Biodiversity

Business Case

Brand reputation

Biodiversity-positive sourcing enhances brand reputation and customer loyalty, while failure to address biodiversity impacts creates escalating reputational risk as public awareness grows and NGO scrutiny intensifies.

Financial resilience

Biodiverse ecosystems regulate local climate conditions, support water cycling, maintain soil stability and buffer against pests and disease, all of which reduce input cost volatility and avoid the expense of supply disruptions. Sourcing from biodiverse landscapes protects against the financial impact of drought, flooding and pest outbreaks that would otherwise drive up raw material costs, trigger emergency sourcing and increase procurement spend.

Investor confidence

Companies proactively managing biodiversity risk can gain preferential access to capital, as investors increasingly screen portfolios for nature-related financial risk.

Legal and regulatory compliance

Focusing on biodiversity allows organizations to get ahead of regulatory frameworks such as the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and TNFD reporting.

Market access

Early movers in biodiversity-positive procurement gain stronger positioning in tenders and contracts where nature-related criteria are becoming a prerequisite, particularly with institutional buyers and government procurement bodies.

 

Operational continuity

Biodiversity loss poses a direct threat to supply chain continuity. Ecosystem damage in sourcing regions means disrupted supply of raw materials, stranded supplier relationships and the inability to continue production.

Strategy & Planning

Assessment

Initial Action

Conduct Supply Chain Biodiversity Footprint Assessment to screen suppliers on biodiversity risk: identify procurement categories, regions or sites with high biodiversity impact and dependencies, evaluate biodiversity risk and potential impacts in sourcing regions; for each sourcing region, identify biodiversity risk, sensitive habitats and conduct a high-level screening of supply chain impacts and dependencies using tools such as ENCORE and IBAT, high-impact commodity lists and preliminary risk indicators. Supplement ENCORE and IBAT screening with the WWF Biodiversity Risk Filter for an accessible initial risk prioritisation by commodity and geography, and Global Forest Watch for real-time forest cover and land use change monitoring in high-risk sourcing regions.

Review for the following biodiversity loss drivers for sourced materials:

  • changes in land and sea use
  • direct exploitation of natural resources
  • climate change
  • pollution / contamination
  • the invasion of alien species
Intermediate Progress

Conduct detailed biodiversity impact assessments for priority sourcing regions, evaluating species presence, habitat condition and supply chain dependencies on ecosystem service.

Advanced Practice

Conduct comprehensive nature-related risk and opportunity assessment across all procurement categories using framework such as TNFD LEAP or SBTN steps 1 and 2, identifying remaining gaps in biodiversity monitoring, and use high‑resolution satellite tools to map habitat fragmentation, species ranges and corridor connectivity at sourcing sites.

Policy

Initial Action

Adopt a biodiversity commitment aligned with global goals and national plans, including avoiding sourcing from suppliers operating in UNESCO World Heritage Sites or IUCN Protected Areas, setting do not harm requirements for critical habitats, banning harmful inputs such as PFAs (forever chemicals) and polluting chemical toxins and prohibiting sourcing of species under Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

Intermediate Progress

Create procurement policy committing to "no gross loss" of biodiversity in operations and supply chains (avoid using "net loss") and only working with suppliers willing to partner and commit to biodiversity no gross loss, with high-risk suppliers required to align with habitat‑protection baselines.

Advanced Practice

Create procurement policy committing to "biodiversity net gain" (more biodiversity created than lost) and only working with suppliers willing to partner and commit to biodiversity net gain, with biodiversity net gain calculated using the Business and Biodiversity Offsets Programme (BBOP) methodology, the TNFD LEAP approach or an equivalent independently verified standard.

Targets

Initial Action

Identify priority habitats, commodities or sourcing regions with the highest potential biodiversity impact and set targets for sourcing from suppliers with biodiversity policies and practices, following guidance such as TNFD or SBTN targets for nature.

