Where are businesses getting stuck on nature?
Reflections from the 2023 Anthropy Conference
Earlier this month I spent three days at the Eden Project, the home of the annual Anthropy conference. Anthropy seeks to ‘Inspire a better Britain’ by bringing together leaders from across business and third sectors to discuss solutions to some of the interconnected challenges Britain faces today, from the climate and nature crises, to health, education and quality of life.
The state of nature was the dominant theme of the conference. In the UK and globally, nature is under severe stress as a result of worsening climate impacts and a litany of human land-use changes and interventions: deforestation, agriculture, mining, infrastructure projects, and urbanisation. Biodiversity and ecosystem losses are accelerating, leading some scientists to warn that Earth's sixth mass extinction event is under way.
The conference provoked much discussion on the importance of the private sector’s role in protecting and restoring nature. Business and environmental NGO speakers pointed to hesitation from some corporates towards ‘nature-positive’ business strategies and how this can be overcome.
Below are some of my reflections on what I heard.
Carbon tunnel vision
Most companies said they are still getting to grips with tackling climate change. The sheer scale and complexity of reducing carbon emissions across the typical value chain makes this their number one priority. Adding nature to the mix feels overwhelming, leading to a sense of “let’s deal with climate first, before addresing nature”.
But there’s growing understanding that climate action and nature protection are not conflicting priorities but two sides of the same coin. Climate change exacerbates nature risk, while restoring nature plays a major role in climate mitigation and adaptation - building resilience in supply chains and communities.
A company’s approach and response to the nature crisis should largely mirror its response to the climate crisis, involving many of the same processes and stakeholders. As with climate, businesses must assess their impacts on nature, set credible targets, take action, and consistently disclose on progress. Further synergies in the approach to nature and climate emerge in engaging and incentivising key stakeholder groups, such as suppliers or local communities: for example to reduce negative impacts of flooding or drought, regenerate nature and biodiversity across the value chain, and to help reduce and sequester carbon emissions.
Reducing carbon emissions in the value chain also requires a shift in business strategy, models and mindsets. The same is true for nature. Companies need to adapt their strategy and business model and shift to a more ambitious, transformation mindset to ensure they give back more than they take, while also ensuring their footprint is minimized.
So, while taking action on nature at the same time as climate may seem like a big ask, in practice the alignments mean it should be more manageably integrated.
Measurement of impact - can we trust it?
Nature presents companies with specific measurement challenges: unlike carbon, it’s not possible to measure with a single metric or methodology. Nature is location-specific and not replaceable or fungible. For example, a ton of carbon has equal atmospheric impact regardless of where it is emitted, whereas the ecological value of a tree in the Amazon differs from that of a tree in a temperate UK forest. Investing in nature takes time to show results - it requires confidence over the long-term to show results. Yet businesses mostly operate on short-term cycles and want to know where to focus their efforts to be sure it will deliver positive, measurable impact.
To take sustainable action on nature, businesses need to understand how their activities impact and depend on nature across their operations and value chain. There are recognised tools and frameworks that exist to help, for example, the WWF biodiversity risk filter can support companies to understand, assess, and respond to their biodiversity risks.
The Taskforce for Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) aims to replicate the success of the Taskforce for Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) by providing a standardised approach for reporting on nature-related risks and opportunities. And the Science Based Targets Network (SBTN) initiative similarly aims to mirror the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) to provide a standardised approach for setting credible targets for nature protection and recovery.
Measurement of impacts may also be helped by the development of a ‘nature price’. In the UK, DEFRA and Natural England have created a Biodiversity Metric, to calculate how a development or a change in land management will affect the biodiversity value of a site. However, some argue that you can’t put a price on nature, as any assessment of value fails to capture all the benefits it brings.
What does leadership look like?
From many businesses’ perspectives, nature positive action is something new with scant leadership and guidance from peers in their sector.
On show at Anthropy were some great examples of businesses who are leading the charge on nature protection and restoration, including:
Sky: British broadcaster and telecommunications company Sky and WWF are restoring nature in the UK - its soil, seagrass, peat, plants, trees and more – and showcasing its importance to the public through the Force for Nature campaign. This builds on Sky and WWF’s partnership since 2009 to tackle issues such as climate change, deforestation in the Amazon and restoring ocean habitats.
