First business nature strategies published on International Day for Biological Diversity

Wednesday 22 May - Today, on the International Day of Biological Diversity, Business for Nature is pleased to announce that the first batch of nature strategies has been accepted into the "It's Now for Nature" campaign.

British pharmaceutical company GSK and French Luxury goods group Kering are among the first companies whose nature strategies have been reviewed and accepted into the campaign. These strategies show growing momentum from leading businesses to address nature loss, recognizing the existential threat it poses to businesses.

Through a new Nature Strategy Handbook, the joint global ‘It’s Now for Nature’ campaign, launched in November 2023, encourages businesses and financial institutions to develop and publish a nature strategy.

By setting a credible nature strategy and acting ambitiously, businesses can reduce negative impacts, boost business resilience, bring new commercial opportunities, create long-term value and strengthen climate and sustainability goals. This enables them to contribute meaningfully towards the global goal to halt and reverse nature loss by 2030.    

For a nature strategy to be featured as part of the global campaign, it should include: 

• A materiality assessment to identify material impacts, dependencies, risks and opportunities.    
• SMART targets aligned with material impacts, dependencies, risks and opportunities.   
• Actions to achieve SMART targets and in particular to avoid and reduce negative impacts on nature; based on material impacts, dependencies, risks and opportunities.    
• C-suite or board approval of the strategy and responsibility for its delivery.   

Nature strategies submitted by GSK and Kering have been reviewed by Business for Nature and found to include these criteria. Other companies in this first group of nature strategies include Anne Veck Limited, ENGIE and Taiwan Cement Corporation.

Claire Lund, VP Sustainability, GSK, said: "Nature is vital for human health and the development, manufacture and supply of medicines and vaccines. Taking action to protect and restore nature is business critical, and the development and review of our nature strategy, as part of the ‘It’s Now for Nature’ campaign, is an important milestone in our journey to contribute to a nature positive world."

Géraldine Vallejo, Sustainability Programme Director, Kering, said: At Kering, we are proud that our nature strategy is among the first featured as part of It’s Now for Nature, and we hope this will contribute to the growing momentum of corporate nature action encouraging more companies to develop and publish an ambitious strategy for a nature-positive future.

Business momentum on nature builds ahead of UN CBD COP16

Although momentum on nature is growing with global initiatives such as the TNFD and SBTN picking up pace across the corporate world, more must be done to make the crucial shift from adoption to implementation of the Biodiversity Plan.

Ahead of UN Biodiversity COP16 in Colombia later this year, these first nature strategies send a strong signal and encourage more businesses to step up their actions to halt and reverse nature loss and contribute towards a nature-positive economy for all by 2030.

By submitting their strategies and joining the campaign, companies demonstrate a forward-looking plan to contribute to a nature-positive world. Together, they show the increasing momentum on corporate nature action. 

The strategies are featured on the It’s Now for Nature website from 22 May.

About the campaign

Developed by the Business for Nature coalition and its partners, ‘It’s Now for Nature’ is a joint global campaign that encourages businesses and financial institutions to develop and publish a nature strategy that will enable them to make a meaningful contribution towards a nature-positive world. 

The Nature Strategy Handbook, developed in collaboration with PwC UK provides recommendations for all businesses - whether corporates or financial institutions - on how to set a forward-looking nature strategy and where to find useful tools and resources. The Handbook builds on guidance from the Assess, Commit, Transform and Disclose (ACT-D) High-Level Business Actions on Nature and is aligned with the mission of the Global Biodiversity Framework (also called the Biodiversity Plan) - a global agreement adopted by 196 countries.  

Nature strategies submitted by businesses are reviewed against minimum criteria to ensure they contain the key elements of a credible nature strategy. The campaign does not assess, approve, or validate the nature strategies or the progress companies are making toward their targets, as many organizations, including, CDP and the World Benchmarking Alliance provide independent assessments for this purpose.