TNFD recommendations on nature-related issues published

  • TNFD (Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures) (green) Image

19 Sep, 2023

The Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD), a global market-led initiative which aims to provide financial institutions and corporates with a complete picture of their environmental risks and opportunities, has delivered its framework for organisations to report and act on evolving nature-related risks.

The 14 recommendations contained in the framework are consistent with the global sustainability standards of the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) and the impact materiality approach used by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and incorporated into the new European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS).

The recommended disclosures are structured around the same four pillars the TCFD recommendations are structured around:

  • Governance. 
    • Describe the board’s oversight of nature-related dependencies, impacts, risks and opportunities.
    • Describe management’s role in assessing and managing nature-related dependencies, impacts, risks and opportunities.
    • Describe the organisation’s human rights policies and engagement activities, and oversight by the board and management, with respect to Indigenous Peoples, Local Communities, affected and other stakeholders, in the organisation’s assessment of, and response to, nature-related dependencies, impacts, risks and opportunities.
  • Strategy. 
    • Describe the nature-related dependencies, impacts, risks and opportunities the organisation has identified over the short, medium and long term.
    • Describe the effect nature-related dependencies, impacts, risks and opportunities have had on the organisation’s business model, value chain, strategy and financial planning, as well as any transition plans or analysis in place.
    • Describe the resilience of the organisation’s strategy to nature-related risks and opportunities, taking into consideration different scenarios.
    • Disclose the locations of assets and/or activities in the organisation’s direct operations and, where possible, upstream and downstream value chain(s) that meet the criteria for priority locations.
  • Risk and impact management. 
    • Describe the organisation’s processes for identifying, assessing and prioritising nature-related dependencies, impacts, risks and opportunities in its direct operations.
    • Describe the organisation’s processes for identifying, assessing and prioritising nature-related dependencies, impacts, risks and opportunities in its upstream and downstream value chain(s).
    • Describe the organisation’s processes for monitoring nature-related dependencies, impacts, risks and opportunities.
    • Describe how processes for identifying, assessing, prioritising and monitoring nature-related risks are integrated into and inform the organisation’s overall risk management processes.
  • Metrics and targets. 
    • Disclose the metrics used by the organisation to assess and manage material nature-related risks and opportunities in line with its strategy and risk management process.
    • Disclose the metrics used by the organisation to assess and manage dependencies and impacts on nature.
    • Describe the targets and goals used by the organisation to manage nature-related dependencies, impacts, risks and opportunities and its performance against these.

The TNFD will now encourage and support voluntary market adoption of the recommendations. Following the example of the TCFD, the TNFD will track voluntary market adoption on an annual basis through an annual status update report beginning in 2024. The TNFD is anticipating companies to start announcing their intention to adopt the recommendations from as early as this week.

Please click for the press release and access to the TNFD recommendations on the TNFD website. In addition, see our Need to know newsletter.

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