5.2 Tech customers While regulators and communities play a key role in guiding nature-positive outcomes, customers of the tech sector – especially large-scale users such as SaaS providers, financial institutions and public sector agencies – also hold significant leverage to drive change. Corporate buyers can increase their inclusion of nature considerations in their procurement strategies and recognize that their nature footprint extends beyond emissions tracked in scopes 1-3 to include broader impacts on land, water and biodiversity. Prioritizing suppliers that demonstrate nature- positive practices enables customers to create strong market signals that reward positive nature actions, but this is only possible if the suppliers are transparent about their actions. A study by Economist Impact found a gap between AI users and suppliers, with AI users increasingly expecting suppliers to prioritize sustainability – this expectation adds to the pressure tech suppliers face to manage their growth sustainably.146 Active engagement begins with informed questioning and clear expectations. For both ongoing and new relationships with tech vendors, customers can use the ACT-D framework to assess progress to date, by asking questions such as those in Box 6. Questions tech customers can ask vendors, based on the ACT-D framework BOX 6 Assess –What percent of your data centres do you own versus co-locate? –Do you know where they are located? If so, where? –Are you assessing your nature impacts, dependencies, risks and opportunities? –Have you screened your sites for water and other nature dependency risks? –Which direct, indirect, regional and operational impacts and dependencies related to nature have you identified? –What is your current land use footprint? –What share of your operations and value chain are in ecologically-/biodiversity-sensitive or water- stressed areas? –What is your current energy mix by percent (renewables, fossil fuels, coal etc.)? –How much water do you withdraw? How much water is recycled, discharged or lost to evaporation? –How do you expect climate change to shift these metrics over time? –What data points do you track? Commit –What nature-related targets does your company have? –Do you have a clean energy target? –Do you have circularity programmes? What percent of your hardware is recycled? –Do you have a biodiversity commitment or target? –Have you installed biodiversity monitoring technology? –Do you have a water target? –Do you have a water neutrality or stewardship target and what is the timeframe? –How do you consider water commitments at specific sites? –Do you have an eco-design strategy for your devices? –What is your target achievement level? –What is the underlying target baseline or metrics? –Do you have any certifications? –How does your ambition compare with your peers? Transform –Do you have a biodiversity or nature policy/action plan? What is it? –What actions, including impact reduction measures and conservation and restoration initiatives, do you do that are related to nature? –Do you have any actions/projects in water-stressed or sensitive ecosystems? –Do you have a long-term transition plan to nature positive? Disclose –What disclosure frameworks, standards or voluntary schemes are you reporting into? –Do you have a system to manage risk? Nature Positive: Role of the Technology Sector 53

Nature Positive Role of the Technology Sector 2025