TNFD CEO meets with Indigenous Leaders on Nature Guardianship

From pledges to action, what on earth for the Global Biodiversity Framework mean for business? Sustainability professionals will already know the headlines: in December 2022, nearly 200 countries agreed the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF). It has been described as the “Paris Agreement for nature.” But what does it mean for business? The GBF sets out 23 global targets to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030 and put nature on a path to recovery by 2050. Among the most significant: protecting 30% of land and oceans, restoring degraded ecosystems, reducing pollution, and aligning financial flows with Nature Positive outcomes. The GBF is a framework for governments, but its targets cascade directly into business obligations through regulation. The EU’s CSRD and the UK’s nature disclosure requirements explicitly reference GBF goals. Multinationals with global supply chains will find that GBF alignment is fast becoming a licence to operate. What on earth does it mean for business? It means the era of ignoring biodiversity is over. Financial institutions, supply chains, agriculture, manufacturing, retail: all are expected to demonstrate how they are contributing to the GBF’s 2030 goals. Regulators, investors and communities are watching closely. How do you prepare? Step 1… Map your biodiversity impacts and dependencies. Where does your business touch land, water and ecosystems? Step 2… Set measurable nature targets using the Science Based Targets for Nature (SBTN) framework. Step 3… Prepare for disclosure requirements under CSRD and TNFD, both of which integrate GBF goals. Step 4… Build a Nature Positive strategy that links biodiversity to climate, water and supply chain resilience. The GBF is not just a policy agreement. It is the global signal that biodiversity loss is no longer tolerated as “collateral damage.” Businesses that align early will lead. Those that delay will be forced to catch up under intense scrutiny. #GBF #NaturePositive #SustainabilityProfessionals #CSRD #SBTN #TNFD

🌎 Episode 14 of the planet Earthly #webinar series, is happening tomorrow at 1:00 PM. This live session will explore how #biodiversitycredits can fit into your business’ sustainability strategy, helping you go beyond carbon while actively restoring nature. You will gain insights from Lorenzo Curci - our CCO and co-founder. Lorenzo has spearheaded Earthly's innovation into biodiversity credits and has deep knowledge of the challenges businesses face around having a meaningful impact on nature. And Nick Heasman, Countryside and policy manager, at the South Downs National Park Authority. The SDNP is the first UK National Park to launch Voluntary Biodiversity Credits and Nick is overseeing the revolutionary changes that biodiversity credits are facilitating in landscape-scale nature recovery. During the webinar, we’ll address key questions, including:  💚 How many biodiversity credits does my business need to make a difference?  💚 What tangible benefits can biodiversity credits deliver for my business?  💚 How do biodiversity credits align with frameworks like SBTi’s BVCM, Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD), and Science Based Targets Network (SBTN)?  💚 Can biodiversity credits help achieve certifications such as BCorp and ISO standards? Plus, there will be a live Q&A session, bring your questions and get answers from biodiversity experts. Learn more about this episode and register for the webinar here: https://lnkd.in/dKD-U673 #VBCs #voluntarybiodiversitycredits #biodiversitynetgain #bngunits #naturebasedsolutions #climateaction #biodiversityaccounting #conservation #climatechange #investinnature #sustainablebusiness #sustainabilitystrategy #ESG #Earthly #projectEarthly

I'm delighted to announce that the work cowritten with Shruti Kashyap Beatrice Crona and Dr Charles Abela and entitled "Business and finance on a path towards meaningful biodiversity reporting?" is about to be published in Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability. Biodiversity is declining at an unprecedented rate due to human activities. Its loss amplifies risks across multiple planetary boundaries, including climate, land use, and biogeochemical cycles. This can potentially push the Earth system further towards irreversible tipping points. The primary drivers of biodiversity loss are pressures related to land and sea use change, direct exploitation, climate change, pollution, and invasive species which root causes are corporate activities. Thus, mitigating corporate biodiversity impacts is critical to preventing planetary boundary transgressions and advancing global sustainability goals. Corporate biodiversity reporting is a key lever for i) generating the information needed to assess planetary health and guide effective action to meet biodiversity targets, ii) driving impact reduction through market discipline and regulatory sanctions, iii) embeding environmental logics into corporate decision-making, iv) supporting systemic risk governance, scientific assessments of planetary health, and evaluations of progress towards sustainability targets. Our review identifies three interconnected core challenges in biodiversity reporting: complexity, conceptualization, and governance. All are driven by issues and limitations related to data availability and reliability; knowledge fragmentation; and diverse methodological approaches. The article first outlines its methodology; next, it examines key challenges in the context of their drivers and implications; finally, it presents a research and policy agenda for strengthening biodiversity reporting frameworks and practices to support accountability and sustainability goals.

