Businesses are increasingly expected to address their environmental impact and adopt more sustainable practices. The urgent need for climate action in response to climate change is driving organizations to rethink their strategies and commitments. While achieving carbon neutral status is a significant milestone—referring to balancing carbon emissions with equivalent offsets—nature positive business strategies go beyond being carbon neutral by actively restoring and regenerating natural ecosystems.
Introduction
As the global climate crisis intensifies and global warming accelerates, businesses must move beyond carbon neutrality—not just reducing emissions but actively contributing to restoring and regenerating natural ecosystems. A nature positive business strategy integrates carbon emissions, carbon footprint, and nature conservation, ensuring that your company’s actions help reverse nature loss and build resilience for people, planet, and profit.
Nature Positive Business Strategies Beyond Carbon Neutrality
What Does Being “Nature Positive” Mean?
A nature positive approach means making sure a business has a net positive impact on ecosystems. That includes:
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Restoring nature: Rehabilitating degraded lands, improving soil health, restoring wetlands.
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Protecting and enhancing biodiversity: Preserving wildlife habitats and native species.
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Supporting natural carbon sinks: Planting forests, regenerating grasslands to absorb carbon dioxide.
It’s more than net zero emissions or carbon neutrality. Your strategy should help regenerate nature, not just offset damage. While carbon offsetting is often used to achieve net zero or carbon neutrality, a nature positive approach goes beyond carbon offsetting by actively regenerating and restoring nature.
The Business Case for Prioritizing Nature
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Risk management and resilience
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Nature loss increases nature-related risks like extreme weather, making it essential for businesses to prioritize nature in their risk management strategies.
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Investing in ecosystem restoration enhances climate resilience, safeguards your supply chain, and ensures the sustainable use of natural resources critical to business operations.
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Market advantage and brand reputation
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More than 400 companies have signed onto the Business for Nature campaign, calling for mandatory nature-related disclosures by 2030. This reflects growing customer and investor preference for sustainable brands that deliver clear environmental benefits.
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Regulatory preparedness
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The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework aims to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030 and fully recover by 2050—expect stricter laws requiring nature-related financial disclosures and science-based targets alignment.
Setting Nature Positive Goals (NEW)
Setting ambitious, actionable nature positive goals is the cornerstone of a successful sustainability strategy. Unlike traditional targets that focus solely on reducing carbon emissions or achieving carbon neutrality, nature positive aims encompass a broader vision—restoring ecosystems, protecting biodiversity, and ensuring a net positive impact on the environment.
Key steps for setting nature positive targets:
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Align with science-based frameworks: Use guidance from the Science Based Targets Network (SBTN) and the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) to ensure your goals are credible and measurable. These frameworks help companies set targets that address both climate and nature, including biodiversity, water, and land use.
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Go beyond net zero: Set goals that not only reduce your carbon footprint but also regenerate natural ecosystems and reverse nature loss. This could include targets for restoring wetlands, increasing native species populations, or enhancing natural carbon sinks.
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Engage your value chain: Involve suppliers, partners, and local communities in your nature positive journey. Setting nature positive goals across your value chain amplifies your impact and builds resilience.
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Integrate double materiality: Consider both the impact your business has on nature and the risks that nature-related dependencies pose to your operations. This holistic approach ensures your targets address all relevant environmental impacts.
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Make goals time-bound and transparent: Define clear timelines and regularly communicate progress to stakeholders. Transparency builds trust and drives accountability within the nature positive movement.
By setting robust, science-based nature positive goals, your business can lead the way in environmental sustainability, support the global push to reverse nature loss, and secure long-term value for both people and planet.
Pillars of a Nature Positive Strategy
1. Embedding Biodiversity in Corporate Strategy
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Define nature positive targets that aim to reverse biodiversity decline by 2030, including setting nature targets that establish clear, measurable goals for a company’s impact on biodiversity and ecosystems.
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Align with frameworks like SBTN (Science Based Targets Network) and TNFD (Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures) to set double materiality targets—covering both climate and biodiversity. The nine planetary boundaries provide a framework for understanding Earth’s ecological limits when setting nature and biodiversity targets.
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Categorize nature-related dependencies in sectors like raw materials, water use, and land utilization.
2. Measure, Report, and Disclose
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Calculate a comprehensive environmental footprint, including GHG emissions (greenhouse gases, Scope 1, 2, 3) and biodiversity impacts, and track progress toward emissions targets.
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Report regularly using standards from SBTN and TNFD, ensuring transparency about both positive and negative impacts.
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Prepare for potential regulation requiring such disclosures by 2030.
3. Reduce and Remove
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Drive carbon reduction across operations and value chain—prioritize energy efficiency, renewable energy sources, and nature-based solutions to reduce the amount of carbon emitted and decrease reliance on fossil fuels as a key part of the carbon reduction strategy.
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Where remaining emissions exist, invest in nature-based carbon removal projects, such as mangrove restoration and afforestation.
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Complement these with technological carbon capture where viable.
