For many businesses, “sustainability” has become synonymous with carbon emissions. Reducing them remains critical, but it’s only one piece of a much larger puzzle.Nature loss - the rapid decline of biodiversity and ecosystems - is another major impact, and an urgent risk that most businesses aren’t prepared for.
From supply chain disruptions to rising insurance costs, nature-related risks are already showing up on balance sheets. Over half the world’s economic output is moderately or highly dependent on nature, according to the World Economic Forum.
When you next pick up a sandwich, consider how many ecosystems and natural resources helped get it to your plate. All of these need to remain healthy if we are to continue enjoying these meals - but it is not just food. Industries such as construction, retail, cosmetics, tourism and hospitality and even finance rely on water systems, healthy soil, forests and pollinators.
Local nature matters too. Green space access, urban heat resilience, clean rivers and canals, and air quality are all foundational to our health and long-term economic viability.
The shift is underway. Nature is now treated as a financially material issue by investors and regulators. In the UK and beyond, businesses face increasing pressure to measure and disclose nature-related risks and impacts. For example, England’s Biodiversity Net Gain, the UK’s Sustainability Disclosure Requirements (SDR), the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the global Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD), are reshaping expectations.
So where to start?
- Map nature interfaces and dependencies: What natural resources do your products, operations, or people rely on here and abroad? Remember, even data centres need water.
- Understand impacts: Do your operations or supply chains contribute to deforestation, water stress, or pollution? Could your products end up as waste?
- Assess priorities: Off these dependencies and impacts, which may pose risks to your business now, or in the near future? These might not just be physical risks: being unprepared to provide necessary data or other information to your customers, partners or lenders may result in financial costs.
- Develop a plan: Prepare to mitigate your priority risks and impacts to protect your business, and determine what you can do to be part of the solution.
At Everloop, we help businesses see the full picture and build practical strategies that align sustainability goals with long-term value. Nature action is not just about planting trees and supporting conservation work. It’s about building business resilience and becoming a future-fit organisation.
Why did we chose an image of a bat? Bats help control pests naturally. Without them, cotton farmers spend more on chemicals and lose crop health. One study found that the loss of bats costs the Australian cotton industry around $63 million annually (ScienceDirect article).
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