Increasing Coherence Between Disclosure Standards And Frameworks On Biodiversity In G20 Countries

The recent adoption of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) marked a significant milestone for halting and reversing biodiversity loss. Its action Target 15 addresses transnational companies and financial institutions, encouraging them to monitor, assess, and disclose biodiversity risks, dependencies, and impacts. As biodiversity disclosure frameworks and standards evolve, harmonization becomes paramount. The users of disclosure information seek to systematically assess and incorporate risks and impacts into their decision-making. To do this, they need reliable and comparable data, but substantial inconsistencies and ambition gaps between disclosure standards and frameworks hinder comprehensive understanding and action on firms’ sustainability performance. Further, firms are unsure which sustainability reporting standards to follow to maximize transparency and fulfill data demands they (will) receive from downstream business partners. The proposed policy brief presents targeted recommendations to increase the coherence between biodiversity frameworks and standards, whilst keeping ambition levels high. The issue is extremely important for the effective transformation of the economic system and business models towards a greener, more inclusive economy and an equitable, nature-positive world. Our recommendations stem from comprehensive overview of the state of disclosure for nature and biodiversity in the G20 countries, as well as in-depth and evidence-based research conducted by think tanks in Germany and China and private sector organisation in Brazil. This policy brief was funded by the Post 2020 Biodiversity Framework – EU support project (a project funded by the EU and implemented by Expertise France) through the project “G20: Sustainable Finance for Nature and People”*.