Why climate and nature strategies go hand in hand

In the latest article to support businesses as they begin to build a strategy for nature, we consider the links between climate and nature, and how creating a strategy for one can support a plan for the other.

It’s impossible to ignore the links between the climate crisis and nature loss. This is why, explains Ben Matthews, a Senior Manager in PwC UK’s Sustainability team: “it’s crucial to look at the two things together, and think about one strategy for one planet.” 

The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), identifies climate change as one of five key drivers of biodiversity loss. The impacts of climate change on biodiversity loss are also expected to increase over the coming decades, even surpassing the impacts of land and sea use change in some cases.  

There are other examples of this symbiosis between nature and climate, such as the importance of trees and soil in sequestering and storing carbon, and the role that nature-based climate solutions like mangrove swamps play in protecting the land from floods. Many broader company sustainability targets are inter-related too, such as initiatives to build a circular economy that can help drive down emissions, as well as reducing wider environmental impacts. 

As Eva Zabey, CEO at Business for Nature, says: “There is a growing recognition of the interconnection of the issues and the realization that we can’t reach any of our climate goals without protecting and restoring nature.” 

Last year, the Business for Nature coalition launched the ‘It’s Now for Nature’ campaign which includes a step-by-step handbook on how to develop a nature strategy. The handbook promotes the ACT-D high level actions on nature – Assess, Commit, Transform and Disclose – which highlights the importance of considering climate and people as part of creating a credible nature strategy. 

Companies that already have a climate or sustainability strategy enjoy a head start when it comes to building one for nature, says Zabey. “They will have already laid many of the foundations such as knowing how to carry out a materiality assessment, and starting to understand how they can mitigate their impacts. If you already have support for a climate strategy, then this can be an easier way in, because nature can be an extension to it.” 

Policies and procedures such as strong governance structures and tying executive compensation to progress towards targets could already be in place, along with experience of data collection and engaging with stakeholders throughout the value chain. 

Companies beginning the journey of creating a climate or nature strategy should think about combining the two, suggests Luke Pritchard, Deputy Director of Nature Based Solutions at the We Mean Business coalition. Far from being double the work, he says: “There are a lot of efficiencies bringing them together, and you’re going to be reaching out to the same stakeholders to identify material impacts.” 

A lot of the data and insights that drive a climate strategy will have come from a materiality assessment, when a company assesses and analyses its dependencies, impacts, risks and opportunities by engaging with its stakeholders. Used for nature, this can also help to justify why targets and action are focused on a certain part of nature, such as reducing deforestation, or reducing water use. 

However, continues Pritchard: “While we have one metric for climate – measuring greenhouse gas emissions – and a fairly straightforward framework, collecting data for nature is more complex.” Companies need to be open and flexible, he advises, and think of ways to innovate. “It’s more complicated on the nature side but that shouldn’t hold you back,” he says.  

Zabey agrees: “Nature-related impacts and dependencies are inherently more complex than climate-related impacts, so we do need to recognize it won’t be a simple copy and paste exercise.” 

There are tools and guidance available to help companies identify and assess nature-related dependencies, impacts, risks and opportunities, including the LEAP Approach from the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD). 

Perhaps the greatest commonality between climate and nature can be found in the importance of gaining visibility deep into the value chain. After 20 years of creating climate strategies, says Pritchard: “we’ve learnt that you’re missing most of the impacts if you’re just looking internally at your own operations.  

For the average company, 80% of their climate impacts are in the value chain, and that’s absolutely going to be true with nature as well. So, at the very least, a climate strategy and a nature strategy need to speak to each other.”