Biodiversity is essential to sustaining human well-being, economic stability, and climate resilience. Yet it is declining at a rate unprecedented in human history. Our new evaluation asked how well The World Bank Group supported countries in addressing biodiversity loss through conservation, sustainable production, and by addressing risks through offsets. The Independent Evaluation Group found that The World Bank Group has established a credible foundation for biodiversity action but now faces a critical test: turning high-level commitments into measurable outcomes that benefit people, sustainable production, and jobs.   ▪️ To help countries achieve their biodiversity goals, the WBG must strengthen ecological monitoring, meaningfully include Indigenous Peoples and local communities, invest in long-term conservation funding, and connect biodiversity with climate in development planning. ▪️ To help countries achieve their sustainable growth goals, replicate and scale proven biodiversity-positive production models that deliver positive ecological, economic, and social benefits. ▪️ To address negative biodiversity impacts, address gaps in the monitoring, supervision, and information disclosure of biodiversity offsets. Read our evaluation to learn more: https://lnkd.in/ewpW3_-f Lauren Kelly, Joy K. Butscher, Penelope Jackson-Vougo, Carmen Nonay, Sabine Bernabe, Ugo Amoretti, Iren Bagdasarian, Unurjargal Demberel, Christian Freymeyer, Josh Fuchs, Azada Hussaini, Cecil John, Xiaoyi (Baker) Lu, Nina Rinnerberger, Gabriel Stephan, Sally Johnson, Steve Fletcher, Antaya March, Malcolm Childress, Christen Corcoran, Gabriela Rodrigues Eklund, Christina Kuntz, Stephanie Keene, Ashwin Bhouraskar, Tobias Fast, Estelle Raimondo, PhD, Harsh Anuj, Virginia Ziulu, Benny Istanto, GISP, Min Jaegal, Jeffrey Pagel, Iren Bagdasarian, Edward Willsteed, Kevin Crockford, David Kaimowitz, Pisupati Balakrishna, Arunjana Das, Ph.D., Victor Beltran  #Biodiversity #Evaluation #Sustainability #IndigenousPeoples #Conservation #IUCNcongress

🌍 We’ve crossed nature’s red lines. Six of nine planetary boundaries have been breached — from biodiversity loss to deforestation and freshwater stress. We are operating outside Earth’s safe zone, and ecosystems that sustain life are nearing irreversible tipping points. Our new evaluation, Biodiversity for a Livable Planet, takes an unprecedented look at how the World Bank is responding. We geo-located and analyzed 880 protected areas financed by the World Bank; called for more meaningful engagement of Indigenous Peoples; identified regenerative and sustainable agricultural practices that show how biodiversity-rich food systems can thrive; and calls for greater scrutiny of biodiversity offsets, given the lack of evidence that they achieve real conservation outcomes. 🪶 Biodiversity isn’t a “sector.” It’s the foundation of a livable planet. 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eZ8gJzRU #Biodiversity #PlanetaryBoundaries #TippingPoints #NatureFinance #Sustainability #LivablePlanet #WorldBank #Evaluation #IUCNCongress Oliver Dauert David Kaimowitz Mongabay Juha Uitto Geeta Batra Fabrizio Felloni Anupam Anand Ruth Tiffer Sotomayor Dickon Howell Tom Pickerell Torsten Thiele CGIAR Independent Advisory and Evaluation Service (IAES) Green Climate Fund WWF Steve Fletcher Antaya March Vince McElhinny, Ph.D. Malcolm Childress

It's fitting that we've publicly launched our evaluation of World Bank investments in biodiversity during IUCN #IUCNCongress, where biodiversity and conservation leaders are gathered in Abu Dhabi to discuss the path forward on protecting people and the planet. In our work analyzing over a decade of World Bank investments, we found that they have been key in establishing support for biodiversity, but there is still more to be done to turn high-level commitments into measurable outcomes. Find the full report here 👇 https://lnkd.in/eEu7YJ9n #biodiversity #togetherpossible World Resources Institute Global Forest Watch World Wildlife Fund The Nature Conservancy

This evaluation can be a step forward for the World Bank's biodiversity conservation efforts, and for the Indigenous Peoples, Afro-descendant Peoples, and the local communities who play a critical role in biodiversity conservation and nature stewardship.

🥂 I'm delighted to share that the Independent Evaluation Group evaluation of the The World Bank Group's Support to Biodiversity is live! 🗺️ Delivering this evaluation was a hugely rewarding experience, with a specialized team of people committed to using innovative research methods and comprehensive analysis. This included geospatially mapping the World Bank Group's involvement in protected areas for the first time. 🎯 Our findings demonstrate that the Bank Group has made commendable progress in strengthening biodiversity conservation management capacity and supporting biodiversity conservation, particularly in tropical forests. Progress has also supported the integration of biodiversity outcomes into key production sectors, including agribusiness, fisheries management, and forest carbon finance. 💡 Going forward, we hope to see additional support to clients in identifying and measuring biological outcomes, enhanced engagement with and empowerment of indigenous peoples and local communities, and replication and scaling of biodiversity-positive production models.

Important new analysis of World Bank investment in biodiversity, gaps and recommended measures strengthen this flagging commitment, including a decline in support to IPLC led conservation: IEG finds, "The share of conservation-focused projects that identify, engage, and protect IPLCs in conservation, and measured by Environmental and Social Framework policies specific to Indigenous Peoples, indicates a relative decline when compared with the share under the safeguard policies. The proportion of conservation projects that apply Operational Policy 4.10 (Indigenous Peoples) and the subsequent Environmental and Social Standard 7 (Indigenous Peoples/Sub-Saharan African Historically Underserved Traditional Local Communities) has declined from 52 percent (Operational Policy 4.10) to 25 percent (Environmental and Social Standard 7). This trend is most evident in Sub-Saharan Africa, where most conservation projects are based."