CDSB is pleased to announce the release of its Biodiversity application guidance, which is now open for consultation.
It is increasingly recognised that biodiversity plays a vital underpinning role in supporting human life. In turn, threats to biodiversity have the potential to cause significant and wide-ranging impacts for business.
CDSB’s recent research on European reporting practices shows a definitive gap in the integration of biodiversity matters into mainstream reports, with less than half of Europe’s largest companies including reference to the topic in their reports. Consultation with stakeholders and experts also tells us that it is not only consolidation that is needed, but an evolution of reporting for biodiversity matters.
The CDSB Framework application guidance for biodiversity-related disclosures (the Biodiversity Guidance) has been produced by the CDSB to assist companies in the disclosure of material biodiversity-related information in the mainstream report. It is designed to supplement the CDSB Framework for reporting environmental and climate change information to investors.
- The Biodiversity Guidance is designed around the first six reporting requirements of the CDSB Framework:
- Governance
- Management’s environmental policies, strategies and targets
- Risks and opportunities
- Sources of environmental impact
- Performance and comparative analysis
- Outlook
The first six reporting requirements set out the key content elements for reporting material environmental information in the mainstream report. For each of the reporting requirements, the Biodiversity Guidance provides:
- The first six reporting requirements set out the key content elements for reporting material environmental information in the mainstream report. For each of the reporting requirements, the Biodiversity Guidance provides:
- A checklist including suggestions for effective biodiversity-related disclosures;
- Detailed reporting suggestions and guidance in relation to biodiversity-related issues to complement the CDSB reporting requirements;
- A selection of external resources to assist companies in developing their mainstream biodiversity reporting and;
In addition, the Biodiversity Guidance provides an overview of the significance of biodiversity to businesses, explaining the importance of biodiversity-related risks, and highlighting the key characteristics of biodiversity and their importance to corporate reporting.
How to take part?
Visit: www.cdsb.net/biodiversity
Email your response to Laura Clavey at Laura.Clavey@cdsb.net .
About the Climate Disclosure Standards Board
CDSB is an international consortium of business and environmental non-governmental organisations (NGOs). We are committed to advancing and aligning the global mainstream corporate reporting model to equate natural and social capital with financial capital.
We do this by offering companies a framework for reporting environment- and social-related information with the same rigour as financial information. In turn this helps them to provide investors with decision-useful environmental information via the mainstream corporate report, enhancing the efficient allocation of capital. Regulators have also benefited from CDSB’s compliance-ready materials.
Recognising that information about natural, social and financial capital is equally essential for an understanding of corporate performance, our work builds trust and transparency needed to foster resilient capital markets. Collectively, we aim to contribute to more sustainable economic, social and environmental systems.
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We welcome your input and discussions. If you would like to comment on this document, please contact us at info@cdsb.net.
The Climate Disclosure Standards Board (CDSB) would like to thank the members of the CDSB Technical Working Group on Biodiversity-related disclosures for their guidance and feedback on the content of this publication.