It is broadly accepted that it is not possible to manage an issue that is not measured. This is why effective measurement, accounting, valuation and disclosure frameworks for understanding impacts and dependencies on natural capital and biodiversity are essential for driving government and business action on biodiversity.

Drivers for biodiversity measurement, reporting and disclosure by business are strengthening, with rising awareness of the material risks that biodiversity loss presents to business performance. But, the quality of biodiversity information disclosed by business is poor and gives little insight into business risk or performance, focusing on management narratives with little quantitative, and non-monetary information.

Developing biodiversity measurement approaches have the potential to support improved disclosure of biodiversity impacts and dependencies. A small but growing number of leading businesses are already using available measurement approaches to understand risk and opportunity, define and deliver strategies and to demonstrate performance in reducing biodiversity loss. This demonstrates that it is now entirely possible to measure biodiversity impacts and performance.

However, broad scale uptake of biodiversity measurement approaches by business and action to halt biodiversity loss and move towards nature-positive business operations requires a concerted effort by policymakers to address these barriers to mainstreaming the issue and facilitate a level playing field.

Here are 12 ways policymakers can encourage a step change in business action to measure impacts and dependencies on nature:

Build business awareness of the value of biodiversity and how to measure impacts and dependencies

1.  Investigate emerging biodiversity measurement and disclosure approaches and support their uptake by business

2.  Highlight the importance of good reporting practices

3.   Build business and financial institution awareness of their impacts, dependencies, risks and opportunities associated with biodiversity to drive action, measurement and disclosure on biodiversity

Ensure a business-relevant post-2020 global biodiversity framework

4. Consider how the proposed goals, targets and indicators for the post-2020 global biodiversity framework apply to the private sector as policy responses are formulated

5. Formally acknowledge in the development of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework that business and financial institutions are key actors to mainstream biodiversity

6. Facilitate the engagement of business in national and international processes for the development and implementation of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework and the development of credible, business-supported biodiversity measurement approaches and science-based targets

7. Commission an independent review of business-focused targets, measures and datasets as a contribution to the process to develop and implement the post 2020 global biodiversity framework

Require mandatory corporate biodiversity performance disclosure

8. Engage in existing initiatives to develop an internationally agreed natural capital accounting framework

9. Provide explicit guidance on biodiversity measurement and valuation in addition to reporting within existing mandatory and voluntary reporting requirements

10. Address both listed and non-listed companies through mandatory requirements

11. Support voluntary biodiversity measurement and reporting for businesses that meet certain criteria as a precursor to a mandatory requirement to disclose company biodiversity performance

12. Establish mechanisms for inter-governmental working and business-finance-government collaboration on business measurement and reporting of biodiversity performance.

Acting on these recommendations, as set out in UNEP-WCMC’s newly published Biodiversity Measures for Business review paper based on work completed under the Aligning Biodiversity Measures for Business collaboration, is vital to build on the significant progress made to date in measuring and disclosing business biodiversity performance.

It is important that this progress is consolidated and enhanced through scaling up the use of these biodiversity measurement approaches to allow businesses and financial institutions to demonstrate a net positive impact on or no net loss of biodiversity. Without this, society will be moving into a new phase of global biodiversity policy that fails to measure, track or hold companies and financial institutions accountable for their impacts and dependencies on biodiversity, thereby undermining the revised global biodiversity goals.

Taking these positive steps will not only ensure that the value of biodiversity is more visible to business decision makers, but will also demonstrate in unequivocal terms the materiality of biodiversity to business, further strengthening the case for business action to measure impacts and dependencies on nature to benefit people and planet.