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How Businesses and World Leaders are Embracing Biodiversity Action

Global businesses and policymakers are stepping up efforts to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by integrating nature into core decision-making.

By Medha deb

Created on Sep 27, 2025

Global businesses and policymakers are stepping up efforts to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by integrating nature into core decision-making.

Biodiversity—the rich variety of life on Earth—is more than a conservation issue. Increasingly, it sits at the very center of economic resilience, ecological health, and business strategy. As biodiversity loss accelerates under pressure from industrial activity and climate change, world leaders, policymakers, and major corporations are responding with transformative commitments designed to make life ‘in harmony with nature’ not just an aspiration, but an operational necessity. This article explores both corporate and governmental leadership on biodiversity, key frameworks, business strategies, and the remaining challenges in fulfilling a nature-positive future.

The Global Biodiversity Crisis: A Call for Action

According to leading economic forums, biodiversity loss ranks among the top three global risks to business and livelihoods. Healthy ecosystems provide clean water, fertile soil, natural resources, pollination, and climate regulation. When these natural services are degraded—through pollution, unsustainable extraction, deforestation, or climate shocks—the ripple effects threaten everything from agriculture to infrastructure and financial stability. Humanity has already breached six of nine planetary boundaries, putting future generations at risk of ecosystem collapse and escalating natural disasters.

The urgent need for change has precipitated one of the most comprehensive global responses in environmental history: the adoption and implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) under the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). This framework now guides international, national, and business-level strategies to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030, with a long-term vision of living in harmony with nature by 2050.

Key Global Agreements and Frameworks

United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD): Ratified by 196 countries, the CBD is the principal international treaty guiding biodiversity conservation and sustainable use.
Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF): Approved in 2022, this agreement sets 23 targets to be achieved by 2030, including the landmark 30×30 target—permanently protecting 30% of Earth’s land and ocean by 2030.
Target 15—Business Engagement: For the first time, the GBF includes a specific target obliging businesses and financial institutions to assess, disclose, and reduce their biodiversity impacts and risks, and to increase nature-positive contributions.

These frameworks signal a profound shift: biodiversity stewardship has moved from the margins of voluntary corporate social responsibility to a core business and regulatory mandate.

The Business Case for Biodiversity

Biodiversity is everyone’s business. Companies across all sectors depend on healthy ecosystems for the reliability of their supply chains, the resilience of raw materials, and the long-term viability of their products and services. Failing to manage biodiversity risks exposes organizations to operational disruptions, supply shortages, regulatory sanctions, and reputational damage. In contrast, investing in biodiversity can unlock new opportunities, ensure access to sustainable materials, build customer trust, and foster product innovation.

Business dependencies on nature include, but are not limited to:

Raw Material Security: Commodities such as timber, plant extracts, and agricultural inputs depend on ecosystem health.
Risk Mitigation: Natural buffers like mangroves and forests protect infrastructure from climate shocks, flooding, and drought.
Brand Reputation: Consumers and investors increasingly favor companies that demonstrate credible environmental leadership.
Innovation: Nature is a source of inspiration for new materials, biotechnology, and sustainable business models.

Corporate Leaders Integrating Biodiversity

Some of the world’s most influential companies are pioneering efforts to embed biodiversity into their decision-making frameworks. Below, we highlight a few notable examples based on recent international forums and business biodiversity summits:

Natura &Co: Building Value Chains with Biodiversity at Their Core

As a Brazilian cosmetics, personal care, and home products company, Natura &Co directly depends on biodiversity for its business model. For two decades, the company has developed a unique, sustainable value chain—collaborating with over 85 Amazonian communities and sourcing 41 key natural ingredients, while actively preserving over two million hectares of forest. Natura &Co’s approach draws a direct line from healthy biodiversity to product quality, business growth, and ethical leadership. The company stresses that ‘without nature, there is no business,’ making biodiversity both a source of innovation and a vital operational pillar.

Kering: Setting Ambitious Biodiversity Action Targets

Kering, a global leader in the fashion and luxury sector, recognizes the fundamental dependence of its supply chain and product quality on nature. The company is committed to strict sourcing standards that avoid soil degradation and deforestation, and has implemented a biodiversity action plan based on three pillars:

Avoiding: Creating exclusive sourcing zones to protect habitats.
Reducing: Implementing biodiversity strategies to lower negative impacts.
Compensating (Regenerating): Proactively regenerating ecosystems and compensating for any remaining harm.

Kering has pledged a net positive impact by 2025, committing to protect and regenerate areas six times the company’s own operational footprint. This includes restoring over one million hectares within supply chain landscapes and partnering with NGOs to protect additional critical ecosystems.

Energy and Other Sectors: Transformative Approaches

Beyond consumer goods and fashion, other sectors such as energy and finance are recalibrating operations to prioritize biodiversity, aiming for:

Carbon neutrality and climate mitigation as inseparable from healthy biodiversity.
Zero-deforestation supply chains.
Investments in critical ecosystem restoration and nature-based solutions.
Stringent biodiversity risk disclosure, aligning reporting with global frameworks and investor expectations.