Intermediate Progress

Develop category plans that include supplier habitat protection and restoration actions, setting restoration‑commitment targets for high‑impact commodities.

Advanced Practice

Commit to biodiversity net gain outcomes across sourcing categories, with outcomes measured from a set to the State of Nature baseline.

Supplier Selection

Screening

Initial Action

Add the following basic biodiversity practice questions into prequalification and RFPs, excluding suppliers operating illegally in protected or high conservation value areas or with unresolved habitat destruction cases:

  • site and farm locations (for biodiversity screening)
  • disclose whether operations affect threatened or endangered species
Intermediate Progress

In the prequalification process, request information on:

  • habitat protection and species conservation efforts
  • site proximity mapping to critical ecosystems, migratory corridors, wetlands or key biodiversity areas (KBAs)
  • pesticide‑use and chemical‑use logs, including mitigation measures for pollinator protection.
Advanced Practice

Require third-party verification of biodiversity claims as prerequisites to apply for RFP as relevant for the product sourced.

Selection

Initial Action

Give preference to bids with recognized biodiversity practices.

Intermediate Progress

Score bids based on biodiversity impact assessments, mitigation, native vegetation retention and restoration and give preference to suppliers who are implementing agroecological methods, actively protecting or restoring biodiversity, such as certified sustainable forests or farms that use agroecological methods or are operating in jurisdictional or landscape programmes (regions tracking biodiversity at scale).

Advanced Practice

Select suppliers that can provide site level biodiversity data with verified nature positive outcomes, such as Ecological Outcome Verification, Regenerative Organic Certified or independently verified biodiversity management plans aligned with TNFD or SBTN frameworks.

Contracts

Initial Action

Include contractual clauses requiring compliance with biodiversity policies, including no operations in protected areas, no harm to threatened species and no sourcing of species under Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

Intermediate Progress

Require biodiversity management plans for high risk sites.

Advanced Practice

Include biodiversity net gain clauses in contracts with required calculations, third party verification of biodiversity claims and with implementation plans.

Supplier Engagement

Goal Setting

Initial Action

Communicate biodiversity policy requirements, including expectations for protected species and habitat avoidance and develop joint targets for implementation of conservation efforts.

Intermediate Progress

Set specific biodiversity‑risk mitigation milestones and biodiversity improvement targets with strategic suppliers for priority sites, such as native vegetation retention rates, pollinator habitat creation or species protection commitments.

Advanced Practice

Set goals with Tier 1 suppliers on cascading biodiversity requirements to their own suppliers and establishing multi-year targets for verified nature positive outcomes across the supply chain, including species‑recovery targets, habitat‑net‑gain milestones and land‑restoration trajectories.

Capacity Building

Initial Action

Provide training on biodiversity conservation, including species specific protection guidelines, integrated pest management, native species retention, pollination and wildlife friendly practices.

Intermediate Progress

Hold supplier training sessions on conservation techniques, habitat restoration and biodiversity monitoring methods.

Advanced Practice

Provide advanced training to suppliers on TNFD reporting, SBTN target-setting and building internal capacity to monitor and manage biodiversity across their own supply chains.

Data

Initial Action

Support suppliers with collecting baseline biodiversity data, including site locations relative to sensitive habitats, species presence and current conservation practices.

Intermediate Progress

Support suppliers in developing structured biodiversity tracking systems and collecting geotagged monitoring data, including habitat‑condition photos, satellite‑validated land‑cover evidence and species‑occurrence observations.

Advanced Practice

Support suppliers with third‑party verification of biodiversity‑outcome data, especially for high‑risk commodities, and create shared data platforms for biodiversity monitoring across the supplier base.

Certifications

Initial Action

Provide guidance on recognized certification programs with biodiversity criteria relevant to the organization's key commodity categories (such as FSC/PEFC for timber and paper, RSPO for palm oil, Rainforest Alliance for agricultural commodities, Bonsucro for sugarcane, RTRS for soy).