4. Restore and Regenerate
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Launch nature positive initiatives like carbon offset projects that use credible carbon offsets delivering additional community and biodiversity benefits (e.g., reforestation, agroforestry).
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Develop nature positive products as part of these initiatives to reduce environmental impact, enhance resilience, and meet growing demand for sustainable offerings.
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Engage local communities in nature conservation, fair labor, and sustainable land management.
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Track ecosystem services delivered—like flood control, pollination, and water purification.
5. Engage Stakeholders
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Partner with NGOs, governments, indigenous communities, and academia.
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Educate employees and consumers on your nature positive journey.
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Incentivize suppliers to set science based targets and adopt sustainable practices.
Evaluating Environmental Impact (NEW)
To achieve a truly nature positive strategy, businesses must rigorously evaluate their environmental impact—not just once, but as an ongoing process. This means looking beyond carbon footprints to assess how operations affect biodiversity, water resources, soil health, and local ecosystems.
How to evaluate your environmental impacts:
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Comprehensive footprint analysis: Measure your total environmental footprint, including greenhouse gas emissions (Scope 1, 2, and 3), land and water use, and impacts on biodiversity. Use recognized tools and metrics to ensure accuracy and comparability.
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Assess ecosystem services: Evaluate how your business activities influence vital ecosystem services such as pollination, water purification, and carbon sequestration. Understanding these dependencies helps identify both risks and opportunities for positive change.
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Monitor nature related risks: Track exposure to nature related risks like resource scarcity, regulatory changes, and extreme weather events. This proactive approach supports effective risk management and business resilience.
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Leverage technology and data: Utilize remote sensing, satellite imagery, and biodiversity monitoring tools to gather real-time data on your environmental impacts. These insights enable adaptive management and continuous improvement.
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Report and adapt: Regularly disclose your findings using frameworks like TNFD and SBTN. Transparent reporting not only meets regulatory expectations but also demonstrates your commitment to a nature positive future.
By systematically evaluating your environmental impacts, you can identify priority areas for action, track progress toward your nature positive targets, and ensure your business is contributing to a healthier, more resilient planet.
Case Studies & Success Stories
Case Study 1 – Forest-Friendly Merchandise
A fashion brand committed to using natural materials and signed a Nature Positive Initiative. They:
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Swapped conventional cotton for regenerative organic cotton.
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Invested in agroforestry programs in India.
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Achieved a 30% increase in soil carbon and 15% biodiversity score improvement by 2023.
Case Study 2 – Tech Company + Reforestation
A global tech firm:
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Achieved net zero emissions in operations.
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Funded carbon removal projects in the Amazon.
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Shared progress via TNFD-aligned disclosures.
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Reported a positive environmental health impact, including improved local water quality and quantity.
H1: Tools & Frameworks for Nature Positive Transition
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Framework / Standard |
Focus Area |
Benefit |
|---|---|---|
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SBTN |
Science-backed nature targets |
Credible approach to set science based targets |
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TNFD |
Disclosure of nature-related impacts |
Meets investor and regulator demands |
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Kunming-Montreal GBF |
Global biodiversity goals to halt decline |
Aligns business actions with international goals |
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Business for Nature |
Coalition for mandatory nature disclosures |
Peer learning & advocacy platform |
“The Kunming‑Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework aims to halt and reverse the global decline of nature and biodiversity.” “SBTN and TNFD frameworks have been designed to consider double materiality in nature‑related target setting.”
How to Get Started
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Map your impact: Understand how your operations and supply chain affect nature.
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Set priorities: Define your biggest risks and opportunities—carbon, water, land use, biodiversity hotspots.
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Establish measurable targets: Include net zero, nature positive aims, renewable energy adoption, and ecosystem restoration.
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Integrate across functions: Embed targets in operations, procurement, and marketing goals.
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Finance your transition: Use green financing and internal carbon pricing to fund initiatives.
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Monitor & adapt: Use remote sensing, biodiversity metrics, and annual audits; publish findings and iterate.
The Path to a Nature Positive Future
Achieving a nature positive future doesn’t stop at carbon neutrality. It demands comprehensive strategy, sustainable practices, and transparency on how business decisions affect nature. As the nature positive movement gains momentum, companies that act early—embedding natural carbon sinks, fostering nature positive projects, and aligning with global frameworks—will stand out for their environmental sustainability, long-term resilience, and enhanced brand reputation.
Resources & Further Reading
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World Wildlife Fund on the Kunming‑Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework
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SBTN: Science-based targets for nature — sciencebasedtargetsnetwork.org
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TNFD: Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures — tnfd.global
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Business for Nature — businessfornature.org
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Doing business in a nature positive way: BCG insights (internal link)
Conclusion
Adopting a nature positive strategy means going beyond managing carbon—forging a resilient, regenerative future that delivers net positive impact for ecosystems, communities, and business value. In a world where environmental degradation threatens economies and stability, nature positive companies will lead—and thrive.
Now is the time to act: set ambitious nature targets, track progress, and make your business part of the solution.
