Urban Insight
Sweco Group
Biodiversity: Key steps to future-proof businesses
Biodiversity is rapidly emerging as a critical pillar of business resilience and long-term value creation. With more than €50 trillion in global economic activity moderately to highly dependent on nature, protecting biodiversity is a strategic necessity.
Nature delivers essential services, such as regulating climate, pollinating crops, and protecting infrastructure, services fundamental to both human well-being and economic stability. Yet, these critical natural assets are under threat. The good news? Solutions aimed at adding value to the nature could unlock €10 trillion in new business value and create up to 395 million jobs by 2030, according to global estimates.
To better understand how industries are responding to biodiversity loss, Sweco recently examined how the 50 largest European manufacturing and energy companies are addressing biodiversity in their sustainability reporting. The findings, published in a new Urban Insight-report, reveal a growing recognition of biodiversity impacts, but a possibility for persistent underestimation of biodiversity-related financial risks:
Key findings:
- 82% of companies recognise that their actions have significant impacts on nature.
- Only 16% believe that biodiversity is directly connected to their financial performance, signaling a potential blind spot in risk management.
In the manufacturing sector:
- 67% identified biodiversity as a material topic in terms of impact materiality.
- 21% viewed it as financially material, citing risks such as restricted raw material access and legal consequences from non-compliance with environmental regulations.
In the energy sector:
- 96% acknowledged biodiversity as a material topic in terms of impact materiality
- Only 12% considered it financially material, yet companies did note risks like operational constraints from droughts and ecosystem degradation.
“In addition to conscious clients, biodiversity initiatives can attract responsible investors who may view any failure to take biodiversity into consideration as a business risk. Sweco recommends that European business leaders start treating biodiversity as fundamental to their strategy, just as they have with climate,”
Piia Pessala, Executive Director in Biodiversity at Sweco.
Five steps to future-proof your business for nature
Biodiversity can seem complex, but taking the first step is what matters most. Sweco experts recommend five practical and iterative actions for building nature-aligned business strategies:
- Understand your company’s activities and value chains – Get to know the full scope of your operations and stakeholders. Transparency leads to better decision-making.
- Know your business´ impacts and dependencies – Be specific. Quantifying your relationship with nature allows for actionable insights and realistic goal-setting.
- Collaborate to shape the future – Leverage the diverse perspectives of your stakeholders to address biodiversity challenges with inclusive, effective solutions.
- Manage risks and leverage opportunities – Consider both operational and systemic risks. Recognise where nature loss can disrupt operations — and where restoring it can unlock value.
- Transform to make business for nature – Shift from exploiting nature to restoring and regenerating it. Align your business model with ecosystem health and resilience.
By integrating biodiversity and climate strategies into core operations, businesses can contribute to positive societal changes, mitigate risks through resilient business models and tap into new markets and business opportunities.
