The Biodiversity Application Guidance is part of a series of CDSB Framework application guidance, which aims to extend the TCFD recommendations and its core elements to nature
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.
A new CDSB Framework application guidance for biodiversity-related disclosures (the Biodiversity Application Guidance) has been produced by CDSB to assist companies in the disclosure of the material information about the risks and opportunities that biodiversity presents to an organisation’s strategy, financial performance and condition within the mainstream report (biodiversity-related financial disclosure). It is designed to supplement the CDSB Framework for reporting environmental and climate change information to investors (CDSB Framework).
The objective of the Biodiversity Application Guidance is to support organisations in preparing high-quality disclosures that enable users of mainstream reports to assess material biodiversity-related financial information. By ensuring that investors are receiving the material biodiversity-related information needed for effective capital allocation, the Biodiversity Application Guidance aims to assist in driving the transition to a sustainable and resilient economy. The intended users are organisations, both single companies and corporate groups, and those responsible for financial, governance and sustainability reporting.
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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.