Nature & biodiversity

Creating a nature positive future

The natural world provides the air we breathe, the water we drink and the essential resources and services that enable our societies and economies to thrive. So when nature is under threat, it has an impact on all of us. And right now, our natural world is declining at an unprecedented rate. 

Businesses face new risks from nature loss, and will need to address the emerging regulatory, consumer and investor response. By putting nature positive strategies in place and integrating them into their plans, business leaders can harness new opportunities that create sustainable outcomes for all.

PwC’s passionate community of solvers is working together with businesses and governments to transition to a nature positive future.

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Centre for Nature Positive Business

PwC's global Centre for Nature Positive Business unites more than 500 nature specialists from across our network. Bringing together knowledge in biodiversity, water, forestry, regenerative agriculture and geospatial analysis, the Centre is accelerating the global transition to a nature positive and net zero future.

The Centre: 

  • catalyses collaboration among public, private and civil-society organisations to create new communities of solvers in the fight to halt and reverse nature loss
  • empowers business leaders to play their part, by helping the largest organisations in the world to transition to nature positive business models
  • helps drive the development of frameworks, standards and methodologies that provide the architecture necessary for rapid system-wide change
  • upskills our people around the world to build nature positive, sustainable outcomes into project delivery
  • contributes to and builds trust in the diverse global factbase that underpins the nature-action agenda. 

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Four ways to start embedding nature in your business model

Begin your nature positive journey

Where to start?

Many organisations may be further along the path to becoming nature positive than they think. We can help you understand what nature means for your business, why it matters and how you can start your nature positive journey. 

Understand your interface with nature

What are your impacts, dependencies and risks?

Understanding and managing your business’s location-based impacts and dependencies on nature is an essential starting point to ensure its long-term sustainability and to manage risk. We can help you understand your interface with nature, the risks and opportunities it poses to your business, and how to monitor your progress.

Understand your interface with nature

Develop a nature strategy

Turning insights into action

Once you understand your business’s interface with nature, you must translate that information into a clear vision and mission with robust transition plans, goals and targets that integrate with existing sustainability and corporate strategies. We can help you develop bespoke plans to transition towards a nature positive future.

Develop a nature strategy

Communicate your efforts

Nature reporting, regulation and transparency

Transparency in measuring and reporting nature-related impacts, risks and transformation is an essential component to attract and retain investment as well as to adhere to regulation and manage reputation. The Centre for Nature Positive Business works with organisations to fully understand their interface with nature and to report their impact, targets and strategies in line with best practice and regulation.

Communicate your efforts

Delivering nature positive outcomes

PwC helped the Taskforce for Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) catalogue the nature data landscape and identify key issues and challenges.

Together with the TNFD, PwC is convening nature data providers to collaborate on solutions to address these issues and provide businesses with access to relevant data to support their nature risk assessments and disclosures.

To manage nature risks and opportunities well, business leaders are going to need reliable sources of data on the health of nature in places where they—and their value-chain partners—operate. But when the TNFD assessed the nature data that’s available, it found quality shortcomings and no consistent taxonomy. It also noted that end users don’t always understand how to use nature data to aid business decisions.

These findings led the TNFD to launch  the Nature-related Data Catalyst Initiative (DCI), which PwC plays a key role in managing. The DCI is working quickly to achieve several goals: identifying and classifying nature-related data platforms and tools, highlighting opportunities for growth and collaboration among players, and diagnosing nature-related data gaps that hinder organisations in effectively measuring and reporting on their interactions with nature.

The pharma company developed an industry-leading nature positive and net zero business strategy, with help from PwC UK. 

Recognizing that biodiversity is crucial to ensure the sustainable supply of raw materials for medicines and vaccines – and a concern for its stakeholders – a global pharmaceutical company chose to embed nature and climate priorities in its strategy. Managers also wanted to align their decision making on these issues with wider business’s goals. To do that, they knew they would need reliable information: not just data on the company’s impacts and dependencies on biodiversity, water, land and resources, but also insight into associated financial risks and opportunities.

A PwC team began by screening the company’s operations, supply chain and product portfolios to identify key impacts and dependencies. Next, the team ran a scenario analysis to assess the company’s financial exposure to physical and transition risks from biodiversity loss and climate change. They also valued opportunities linked to climate and nature, which helped build the business case for a strategic shift.

From there, company managers and PwC specialists developed ambitious targets for biodiversity, water, waste and resources to 2030 and beyond. They also developed a road map of initiatives to meet these targets and estimated each initiative’s costs and benefits. By the end of the project, the company had an evidence-backed climate and nature strategy, along with a clear plan for action.

The Clean Coast, Clean Waters Initiative Fund supports efforts to rid British Columbia’s shorelines of waste. 

Ocean plastic, abandoned vessels, loose buoys and other forms of marine debris are known to have harmful effects on sea life and ocean ecosystems. In British Columbia, local communities and government officials recognised the significant risks that pollution poses to the Pacific shoreline. In 2021, the provincial government established a Clean Coast, Clean Waters Initiative Fund to support local agencies to carry out shoreline cleanups and remove derelict vessels from coastal waters. PwC Canada was tasked with administering the fund, reviewing applications and handling grants to successful applicants. To date, PwC has administered US$15 million that has resulted in over 3,000 km of shorelines being cleaned; with more than 1.3 million kgs of debris collected, and greater than 50% of plastics collected being recycled; and 118 derelict vessels removed. In addition to being the biggest ocean clean-up in British Columbia's history, the initiative generated positive social outcomes through job creation, significant involvement of indigenous communities, and economic activity.

The UK’s £100 million Biodiverse Landscapes Fund aims to reduce poverty, protect and restore biodiversity, and lessen the impact of climate change in six environmentally critical landscapes across the globe.

Around the world, the challenges of biodiversity loss, poverty and climate change often intersect. Biodiversity loss impacts the economic development of nature-dependent communities, whilst exacerbating climate change. Meanwhile, the effects of climate change tend to hasten biodiversity loss and take a disproportionate toll on the world’s poor. Addressing these issues therefore calls for a multifaceted approach.

To address this triple challenge of poverty, biodiversity loss and climate change, the UK government’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has created the Biodiverse Landscapes Fund. The Fund will support local and international partners to deliver programming across 18 countries, spanning Africa, Asia and Latin America. Defra has selected PwC UK to act as the Fund Manager for the Biodiverse Landscapes Fund. In this role, PwC is responsible for tasks such as: running grant competitions, holding grant agreements with Lead Delivery Partners, disbursing funds, collecting and examining monitoring data, assessing progress, and providing strategic advice. 

Managing nature risks: From understanding to action 

Read PwC's analysis of the nature risk that organisations could be facing. Business relies heavily on nature to supply much-needed goods and services. Recognizing those dependencies is the first step toward managing the risks and opportunities they create.

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Managing nature risk

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Managing our own impact in nature

Managing our own impact on nature

At PwC we are committed to playing our part in delivering a nature positive world.

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Contact us

Lucas Carmody

Lucas Carmody

Executive Director, PwC Centre for Nature Positive Business, PwC Australia

Will Evison

Will Evison

Global Sustainability, Climate and Nature Strategy, Director, PwC United Kingdom

Tel: +44 (0)7718 864854

Daniel O’Brien

Daniel O’Brien

Sustainability and Climate Change Partner, PwC Canada

Tel: +1 604 484 3478

Perpetua George

Perpetua George

Asia Pacific Sustainability, Biodiversity, Director, PwC Malaysia

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