Nature Positive Role of the Automotive Sector
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Global Biodiversity Framework
The agreement of the Kunming-Montreal Global
Biodiversity Framework18 in December 2022 set the
ambition to halt and reverse biodiversity loss, calling
for a collective effort from all sections of society on
the four goals and 23 targets by 2030.
Guidance and standards
Many regulators will soon require mandatory nature-
related disclosure from companies, with regulations
like the European Sustainability Reporting
Standards (ESRS)19 under the EU’s Corporate
Sustainability Reporting Directive (EU CSRD)
and the EU Taxonomy for Sustainable Activities20
pushing businesses to disclose their impact on
nature and their exposure to nature and biodiversity
loss. Standards are also being adopted in countries
like India21 and China,22 requiring companies to
disclose material sustainability information.
Companies are encouraged to start collecting data
and building internal capacity in alignment with
voluntary disclosure frameworks like the Taskforce on
Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD),23 which
has seen at least 502 organizations, including 129
financial institutions, commit to getting started with
voluntary reporting of their nature-related issues.24
Financial institutions
Financial institutions are also recognizing the risks
associated with nature, for example, 36% of Dutch
financial institutions’ assets were found to be
highly dependent on nature,25 and starting to take
action. In the past three years, 177 institutions with
€22 trillion in assets under management signed the
Finance for Biodiversity Pledge, and institutional
investors are convening through the Nature Action
100 programme to engage with companies and
policy-makers on nature.26
The nature-positive transition will unlock new
business opportunities for financial institutions.
Innovative nature financing mechanisms,
including biodiversity credits, impact investments
and blended finance mechanisms, have seen
significant growth in the past years, including 10%
growth between 2022 and 2023.27 Governments
are developing the market infrastructure to
mobilize private finance for nature conservation
and restoration. For example, in 2023, the UK
government introduced the Biodiversity Net
Gain (BNG) legislation,28 mandating that all new
development projects achieve a 10% net gain in
biodiversity, and the Australian government is in the
process of establishing a Nature Repair Market29
to enable individuals and businesses to voluntarily
invest in nature repair projects across Australian
land, waters, or a combination of both.Financial institutions can start taking action
by building internal capacity to act on nature,
developing financing policies, strategies and
transition plans that favour nature (including sector-,
location- or asset class-specific policies where
appropriate), embedding nature in risk management
systems, developing robust nature-related reporting
systems, and engaging with high nature-impact and
high nature-risk businesses.
Consumers and employees
Similarly, wider society and other stakeholders,
such as employees and consumers, are raising their
expectations for corporate action to protect nature
and biodiversity.
In the Union for Ethical BioTrade’s 2022 Biodiversity
Barometer , biodiversity loss was the second most
urgent environmental concern for consumers after
climate change. In countries such as Brazil and
China, the concern comes out on top, with 54%
of consumers wanting information on a product’s
impact on biodiversity. A survey by Simon-Kucher
& Partners in 2021 showed that 85% of consumers
have made changes to make their purchasing
behaviour more sustainable in the past five years.30
Additionally, employees are elevating their
expectations regarding their employers’
commitment to protecting nature and biodiversity.
For example, a 2022 global survey by Deloitte31
found that protecting the environment remains a top
priority for Gen Zs and millennials, who want to see
their employers prioritize visible actions that enable
employees to get directly involved. A total of 64%
of Gen Zs said they would pay more to purchase an
environmentally sustainable product.
Setting credible nature strategies
Despite the increased momentum on nature over
recent years, not enough is being done. While
78% of Fortune Global 500 companies have
climate change targets, only 26% have freshwater
consumption targets, and just 12% have targets
for biodiversity loss.32 Only 5% of companies have
assessed their impacts on nature, with less than 1%
understanding their dependencies.33
Companies can contribute to “Nature Positive”
by establishing credible nature strategies, where
“Nature Positive” represents a “global societal goal
to halt and reverse nature loss by 2030 on a 2020
baseline, and achieve full recovery by 2050”.34
Individual companies, financial institutions and
investors can contribute to this shared goal by
adopting nature-positive strategies across their
spheres of control and influence, including at sites
of high-biodiversity importance, in their direct
operations as well as across their value chains
(see Figure 3). In the past
three years,
177 institutions
with €22 trillion
in assets under
management
signed the Finance
for Biodiversity
Pledge.
Nature Positive: Role of the Automotive Sector
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