23 WBCSD member companies from the TNFD pilot are pacesetters in disclosing nature-related risks and opportunities to ensure finance is directed toward restoring and conserving nature.

The companies, from North and South America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East, will provide important discernments into the development of the TNFD beta framework before its final release in September 2023.  The 23 companies have a total market value of USD$ 1.3 trillion.

Following in the footsteps of the Taskforce for Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), the TNFD is rapidly becoming the framework in allowing businesses to satisfy the growing expectation to disclose nature-related risks and opportunities and make sure finance flows to nature-positive outcomes. 

The announcement of WBCSD helped launch the pilot as one of six TNFD program partners and will facilitate in preparing companies involved to enact future TNFD recommendations. It signifies a key advancement for nature-positive business action, in advance of the adoption of the Global Biodiversity Framework by world leaders at the 2022 Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (COP15) in Montreal in December.  

Energy, land use (including food, agriculture and forestry) and the built environment, the value chains for which account for about 90% of the pressure on biodiversity will be the three systems covered. It will apply key aspects of the TNFD beta framework, including nature-related risks and opportunities, metrics and targets, assessment and evaluation of impacts and dependencies, and strategic and financial implications. Companies will then mutually test and try TNFD beta framework components, sharing case studies and examples, and preparing disclosures.  

To help prepare more companies for TNFD adoption, the WBCSD will publish the lessons on completion of the trial. Supporting this, the WBCSD is also developing Nature Positive roadmaps for energy, land use and the built environment. These roadmaps will include the findings from the TNFD and the Science Based Targets for Nature (SBTN), delivering a coordinated roadmap for business action. 

“It’s encouraging to see a significant group of WBCSD members committed to leading the way in preparing for nature-related disclosures. Investors and governments increasingly expect business to be transparent and forward-looking in how they respond to nature-related risks and opportunities, and these companies are placing themselves in an advantageous position in the market. We look forward to our continued partnership with TNFD to ensure the framework is robust and business-ready.”- Tom Williams, Senior Director, Nature Action, WBCSD 

With the most recent version of the draft framework due in November of this year, the WBCSD-led pilot programme will be testing the very latest version of the TNFD beta framework. We also look forward to deepening our collaboration with WBCSD on a range of longer-term challenges around integration of climate and nature risk management challenges and industry capability building to deliver both net zero and nature positive”. — Tony Goldner, Executive Director, TNFD 

Source: WBCSD