GSK: GSK have set ‘Nature action targets’ for 2030 in five areas: Freshwater, Land, Oceans, Atmosphere and Waste and Materials. As a global biopharma leader, GSK see these targets contributing to a nature positive world, in recognition of nature’s role in protecting and improving people’s health.
Severn Trent: British water supply company Severn Trent is investing in improving and restoring the natural environment both in and beyond their own land. For example, working with thousands of farmers to improve their land for nature and reducing agricultural run-off to protect water quality, in turn meaning Severn Trent need to treat it less.
NatWest Group: UK bank NatWest Group, has partnered with McCain Foods to reduce the financial barriers for potato farmers transitioning to sustainable agricultural practices. NatWest is also partnering with WWF to mobilise public and private investment into climate- and nature-friendly farming, where farmers get a fairer market price and are supported with sustainable, long-term financing.
Developing the business case
The business case for decarbonisation has been widely accepted. Business leaders largely understand that decarbonisation is an integral part of the pathway to success and an opportunity to innovate. Yet, recognition of a business case for nature seems to be a few years behind: investments in nature can be seen as a ‘nice to have’ with few benefits to business value.
There are ways to build a compelling case for nature positive strategies. According to S&P, 85% of the world's largest companies have a significant dependency on nature. 46% of large companies “have at least one asset located in a Key Biodiversity Area that could be exposed to increased reputational and regulatory risks in the future”. Analysis by the World Economic Forum found that over half of the world’s GDP is moderately or highly dependent on nature and its services, although, of course, all life depends on fresh water, air, and soil.
At Anthropy we heard on-the-ground evidence of the financial business case. Severn Trent said that for every £1 they invested in their nature restoration work with farmers, they gained £4 back in either social or financial value.
International healthcare company Bupa has committed £2m for projects restoring and regenerating natural environments in urban areas, in a bid to improve public health. Bupa believes these projects will help promote physical activity and mental wellbeing, in turn having a positive impact on community health and wellbeing.
Beyond traditional ROI, we heard about the storytelling benefits that come with nature protection or restoration. Successful projects can provide powerful stories to engage customers, employees, investors, NGOs and others.
Where to start?
Volunteers from Severn Trent and the local community plant the first two Tiny Forests as part of Severn Trent’s project to plant ’72 Tiny Forests’ in urban areas.
For businesses at the start of their nature-positive journey, the following first steps were recommended:
Assess and prioritise: Assess and value impacts and dependencies on nature to help determine where to focus.
Use what exists already: Use recognised, standardised frameworks to report on nature-related risks and opportunities. TNFD and SBTN are key.
Start small: Whether acting to reduce negative impacts (such as from pollution or ecosystem conversion) or increase positive outcomes (such as nature restoration), identify where you can get started, even if it seems small at first. A good example of this is Severn Trent’s creation of 72 tennis-court sized Tiny Forests in urban areas.
Engage leadership: Every Board member or executive will have a personal connection to nature: for example, through hobbies, where they live or what they eat. Engaging through personal experience may be a lever to encourage them to consider stepping up business ambitions and actions.
Don’t go at it alone: Building strong networks through participation in coalitions, NGO partnerships, trade associations and investor relations can aid in identifying and grasp opportunities and solutions. Finding critical friends and expert partners can help create more meaningful impact.
Assess where you could make space: Simply making space for nature is a critical element of a nature-positive strategy, to help allow nature to recover on its own. There is ample evidence that robust nature protection policies can work. Globally, there are many rewilding projects that show if space is given back to nature, ecosystems can recover remarkably quickly.
Becoming nature positive may be new territory - likely to require long-term investment, strategic collaboration, and possible business model transformation. But it’s a critical component in mitigating and adapting to the inevitable changing climate while building supply chain and community resilience. Businesses need the courage to know it’s the right thing to do plus the confidence to know it’s possible. The discussions at Anthropy showed me that we have everything we need to get started and plenty to help with getting unstuck: frameworks for measurement, pathways, partners and guidance, examples of business leadership and the business case for action.
Get in touch
At BRODIE, we are closely monitoring developments in this space and advising clients on how to develop impactful strategies and partnerships. Connect with us here at BRODIE if you want help on your nature positive journey.
hello@brodiepartners.com