Business Needs Urgent Nature Action

In February 2026, the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) – the ‘IPCC for nature’ – concluded that biodiversity loss now poses a systemic risk to economic stability, financial systems and human wellbeing. Yet fewer than 1% of publicly reporting companies explicitly mention biodiversity impacts in their disclosures.

For sectors like tourism, where revenue depends directly on the health of landscapes, wildlife, coastlines and water systems, this lack of reporting signals a strategic blind spot.

“Every business depends on biodiversity” (IPBES, 2026)

Even companies that consider themselves far removed from nature rely – directly or indirectly – on natural assets.

Some dependencies are clear: food production and sourcing, water-intensive operations and industries dependent on land and seascapes. Others are less visible but equally material, including pollination, soil fertility, flood mitigation, water purification, climate regulation and other services that support stable supply chains. Even sectors perceived as “asset-light” depend on nature through resilient infrastructure, functioning insurance markets, workforce wellbeing and overall economic stability – all of which are underpinned by healthy ecosystems.

Nature is the foundation of tourism. When it degrades, destination competitiveness weakens, visitor demand shifts and long-term returns are threatened.

“Every business impacts on biodiversity” (IPBES, 2026)

The IPBES Assessment highlights that ‘business-as-usual’ rewards the overuse of natural resources for short-term returns, leading to nature’s assets being continuously depleted. In effect, the tourism sector is eroding the ecological systems on which it depends.

This degradation is not abstract. It is already translating into:

• Rising input costs as natural resources become scarcer;
• Increased supply chain volatility linked to land degradation and water stress;
• Declining destination attractiveness due to nature degradation, overtourism or habitat loss.
• Escalating insurance premiums and reduced insurability in high-risk regions;
• Regulatory tightening and litigation exposure;
• Growing investor scrutiny of nature-related risk.

Nature is essential for tourism and its profitability

When ecosystems degrade, operational risk rises and margins compress.

Biodiversity loss is inherently location-specific and value-chain dependent. Treating it as a generic topic under ESG or sustainability frameworks cannot deliver the granularity needed to understand and address business dependencies, impacts and risks. Without assessing impacts and dependencies, businesses cannot:

• Price risk accurately;
• Anticipate supply disruption;
• Evaluate exposure to inevitable regulatory tightening;
• Identify innovation opportunities.

From commitment to strategy: six actions for business leaders

The IPBES Assessment is clear: businesses are central to halting and reversing biodiversity loss. That requires moving beyond commitment and disclosure toward systemic action that mitigates harm while supporting nature’s recovery.

Developing a policy on biodiversity protection is an important step. But it means nothing without a strategy to implement it. These actions are critical for businesses to translate vision into reality.

1. Conduct a comprehensive Nature Materiality Assessment

• Map operational impacts and dependencies on nature across the full value chain. This includes destination-level ecosystem health, water security, biodiversity sensitivity and visitor pressure.

2. Integrate biodiversity into risk management

• Treat biodiversity loss as a systemic financial risk. This includes infrastructure exposure to flood, erosion or wildfire, water scarcity affecting operations, and reputational risk linked to overtourism.

3. Set science-led, location-specific Targets

• Unlike climate, biodiversity is spatial. Generic global commitments are insufficient. Action and targets must be specific to the state of nature where the company operates, sources or impacts the environment.

4. Align incentives and governance

• Board and executive oversight is essential, particularly for businesses with destination-based assets.

5. Ensure transparent and credible disclosure

• Publicly disclose impacts, dependencies and mitigation actions. Transparency builds investor confidence and reduces reputational risk.

6. Shift from mitigation to regeneration

• Long-term resilience depends on regenerating destinations – investing in habitat protection, watershed management, regenerative food systems and partnerships with local communities.

Protect nature to protect profits

The question for business leaders is not whether nature matters – it is whether their organisation understands how ecosystem decline will shape destination viability, operating costs, supply security, access to capital and competitive positioning over the next decade. For tourism businesses in particular, protecting nature means protecting the product. Companies that treat biodiversity as strategic infrastructure will be better positioned to manage volatility, strengthen brand value and lead in an economy where ecological limits are increasingly stretched to breaking point.

Daniel Turner, Director of Strategy

Find out more …

• Read the Press Release on the IPBES Business and Biodiversity Assessment
• Learn more about how the biodiversity crisis can affect your business through our off-the-shelf and bespoke Training offerings
• Move from commitment to action with our Strategic Consultancy services