Crafting a leading nature strategy in 2025
While the Omnibus has helped take the wind out of sustainability’s sails, nature is firmly back on the corporate agenda.
A decade ago I was helping businesses and financial institutions live up to their shared commitment to eliminate deforestation. At the time, momentum was high. Companies were making public pledges, and financial institutions were starting to ask tougher questions. I had big hopes.
But we didn’t achieve the deforestation-free world that we aimed for — at least not in the timeframe we set. One reason was that deforestation was treated as a siloed issue, managed separately, and measured with narrow KPIs that didn’t tell the whole story.
That’s changing. Under sustained pressure from NGOs and financial institutions, businesses are beginning to grasp the full extent of their impacts and dependencies on nature. And that shift — from viewing nature as external, to seeing it as material — is reshaping corporate strategy.
Why a robust nature strategy matters now
In 2025, nature is no longer a fringe concern. The collapse of biodiversity, degradation of ecosystems, and intensifying climate impacts are converging into a systemic business risk. Companies that once treated nature as an abstract sustainability issue are now realising its material significance through disrupted supply chains and water scarcity, regulatory exposure, and stakeholder backlash.
Regulatory pressure is tightening. The Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) has released its recommendations, and adoption is gaining momentum globally. The EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) now mandates disclosures on nature-related impacts, risks, and opportunities.
Investors are paying attention. Leading asset managers are integrating nature into risk screening and portfolio strategies. The World Economic Forum now ranks biodiversity loss among the top global risks, and financial institutions are beginning to quantify nature-related dependencies across sectors.
Nature loss is amplifying physical risks across industries. Degraded ecosystems mean dwindling water supplies, declining soil health, and weakened natural protections against floods, wildfires, and storms. As forests, wetlands, and coral reefs disappear, companies face operational disruptions, damaged infrastructure, and rising costs, particularly in sectors dependent on stable supply chains and ecosystem services.
What a ‘leading’ nature strategy looks like
In a volatile world, high-level commitments and platitudes won’t make any business a ‘leader’, and they certainly won’t protect them from the shocks of the 21st Century.
At Transition Agency, we talk about Purposeful Resilience — thriving in today’s uncertain world while shaping the future we want. For nature strategy, that means building value chains that can withstand ecological disruption, while eliminating the negative impacts your business has on nature, while helping others do the same.
A leading nature strategy exemplifies this by integrating environmental considerations into core business operations. It goes beyond compliance, embedding nature-related risks and opportunities into decision-making processes, fostering innovation, and ensuring long-term sustainability. By doing so, companies not only mitigate risks associated with biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation but also position themselves to capitalize on emerging opportunities in a nature-positive economy.
So, what are the characteristics of a ‘leading’ nature strategy?
Grounded in science: A credible strategy doesn’t just aim to do less harm — it sets goals aligned with planetary boundaries. That means restoring forests, regenerating soils, and protecting biodiversity, guided by frameworks like the Science-Based Targets for Nature (SBTN) or the Future-Fit Business Benchmark. These are not just environmental goals. They’re strategic responses to systemic risk.
Integrated across the business: Nature can’t be the job of the sustainability team alone. In leading companies, it’s a filter for decisions across procurement, product design, operations, finance, and brand. It shapes what you buy, how you make it, and how you sell it — ultimately embedding resilience and accountability throughout the value chain.
Informed by data and materiality: Guesswork won’t cut it. Leaders start with a clear picture of how their operations and supply chains depend on — and impact — nature. Tools like ENCORE, IBAT, and the TNFD LEAP approach help identify where action matters most. That insight drives smarter goals and more credible disclosure.
Backed by real governance: Strategy means nothing without ownership. A leading approach includes executive accountability, board-level oversight, and cross-functional governance. Nature is treated not as a reputational issue, but as a material business risk and opportunity, with the leadership structure to match.
Designed to create value: A leading nature strategy doesn’t just protect against risks, it creates upsides. Companies are finding growth in regenerative supply chains, low-impact materials, and nature-based solutions that reduce costs and build climate resilience. It opens doors to new markets, secures investor confidence, and strengthens brand trust in a world where stakeholders expect more than promises.