Intermediate Progress

Sponsor suppliers to participate in recognized certification programs with biodiversity requirements, prioritizing high-impact commodity categories.

Advanced Practice

Require certification for strategic suppliers in biodiversity-sensitive categories and support Tier 2 suppliers in achieving certification.

Advisory

Initial Action

Provide guidance to suppliers on identifying biodiversity risks in their operations and advise on basic habitat protection measures.

Intermediate Progress

Provide ecological expertise for suppliers to improve biodiversity and conservation efforts.

Advanced Practice

Consult and work with suppliers on embedding biodiversity due diligence into their own procurement practices, including developing their own supplier codes and screening processes for nature impacts.

Financial Support

Initial Action

Fund supplier access to biodiversity screening tools, habitat mapping resources and conservation training materials.

Intermediate Progress

Co-invest in conservation technology and habitat restoration infrastructure.

Advanced Practice

Provide commercial incentives to suppliers for improvements in biodiversity performance, such as price, volume, duration, preferred supplier status or premium payment models linked to verified biodiversity outcomes.

Audits

Initial Action

Require suppliers to complete self-assessment questionnaires on biodiversity practices, covering habitat protection, species impacts, pesticide use and conservation certifications.

Intermediate Progress

Create supplier audit program to ensure no harm is done in the production process and to validate conservation efforts.

Advanced Practice

Support strategic suppliers in conducting their own biodiversity audits across their supply chains and sharing findings, including habitat impact, species data and restoration outcomes.

Project Partnerships & Innovation

Initial Action

Launch pilot projects to improve biodiversity practices in high risk regions.

Intermediate Progress

Scale biodiversity programs across sourcing regions by expanding pilots and collaborating with suppliers on innovative challenges for nature positive solutions.

Advanced Practice

Create habitat restoration programs or join multi stakeholder coalitions to support multi-stakeholder biodiversity collaboration in shared sourcing regions and to regenerate degraded areas in sourcing regions, such as supplier‑to‑supplier learning networks for ecosystem‑restoration knowledge exchange.

Continuous Improvement

Metrics

Initial Action

Track the following:

  • number of suppliers engaged in biodiversity conservation efforts
  • percentage of purchases from suppliers with biodiversity conservation efforts
  • supplier participation in buyer sponsored biodiversity programs
  • suppliers operating in high-risk areas and participation in risk mitigation initiatives
Intermediate Progress

Track progress indicators such as:

  • hectares protected, restored or under improved management
  • supplier aggregated progress against biodiversity targets
  • pesticide reduction performance
Advanced Practice

Track indicators such as:

  • biodiversity gain across entire supply chain footprint
  • percentage of strategic suppliers with cascaded biodiversity requirements
  • species recovery or stabilization outcomes in priority sourcing landscapes

Scorecards

Initial Action

Introduce basic biodiversity criteria into supplier evaluation forms covering habitat protection, species impact, conservation certifications as relevant and incident reports.

Intermediate Progress

Integrate biodiversity KPIs into supplier scorecards and require corrective action plans for suppliers with poor biodiversity performance.

Advanced Practice

Weigh biodiversity performance in supplier scorecards, with top performers receiving preferential weighting in tenders and bottom performers required to submit improvement plans.

Impact Verification

Initial Action

Gather feedback from suppliers on effectiveness of biodiversity programs and feasibility of conservation requirements.

Intermediate Progress

Assess whether supplier engagement initiatives are delivering measurable biodiversity outcomes across priority sourcing regions, validated using third‑party ecological assessments (NGOs, scientific institutions) or independent ecological monitoring in priority sourcing regions, using recognised biodiversity assessment protocols (e.g., TNFD LEAP, SBTN biodiversity measurement guidance or national biodiversity survey standards.

Advanced Practice

Measure biodiversity gain across entire supply chain footprint, verifying the outcomes through third party or independent assessment.

Sources consulted

Soil Animal Welfare and Rights