Nature Positive Role of the Offshore Wind Sector

While many companies in the offshore wind sector have already embarked on their nature journey and embraced the five priority actions, making transformative changes to business models by 2030 demands significant time and resource investments from companies. Delivering net-zero emissions and tackling nature loss are highly interdependent goals. Climate change is a main driver of biodiversity loss, and efforts to tackle climate change cannot succeed without safeguarding nature. Therefore, the nature- positive transition aligns closely with companies’ net-zero commitments and should be integrated into their climate transition plans. Likewise, companies should ensure that social objectives are integrated for a just and equitable nature-positive transition. Guidance is emerging on how to develop nature transition plans or adapt net-zero transition plans to include nature and biodiversity commitments and objectives supported by several institutions. For example: –It’s Now for Nature’s Nature Strategy Handbook is a practical guide to support businesses across sectors in developing a nature strategy. –TNFD will publish new guidance in 2025 on recommendations for nature transition plans for real-economy companies and financial institutions. This document was launched for public consultation in October 2024. –CDP and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) are developing transition planning recommendations, including practical guidance on tools and methodology. –Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) has published a framework for net- zero transition planning for financial institutions and will release guidance on integrating nature into these plans in early 2025.167 This document was launched for public consultation in October 2024. 4.1 Align strategy with organizational maturity Assessing organizational readiness and maturity can help a company understand its performance on the nature-positive journey and identify the most suitable guidance and tools to drive action. Table 5 details recommended actions to deliver a nature- positive strategy mapped to an organization’s level of readiness and maturity. Mapping the components of a nature-positive strategy against organizational maturity TABLE 5 Components of a nature-positive strategyOrganizational maturity Starting and developing Advanced and leading Summary –Identify nature-related issues –Set a high-level ambition and/or targets for nature –Present stand-alone actions on nature –Integrate nature into strategy and governance –Assess impacts and dependencies for all potentially relevant realms –Set measurable and science-based targets for nature –Implement strategic action, redefine industry business models and mobilize the whole value chain Foundations –Employ sectoral averages for high-level screening to discern priority effects on nature –Use secondary data for materiality assessments to gauge priority impacts and nature dependencies, considering factors like environmental pollution –Use tools and guidance such as ENCORE,168 SBTN’s guidance for businesses, Aqueduct from WRI,169 TNFD’s upcoming transition planning guidance, WWF’s biodiversity risk filter and water risk filter,170 UN Environmental Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP- FI)’s report on high-risk sectors171 and the Integrated Biodiversity Assessment Tool (IBAT)172 –Refine materiality assessment by measuring impacts and dependencies on nature using primary operations data and environmental indicators, and undertake an in-depth analysis of significant risks and opportunities, understanding their influence on financial statements –Maintain a comprehensive grasp of organizational resilience with an actionable plan for managing nature risks and opportunities –Perform thorough valuations of all priority areas, considering trade-offs, using value chain data and recognizing the mutual benefits for business and society –Use tools and guidance such as ENCORE, SBTN’s step 1 – assess, step 2 – prioritize and TNFD’s LEAP approach, Aqueduct from WRI, WWF’s biodiversity risk filter and water risk filter, UNEP-FI’s report on high-risk sectors and the IBAT The nature- positive transition aligns closely with companies’ net- zero commitments and should be integrated into their climate transition plans. Nature Positive: Role of the Offshore Wind Sector 39