50 Investible Opportunities for a New Nature Economy 2026

Appendix: Overview of assessment methodology Approximately 250 business activities were systematically assessed to identify our list of over 50 opportunities that contribute to nature-positive goals. These business activities were sourced from nature-positive sector guidance as part of the World Economic Forum’s Nature Positive Transitions series or by Business for Nature and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). Opportunities were chosen among the 250 business activities if they delivered on both positive nature and financial impacts, often across multiple nature impact drivers assessed. The opportunities were selected from 13 high- impact sectors, chosen for their sector materiality in terms of dependencies and pressures on nature and economic significance – making them priority areas for investment and financing attention. Nature impact was defined and assessed considering the five drivers of nature change, defined by TNFD, drawing on research from the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Panel on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). The analysis concentrated on the following drivers: –Land-use and ocean-use change –Resource use and replenishment (split into freshwater and resource use) –Pollution and pollution removal Invasive species are not explicitly covered in this assessment, as the opportunity list focuses on interventions that can be more readily embedded into corporate value chains and standardized, whereas most current invasive species responses remain highly context-specific. Given activities tackling climate change are widely covered in other streams of work, the analysis prioritized activities related to other major drivers of nature loss and assessed climate, alongside social (e.g. health, job creation) impacts for those opportunities as an added co-benefit. Financial returns were evaluated through revenue potential and capital and operational cost reductions. Assessment element High-level approach Inputs (non-exhaustive) Impact driver scopingNature impact drivers prioritized based on regional threats to populations in Europe and Central Asia, dominant threats for species and relevance to corporate value chains. Short-listed drivers are: –Land-use change –Ocean-use change –Freshwater-use change –Resource use –Pollution –Regional threats to ISIC sector definitions –Populations in the Living Planet Report 2024  (WWF)25 –Living Planet Report 2020 (WWF)26 –Workshops with corporates Sector selection Sectors were assessed for relevance based on: –Impacts and dependencies on nature –Gross output per sector –Gross output weighted ENCORE materiality ratings27 per sector, aggregated to nature impact drivers –ISIC sector definitions28 –Literature review (e.g. World Economic Forum sector reports,29 TNFD, WWF and UNEP- FI publications) –Workshops with financial institutions Opportunity long-listLong-list of 250+ potential opportunities identified from literature review and pre-selected where significant financing gaps exist –Literature review (e.g. publications by Forum, TNFD etc.) –Expert calls –Workshops with corporates and financial institutionsDetails on assessment methodology TABLE 1 50 Investible Opportunities for a New Nature Economy 38