Nature Positive Corporate Assessment Guide for Financial Institutions 2025

By publicly disclosing evidence of actions taken towards a nature strategy (supported by a verification assurance report from an independent, external verifier with relevant expertise, such as an auditor), companies can demonstrate the validity of their plans. Financial institutions seek the following information from companies when assessing this indicator: –Which components of the nature strategy and which relevant disclosures have received/will receive internal assurance and independent external verification –Who provided the assurance, and the credibility of the assurance provider –Whether the company is planning to engage with any independent bodies to validate nature actions in the future (if not assured today) –Any nature initiatives, certifications or accreditations that companies align and provide verification to 2.10 Indicator 10: Independent verification of actions 2.11 Indicator 11: Supplier engagement plan Engaging suppliers in support of strategic nature objectives demonstrates a company’s willingness to ensure the success of its transition plan. An engagement plan may include steps to identify suppliers who have nature-related interests in the companies’ activities or are potentially affected by planned changes to the company’s business in response to nature-related issues. It then lays out a plan for engagement with those stakeholders to mitigate nature risk and maximize nature opportunities. In contrast to a company’s action plan, a supplier engagement plan assesses how financial institutions’ clients engage with their suppliers to advance on nature. Financial institutions seek the following information from companies when assessing this indicator: –Current and planned engagement and activities (by priority and location) with suppliers in the company’s upstream value chain –How the company prioritizes engagement activities with its suppliers Ultimately, financial institutions will seek to understand how companies engage not only with their suppliers but also with a broader group of affected stakeholders, such as Indigenous Peoples and local communities, customers, governments and civil society, to meet their nature priorities. As such information will not be fully available at the beginning of a company’s nature endeavours, financial institutions can prioritize assessing companies’ engagement with suppliers to mitigate nature risks upstream in their value chains. Over time, financial institutions can gradually expand their focus to companies’ broader engagement plans. Existing frameworks that companies may be using: –TNFD: The TNFD recommended disclosure on risk and impact management covers how an organization identifies and assesses nature- related issues in its upstream and downstream value chain.98 The Discussion paper on nature transition plans provides guidance on engaging with actors in the value chain as part of a nature transition plan as well as disclosure of that plan.99 –WWF: Catalysing Change: The Urgent Need for Nature Transition Plans provides a high-level overview on engagement with stakeholders in the Engagement Strategy secton.100 –Nature benchmarking initiatives state expectations around the engagement of a company with its suppliers on nature-related issues, such as Nature Action 100101 and WBA.102 39 Nature Positive: Corporate Assessment Guide for Financial Institutions