According to a new World Benchmarking Alliance report, only 5% of large companies worldwide assess and disclose their impacts on nature, while fewer than 20% provide numerical evidence of plastic waste reduction efforts.
The World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA) has released its inaugural Nature Benchmark, revealing a stark disconnect between corporate commitments to environmental protection and tangible action.
The comprehensive study, which assessed 816 companies across over 20 industries from 2022 to 2024, paints a concerning picture of corporate engagement with nature-related impacts and dependencies.
At the heart of the findings is a troubling statistic: a mere 5% of large businesses globally have conducted assessments to understand how their operations impact nature. This gap in understanding is even more pronounced regarding nature dependencies, with less than 1% of companies assessing their reliance on natural systems and resources.
Given the increasing regulatory pressures and voluntary frameworks emerging in this space, the lack of nature-related assessments is particularly worrying. The EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, set to take effect in 2025, will require many large businesses to disclose their material sustainability impacts and dependencies.
Meanwhile, the Taskforce on Nature-Related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) framework, which enables organisations to assess and report nature-related risks, dependencies, impacts, and opportunities, has already garnered support from over 400 firms.
The picture of plastics is only marginally better. While 43% of companies provide qualitative evidence of efforts to reduce plastic use, only 19% back these claims with quantitative metrics.
Even more concerning, just 7% have set quantitative, time-bound targets for reducing plastic use and waste. This discrepancy suggests a significant risk of greenwashing, with companies signalling recognition of plastic issues without providing concrete data to support their claims.
Water stewardship, another critical aspect of environmental management, also shows room for improvement. The benchmark found that 29% of companies report reduction or disclose water usage from water-stressed areas.
However, 72% of companies still do not disclose water usage in water-stressed areas within their operations. Only 15% of businesses report metrics on discharged pollutants into water, and a mere 4% have set targets to reduce them.
The WBA’s Nature Benchmark also illuminates the social dimensions of nature-related corporate practices. Notably, only 13% of assessed companies express a clear commitment to respect Indigenous Peoples’ rights, such as Free, Prior, and Informed Consent for projects that may affect their territories.
This finding is particularly concerning given that Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities often live in critical ecosystems and coexist with threatened species, managing about 40% of all terrestrial protected areas globally.
Across all metrics, manufacturers of personal and household products were found to be leading other sectors. However, even these top-performing companies achieved an average overall score of less than 30%, indicating significant room for improvement.
Jenni Black, the WBA’s nature transformation lead, emphasised the urgency of the situation: “Our research shows that the vast majority of large companies continue to take nature for granted, despite the fact that a healthy planet underpins a healthy economy.” She stressed that companies must understand their value chain impacts on nature to mitigate future risks and prepare for upcoming regulations.
The implications of this corporate blindspot are far-reaching. Previous research has found that more than half of the global GDP relies on nature. Businesses’ failure to adequately assess and address their nature-related impacts and dependencies could have significant economic repercussions.
The WBA report calls for immediate action on multiple fronts. Companies are urged to develop more robust competencies within senior leadership and enhance accountability mechanisms related to nature and biodiversity.
Governments, investors, and civil society are also called upon to hold the private sector accountable, ensuring that all large and transnational companies regularly monitor, assess, and disclose their risks, dependencies, and impacts on biodiversity.
As the world grapples with interconnected crises of climate change and biodiversity loss, the WBA’s Nature Benchmark serves as a crucial wake-up call. It highlights the urgent need for businesses to move beyond vague commitments and towards concrete, measurable actions to protect and restore the natural systems we depend on.
The benchmark’s findings underscore the importance of initiatives like the Global Biodiversity Framework, agreed upon through the UN biodiversity treaty in December 2022, which aims to mandate corporate nature-related disclosures this decade. However, the results also indicate that voluntary measures alone may be insufficient to drive the scale of change needed.
As we move forward, a multi-stakeholder approach will be crucial. Businesses must increase their efforts to understand and mitigate their impacts on nature. At the same time, policymakers, investors, and civil society organisations must create an enabling environment that incentivises and rewards sustainable practices.
The WBA’s Nature Benchmark serves as a snapshot of current corporate practices and a roadmap for improvement. By highlighting the gaps and the leaders in various industries, it provides valuable insights for companies looking to enhance their nature-related strategies and disclosures.
Don’t miss Richard Gardiner, Head of EU Public Policy at World Benchmarking Alliance, speaking at the upcoming Sustainability Expo Europe. Taking place on October 1-2, this 2-day event will bring together over 500 senior sustainability professionals, sharing insights into the essential actions businesses must take to achieve sustainability. Register your place now!
