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5 ways to integrate nature into your sustainability strategy

A primer for how organizations can help preserve and restore natural ecosystems. Read More

Nature-based solutions play a central role in sustainability efforts. Source: Khun Ta/Shutterstock

Nature-based solutions – actions or policies that preserve and restore natural ecosystems – have become a cornerstone of global conversations on sustainability in the last few years, as companies look to develop holistic strategies to mitigate environmental impact.

That’s in large part because they’re an incredibly powerful tool to combat climate change. According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), nature-based solutions could contribute up to 30 percent of the climate mitigation needed by 2050 to meet commitments under the Paris Agreement. The European bank Triodos, for example, recently announced that it would provide $515 million in loans, investments and contributions to the nature-based solutions sector over the next five years. And at a company level recent initiatives from Visa, Emirates and French luxury apparel group Kering have cemented nature-based solutions as an integral new dimension for ESG leaders to consider when devising their sustainability strategies. 

But given the potential breadth and complexity of such solutions, how can organizations best integrate nature into existing approaches? Here are five steps sustainability leaders can consider. 

Understand your company’s impact

Before you do anything, understand the impact of your own company operations on the natural world in granular detail.  

Unfortunately, there is no single, shared methodology for this process. For some companies, this exercise might be relatively straightforward. At sustainable packaging solutions manufacturer International Paper, for example, the entire business model has been based on sustainable forestry, noted chief sustainability officer Sophie Beckham at a Impact Leaders Lab event. “We live in this complex center where we’re dependent on forests for renewable raw material, and at the same time those [forests] are the engines for carbon storage and home to biodiversity,” she said. “If we’re really going to live up to our commitments around sustainable packaging solutions, we have to think about every box as a nature-based solution. The linkage is that tight, and it’s not like that for every company.”

For other organizations that may not have raw materials as a cornerstone of their existing sourcing practices, getting hold of useful data and metrics can be more challenging and require a new supply chain mapping exercise. After all, you can’t manage what you don’t measure. 

Identify the most material issues 

Now that you’re armed with insights on your supply chain, zero in on the most material issues for the business. Don’t be afraid to lean on partners to help you figure this out, Beckham said. International Paper received such help from WWF, The Nature Conservancy, The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and American Forest Foundation. “We don’t have partnerships because it makes us look good. We have them because we need perspective and their help to find effective solutions.”

Set a goal – and share it

Transparency is fast becoming a requirement, rather than a “nice to have” for any sustainability strategy, with the EU already rolling out the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and other national authorities, including the U.S., will likely follow suit.  

That means any roadmap for a nature-based initiative needs to be developed in plain sight, with openness around how it might be achieved, what the targets are and – crucially – a willingness to be honest when that plan goes awry. “Set a goal or a target, and if it doesn’t work or it doesn’t make sense, check and adjust,” Beckham said. “We’re in a space right now where there’s a little bit of grace for just doing something. Being able to course correct along the way and have some humility is critical to the whole approach.”

Work collaboratively 

The expansiveness of any nature-based project lends itself to working in partnership with others. As Microsoft outlined in a whitepaper last year, they’ve combined grassroots projects in water stewardship and preserving tropical forests, alongside developing tech tools that enable others to track their nature-related data. This includes satellite imaging tools to map deforestation, for example. 

By working in collaboration with partners, exchanging learnings and facilitating visibility, the company has amplified its impact far beyond what would have been possible if it had worked alone.  

At International Paper, the team has also worked alongside sustainable forestry platform Forest Solutions Group to work on nature-based solutions that benefit the forestry sector as a whole, rather than solely their own targets. That included the creation of a “nature positive roadmap,” a document designed to guide other organizations on how they can create and execute their nature-based solutions. 

Be patient 

Forget quick wins. Nature-based solutions take long-term commitment to deliver results. 

There was celebration, recently, when it was announced that the red-cockaded woodpecker, a species previously listed as endangered, had been officially downlisted. But it had followed years of work to preserve its habitat and restore forests by multiple organizations, including via a grant-making scheme created by International Paper and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. “It’s a huge win for wildlife and biodiversity,” said Beckham. “But it didn’t happen with one intervention, it was a decade-long – or more – process.”

Any sustainability leader looking to integrate nature into their sustainability strategy needs to be aware that it will take time and consistent effort to unlock its potential. But the payoff will make that investment more than worthwhile. 

Nature-based solutions are forecast to play a central role within international sustainability efforts in coming years, inspiring new initiatives that could create up to 32 million jobs globally by 2030, according to the U.N. Environment Programme. That growth is likely to make them foundational within corporate sustainability programmes in the near future too – a trajectory that should see put it top of the agenda for sustainability leaders. 

[Get the latest insights on carbon markets, disclosure, nature and more at GreenBiz 25 — our premier sustainability event, Feb. 10-12, Phoenix.]

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