The Nature Positive Initiative (NPI) has partnered with consultants EY and The Biodiversity Consultancy (TBC) to establish metrics tailored to nature positive claims.

NPI, a coalition of environmental organisations and business groups, said it seeks to identify the best available data, rather than replacing existing metrics, in a bid to help develop widely recognised criteria and bring measurability to the term ‘nature positive’.

“Nature positive is not merely a slogan but a measurable goal, driving standardised and comparable nature metrics to achieve genuine outcomes in halting and reversing nature loss,” said Marco Lambertini, convener of NPI.

The partnership launch comes after nearly 30 organisations banded together under the NPI in September, seeking to better define the term ‘nature positive’, as business, government, and civil society have struggled so far to align on its meaning.

Members of the coalition include disclosure standards the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD), the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and non-profits The Nature Conservancy and WWF.

Announcing the partnership with EY and TBC, NPI pointed out that the lack of consensus on science-based yet practical metrics is slated to hamper corporate action, as well as the tracking of progress towards the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) targets.

TOWARDS A COMMON APPROACH?

With biodiversity climbing the corporate and political agenda, the term ‘nature positive’ is poised to take on the role that ‘net zero’ has played for climate agreements.

Yet, while companies and governments are aligned on how to track progress towards net zero emissions targets, a common approach for measuring nature positive claims has yet to be established.

“The need to establish clear metrics to underpin a globally agreed definition of nature positive is critical,” said Alexandra Banks, partner at EY Global Climate Change and Sustainability Services.

“It will enhance the integrity of the underlying measurement, reporting, and transparency of the shift to a nature positive future.”

“Businesses and nature must thrive side by side, we fully support the convergence of measures to aid comparability and accelerate a data-led transformation for nature positive outcomes,” added Malcolm Starkey, chief innovation officer at TBC.

Advancing measurability could enhance private sector accountability and investments towards biodiversity, as well as bolster financial disclosure on nature, the coalition said in a statement.

Nature disclosures have gained momentum since the 2022 GBF agreement, which called on companies to assess and report on their impacts on biodiversity, with much of the focus now placed on ensuring that corporate claims are accurate.

By Sergio Colombo – sergio@carbon-pulse.com

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