Goal A3: Step 3
For some organisations, this can be a difficult question to answer. Ifyou are in the primary production sectors of agriculture, mining orenergy, your connection to nature will be more direct. If you sit in theretail or financial end of the value chain, it can be challenging tounderstand your impacts and dependencies on the natural world.Over the last few years, several assessment frameworks have emergedwhich aim to help organisations understand their connection tonature.
BFBI has created a shortlist of the most useful frameworks withguidance on when and where they can be applied. In some cases, itmight be more useful to take a “pick ‘n’ mix” approach to assessmentand use component parts of the assessment frameworks referenced inthis guidance document.
Figure 1 shows the infographic for the ACT-D High-Level Business Actions for Nature which was developed by Business For Nature, Capitals Coalition, World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), Taskforce on Nature Related Financial Disclosure (TNFD), Science-Based Targets for Nature (SBTN), World Economic Forum (WEF) and the World Wildlife Federation (WWF).
There is now a huge focus on accounting for nature in how business activities are conducted.
Companies are now being asked to:
As with the many directives that require sustainability reporting such as the CSRD, there are also many frameworks available to guide companies on their assessment journey.
For more information on CSRD see Goal A3.1 – Nature Disclosures – Know your Obligations.
Frameworks help us to standardise approaches and break down the complexity of the journey to nature positive by offering step-by-step guidance and case studies. Many of these frameworks have been developed with corporates or financial institutions as their target users so may seem overly technical to smaller organisations or SMEs. BFBIs Roadmap aims to create a pathway for businesses of all sizes so that they too can utilise parts of these frameworks to progress their journey to nature positive.
For listed SMEs, assessing impacts and dependencies on nature and conducting materiality assessments will remain necessary. For nonlisted SMEs and micro-sized enterprises, this is currently on a voluntary basis. The frameworks mentioned in this guidance are suggestions based on your company size, but any framework can potentially be adapted for your needs, and it is worth having a highlevel understanding of them. There are several key frameworks and guidelines that companies should become familiar with, regardless of size or reporting obligations. These include the TNFD LEAP approach and the SBTN.
When choosing a framework for your company, ensure that it is aligned with European standards, such as the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS), or global standards, such as the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) and Global Reporting Initiative (GRI).
Regardless of when/if your business is expected to start reporting under CSRD, it makes sense to start adopting frameworks to guide you on your journey to nature positive sooner rather than later. In particular for listed SMEs, who will be required to publish their first sustainability statement in 2027 (based on financial year 2026), this date is fast approaching.
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(The number in brackets refers to your headcount)
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Business for Biodiversity Ireland is a not-for-profit organisation supporting businesses in their journey to nature positive.