The importance of nature for businesses and financial institutions is growing as the evidence for nature-related risks rises. In the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report 2025 five out of the top 10 risks over the next decade are environment-related: extreme weather events, biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse, critical change to Earth systems, natural resource shortages and pollution. In parallel, the calls for rapid change are getting stronger and more frequent, coming from policy-makers, regulators, investors, companies, consumers and citizens (see figure below).  

Companies that anticipate the risks of natural loss can minimize disruption from incoming policy and regulatory requirements, proactively manage nature-related physical, transition and systemic risks, including dependencies on ecosystem services and assets, and benefit from early nature-related opportunities. 

Figure below: key nature-related dynamics impacting businesses

Global Biodiversity Framework 

The agreement of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework in December 2022 set the ambition to halt and reverse biodiversity loss, calling for a collective effort from all sections of society on the four goals and 23 targets by 2030.  

Guidance and standards  

Many regulators will soon require mandatory nature-related disclosure from companies, with regulations like the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) under the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (EU CSRD) and the EU Taxonomy for Sustainable Activities pushing businesses to disclose their impact on nature and their exposure to nature and biodiversity loss. Standards are also being adopted in countries like India and China, requiring companies to disclose material sustainability information.  

Companies are encouraged to start collecting data and building internal capacity in alignment with voluntary disclosure frameworks like the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD), which has seen at least 416 organizations, including 114 financial institutions, commit to start making nature-related disclosures by financial year 2025.

Financial institutions 

Financial institutions are also recognizing the risks associated with nature, for example, 36% of Dutch financial institutions’ assets were found to be highly dependent on nature, and starting to take action. In the past three years, 177 institutions with €22 trillion in assets under management signed the Finance for Biodiversity Pledge, and institutional investors are convening through the Nature Action 100 program to engage with companies and policy-makers on nature.

The nature-positive transition will unlock new business opportunities for financial institutions. Innovative nature financing mechanisms, including biodiversity credits, impact investments and blended finance mechanisms, have seen significant growth in the past years, including 10% growth between 2022 and 2023. Governments are developing the market infrastructure to mobilize private finance for nature conservation and restoration. For example, in 2023, the UK government introduced the Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) legislation, mandating that all new development projects achieve a 10% net gain in biodiversity, and the Australian government is in the process of establishing a Nature Repair Market to enable individuals and businesses to voluntarily invest in nature repair projects across Australian land, waters, or a combination of both. 

Financial institutions can start taking action by building internal capacity to act on nature, developing financing policies, strategies and transition plans that favor nature (including sector-, location- or asset class-specific policies where appropriate), embedding nature in risk management systems, developing robust nature-related reporting systems, and engaging with high nature-impact and high nature-risk businesses. 

Consumers and employees 

Similarly, wider society and other stakeholders, such as employees and consumers, are raising their expectations for corporate action to protect nature and biodiversity.  

In the Union for Ethical BioTrade’s 2022 Biodiversity Barometer, biodiversity loss was the second most urgent environmental concern for consumers after climate change. In countries such as Brazil and China, the concern comes out on top, with 54% of consumers wanting information on a product’s impact on biodiversity. A survey by Simon-Kucher & Partners in 2021 showed that 85% of consumers have made changes to make their purchasing behavior more sustainable in the past five years.

Additionally, employees are elevating their expectations regarding their employers' commitment to protecting nature and biodiversity. For example, a 2022 global survey by Deloitte found that protecting the environment remains a top priority for Gen Zs and millennials, who want to see their employers prioritize visible actions that enable employees to get directly involved. A total of 64% of Gen Zs said they would pay more to purchase an environmentally sustainable product.