Fewer than 10% of companies assessed their dependency on biodiversity last year, despite increasing attention to nature-related reporting following the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) agreement, according to a report released Wednesday.
The report by global non-profit CDP was released during the ongoing COP16 UN biodiversity summit, and revealed clear “blind spots” in corporate understanding and actions towards nature.
The analysis is based on the assessment of over 23,000 companies around the world that disclosed data through the CDP reporting system in 2023.
Newly released data showed that, last year, not even one in 10 companies assessed their dependencies on nature, with businesses lagging behind also on the assessment of financial risks related to water and forests, as a financial impact figure was included only in half of the cases.
“Today’s CDP data confirms this and highlights the risk businesses continue to face by failing to assess their dependencies on nature,” Eva Zabey, CEO of Business For Nature, said in a comment to the report.
“While companies are slowly adopting nature-positive practices and setting nature strategies, progress on nature lags significantly behind climate action.”
If not addressed properly, biodiversity loss could cost up to $5 trillion annually, according to an estimation by Oxford University.
In light of that, a consortium of 11 major French institutional investors on Tuesday launched a €100 million biodiversity fund called “Objectif biodiversite”.
Managed by Mirova, the fund will leverage CDP’s biodiversity data to target companies focused on addressing nature loss.
Members include Credit Agricole, BNP Paribas Cardif, Abeille Assurances, BPCE Assurances, the Caisse des Depots, CNP Assurances, EDF Gestion, MAIF, MACIF, Malakoff Humanis, and Societe Generale Assurances.
GROWING INTEREST
Despite the blind spots, some progress has been made since the adoption of the GBF two years ago.
According to the report, there has been steady growth in nature-related disclosures to CDP, with a 43% increase in companies disclosing biodiversity data, a 23% rise in water reporting and 10% for forests.
Furthermore, CDP said around 1,800 new companies assessed their impact on biodiversity in 2023 – an increase of 20% compared to 2022.
“Our data shows we are seeing more and more companies coming alive to this, bringing nature into the boardrooms,” Sherry Madera, CEO at CDP, said.
“Nature supports our entire economy, so every business must understand how they depend on it, what the risks are, and then act quickly.”
By Giada Ferraglioni – giada@carbon-pulse.com
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