Our thinking

A great LEAP forward

19 January, 2024

As the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos comes to a close, one positive outcome is that 320 companies have stepped forward as early adopters of the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD). This cohort includes leading companies, representing four trillion dollars in market capitalisation, and over one hundred financial institutions. Organisations including Heathrow and UBS have agreed to adopt the LEAP approach and publish TNFD-aligned disclosures as part of their annual corporate reporting for FY2023, FY2024 or FY2025.  

So why is it important? This announcement is a key milestone in the journey to nature positive, signalling that a diverse range of investors, lenders, insurers, and companies are recognising that their business models and portfolios are highly dependent on both nature and climate, and that efforts to identify and manage nature-related risks and opportunities are crucial. The voluntary uptake of the TNFD disclosure recommendations at such speed and scale (since they were only released four months ago) is an encouraging step in the right direction and paves the way for more companies to act in the future. 

The importance of nature and the need to protect and restore the environment is made ever clearer with the release of the Global Risks Report 2024. This outlines how the top four of the most severe risks expected over the next ten-year period are all environmental: extreme weather events, critical change to Earth systems, biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse and natural resource shortages. As such, nature and biodiversity are rapidly rising up the global to-do list. 

Ultimately, these announcements send a clear signal: nature matters, and action is needed now. So if you’re reading this and wondering how to make a start with your nature journey, we’re here to help! 

By Charlotte Pounder