By Nadine McCormick, WBCSD and Louise Amand, Capitals Coalition
At the recent IUCN Congress, 80+ practitioners from business, finance, civil society, and government gathered for an A-Track-led session which addressed how to accelerate the integration of nature into business and finance decision-making. We used an interactive quiz format to give participants a taster of all the useful lessons and resources published within A-Track. Plus, Swiss chocolate was on offer for the 3 participants who managed to correctly answer 5/5 questions!
At the end, focused breakout discussions with 20+ leaders joining from different sectors enabled insightful discussions on what it takes to integrate nature into decision-making.
Key insights included:
1. Break down and be specific on actions for integration. Systems change happens when individuals make changes at scale. By using spheres of influence, individual action can become organisational best practices, then sectoral concerns to finally influence and reshape our economy. When designing actions for integrating nature, always specify the target individual’s functions and their organisational type and sector, as well as their maturity. There is no point proposing business model shifts if they are struggling to understand why nature loss is material in the first place.
2. Integrate nature into every job. Think about how each function related to operational, financial, and strategic decisions can avoid and reduce negative impacts on nature, as well as promote opportunities for restoration. For example, resource & developments can help avoid negative impacts through redesign products to tap into circular models; procurement teams can support priority suppliers to invest in nature-based solutions; finance directors can help allocate resources where it provides net gain for nature, society and the business.
3. Transform your business models to achieve a nature-positive economy. Company’s broader impacts towards a net-zero, nature-positive and more equitable economies are recognized as important than profit maximization. The goal is to make nature a driver of business value and resilience embedding it “into the DNA of organizations”. Ways to do so are for example, going beyond once-off initiatives and rather committing to being systematically considered in all business decisions.
Opportunities for engagement
We shared the suite of freely available resources through A-Track, including conceptual frameworks, needs assessments, technical guides, and training opportunities. These are designed to help organizations move from intention to action, whether they are just starting or looking to lead.
- Join the Embed Nature capacity-building program for robust training, practical tools, and peer learning to implement nature in your company’s strategy.
- Access A-Track’s resources and sign up for updates and future training, including the Onboard Nature resource navigator.
- Follow A-Track on LinkedIn and connect with related communities to take the next step in your nature-positive journey.
Let’s work together to embed nature at the heart of business and finance, and help shape a resilient, thriving future for all!