scientific expertise, project, relationship management skills, and a keen understanding of the environmental challenges our world is facing to build compelling cases for change.

Maria said: “At BFBI our mission is to empower every business to incorporate nature into decision making – we do this by creating awareness and building capacity within the organisations that we work with, strengthening their understanding, building resilience and supporting change throughout their operations.”

Curious about joining the 2026 Nature Strategy Accelerator Programme for Irish businesses? Register for the free Discovery Track to learn more or contact Maria at manager@businessforbiodiversity.ie

Webinar: Supporting Action for Business & Biodiversity

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Do you understand the value that nature and biodiversity brings to your business?

Every organisation impacts and depends on nature, and Business For Biodiversity Ireland is delighted to join with Waterford City & County Council Climate Action Team to offer this free webinar to explain how Irish businesses can act now to protect and enhance biodiversity by developing a strong Nature Strategy to add value and boost resilience for your organisation.

Speaker: Dr Emer Ní Dhúill, Head of Research, Business For Biodiversity Ireland
Date: November 11, 2025
Time: 11am-12pm
Location: Online over Zoom
Register HERE via Eventbrite

BFBI is proud to partner with Waterford City & County Council as part of their Business Pledge for A Greener Cleaner Waterford for members’ commercial rates energy discount – businesses can take our free Discovery Track, the first step in the BFBI Nature Strategy Accelerator Programme, with free training webinars and resources to inform an organisation’s biodiversity strategy, as an action as part of their pledge. #BFBICollaborations

Event: Join BFBI at the EU Business & Nature Summit

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The BFBI team is looking forward to joining Business for Nature at the European Business and Nature Summit 2025 on October 23rd in Helsinki, Finland.

The Irish contingent will be out in force with BFBI’s Dr Emer Ní Dhúill participating in a session led by  Business For Nature’s Head of Global Engagement, Michael Ofushene-Wise and Global Engagement Lead Lizzy Elli, on helping businesses to embed nature into their business strategy. The panel will also feature Geoff Hamilton, Biodiversity Lead of Irish electricity provider ESB, one of the BFBI member organisations making great progress on the Strategy Track on the BFBI Nature Strategy Accelerator Programme for Irish businesses making the move to #NaturePositive. Fellow speakers include Director Nature for Tetra Pak Anni Vuohelainan, Kasha Foster, Snr Manager Nature Action for WBCSD, Marie Morgan Grebent, Nature & Biodiversity Project Lead, Decathlon, Hin Kin Lee, Group Lead For Nature, Next Energy Capital.

With Iberdrola, Sitra and the EU Business & Biodiversity Platform: https://ebns-events.com/

Registration is now closed but are you attending the summit? Reach out to connect if so!

Dr Maria Fitzpatrick – manager@businessforbiodiversity.ie
Dr Emer Ní Dhúill – Emer.NiDhuill@businessforbiodiversity.ie

Event: Join us for the Energy Transition Summit 2025

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Business For Biodiversity Ireland is partnering with the Business Post Energy Transition Summit 2025 on October 15 – bringing together key voices to discuss topics around the transition in Dublin’s Croke Park.

As noted in a recent National Economic and Social Council (NESC) report, the energy transition will not only help to address urgent environmental concerns but will also deliver substantial economic benefits through enterprise opportunities, by improving the reliability of energy supply, lowering energy costs and enabling Ireland to become a net exporter of energy.

As part of this partnership, members can enjoy an exclusive 15% discount on tickets by using the promo code: energy15 at checkout: https://events.businesspost.ie/event/energy-summit/

Hosted by broadcaster Ivan Yates, the agenda will feature Tara Connolly, Programme Lead for Energy Markets and Grids, Beyond Fossil Fuel, with a keynote address on policy risks from Dr. Cathal Fitzgerald, Senior Analyst, and fireside chats with Alan Rossiter, Head of Strategy & Network Development, ESB Networks and Ali Sheridan, Chair of the Just Transition Commission as well as expert panel sessions.

Sponsors of the event include BFBI Strategy Track member ESB Networks, Bord Gais Energy, Schneider Electric, BYD Energy Ireland, Certa, Hydrogen Ireland, Sustainability Online business news platform, Solar Ireland, Sandyford.com, Energy Storage Ireland, Irish Energy Storage Association and Wind Energy Ireland.

Register now and join us on the day for a chat at the BFBI exhibition stand to discuss our work helping businesses to transition to Nature Positive and connect with our Business Development Lead Dr Maria Fitzpatrick: https://energysummit.ie/

Strategy Track Workshop 3: bringing it all together

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Following on from earlier Strategy Track workshops, where we focused on the key elements of what a Nature Ambition Statement is (and why every organisation should have one!) and how to set SMART nature targets, BFBI Business Programme Lead Dr Catherine Farrell CIEEM, Trinity College Dublin, writes on the final in-person workshop of 2025 for our businesses in this track where we outlined how to bring all the different components together.

In our first workshop of the year, we outlined the need for in-depth understanding of our business impacts and dependencies on nature, and importantly, where these occur along the business value chain. Armed with insights to our value chain and following the steady guidance of the ACT-D framework  (along with resources such as the WWF Corporate Nature Targets publication, and the Science Based Targets Network framework (with lots of great resources / videos), we began to think about targets.

But, exploring the idea of targets unlocks a whole suite of ensuant questions – should our targets be based on actions or outcomes; resources applied or timeline to get there; and which part of the value chain should we focus on?

Our advice? Stop, take a deep breath and focus on one impact to start with. What could we do to enhance biodiversity at our direct operations? Could we then look further and think about procurement of raw materials – could we set a target to work with our suppliers and collaborate to reduce impacts / drivers of biodiversity loss at source?

Once we start exploring and collaborating, the innovation begins. And innovation is what drives sustainable business forward, to future proof and avoid nature related risk.

The challenge then lies in monitoring and reporting: rather than re-invent wheels take a practical approach and measure what matters, where; and build from there. In our workshop, we explored natural capital accounting methods to build information – showing how knowledge of the stocks and flows help inform decision making and importantly transition planning. Checking how we communicate these targets relative to our Nature Ambition Statement will help to keep us on course.

The team at Business for Biodiversity Ireland extend their gratitude to the Sustainable Futures team at KPMG; thanks also to our hosts Bank Of Ireland, for looking after us at their Baggot Street Head Office. As previous, we followed the guidance for the accelerator programme for businesses set out by Business for Nature under the Commit phase of their ACT-D framework.

Join the Nature Strategy Accelerator Programme for 2026! Sign up on our site or contact our Business Development Manager Dr Maria Fitzpatrick to discuss the options for your business: manager@businessforbiodiversity.ie

 

 

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