Policy and Government: The Role of World Leaders

National governments and intergovernmental organizations are raising the baseline for biodiversity policy through legislative action, financing, and international cooperation. World leaders are tasked with:

Negotiating and ratifying global biodiversity frameworks and treaties.
Setting ambitious protected area targets (e.g., 30×30) and defining national biodiversity action plans.
Removing harmful subsidies (such as $500 billion annually for nature-destructive activities) and redirecting resources toward nature-positive outcomes.
Developing regulatory requirements for business biodiversity risk assessment and transparent disclosure.
Mobilizing at least $200 billion USD annually in conservation finance by 2030, from both public and private sectors.

Encouragingly, both political and business communities are converging around these goals, signaling a new era in environmental governance.

Aligning Business with Global Biodiversity Targets

In response to frameworks like the GBF, business leaders are beginning to:

Assess Dependencies: Evaluating how operations, supply chains, and products depend on natural systems.
Disclose Risks and Impacts: Integrating biodiversity metrics into annual disclosures, sustainability reports, and financial filings according to emerging global standards and regulations.
Set Science-Based Targets: Adopting biodiversity targets that match those in the GBF, including protected areas, regenerative agriculture, and deforestation-free supply chains.
Innovate and Collaborate: Partnering with NGOs, local communities, and governments to develop scalable solutions for ecosystem restoration and sustainable resource management.

Challenges and Barriers to Scaling Biodiversity Action

Integrating Biodiversity into Core Strategy: Many organizations struggle to move beyond CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) positioning to fully embed biodiversity into core governance, procurement, and risk management processes.
Lack of Standardized Metrics: Measuring biodiversity impacts and progress toward targets is challenging due to the complex, localized nature of ecosystems.
Resource and Capacity Gaps: Particularly for SMEs and companies operating in developing regions, building capacity and financing large-scale restoration or conservation projects remains a major hurdle.
Policy Coherence: Global, national, and local policy frameworks do not always align, leading to gaps and inconsistencies in implementation and reporting.
Market Incentives: Creating sufficient demand and financial reward for biodiversity-positive products and investments is still an unfolding process.

Despite these obstacles, momentum is building—spurred by increasing awareness, consumer pressure, investor scrutiny, and a growing library of proven business models and policy innovations.

Emerging Best Practices and Solutions

Challenge	Best Practice Example
Supply Chain Transparency	Leveraging traceability technology and third-party certification (e.g., Rainforest Alliance, FSC) for key commodities.
Biodiversity Risk Disclosure	Integrating biodiversity metrics in annual environmental, social, and governance (ESG) reports, aligned with the GBF and national standards.
Restoration Financing	Partnering with multilateral organizations, ethical investors, and local communities to co-fund ecosystem restoration projects.
Innovation & Collaboration	Co-developing regenerative business models and supply chains, and sharing best practices at industry summits and biodiversity forums.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q: Why is biodiversity crucial for business survival?

A: Biodiversity underpins services such as clean water, healthy soil, pollination, and climate regulation. Loss of biodiversity threatens stable supply chains, introduces higher costs, increases regulatory risks, and can damage a company’s reputation and license to operate.

Q: What are the core targets of the Kunming-Montreal Biodiversity Framework relevant to businesses?

A: The framework includes 23 targets, with Target 15 specifically calling on businesses and financial institutions to assess, disclose, and mitigate biodiversity risks and dependencies by 2030. The 30×30 target to protect at least 30% of land and ocean by 2030 is also pivotal for business activities linked to land or resources.

Q: Which sectors are leading in biodiversity action, and how?

A: Sectors like consumer goods, fashion (e.g., Natura &Co, Kering), energy, and finance are taking the lead. They are investing in regenerative supply chains, strict sourcing standards, restoration of crucial habitats, risk assessments, and public reporting.

Q: How can businesses start aligning with global biodiversity targets?

A: Begin by mapping dependencies, disclosing risks in sustainability and financial reports, collaborating with stakeholders, and adopting science-based, measurable targets aligned with the GBF or national biodiversity plans.

Q: What are the main barriers for companies in implementing biodiversity-positive actions?

A: Major barriers include lack of standardized metrics, capacity and resource gaps, siloed responsibility within organizations, and insufficient incentives. Overcoming these requires leadership commitment, stakeholder collaboration, innovation, and clear policy direction.

Conclusion: Toward a Nature-Positive Economy

The journey toward halting and reversing biodiversity loss is urgent and complex. However, with global frameworks now clearly spelling out requirements and opportunities, leading companies and world leaders are beginning to remake supply chains, investment strategies, and regulatory landscapes around a new, nature-centric economy. Business as usual is no longer compatible with the planetary boundaries humanity has crossed; by driving innovation, transparency, and bold environmental leadership, the world’s businesses and policymakers can help ensure a sustainable future for all.

References

Author

medha deb

Medha Deb is an editor with a master's degree in Applied Linguistics from the University of Hyderabad. She believes that her qualification has helped her develop a deep understanding of language and its application in various contexts.

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