Before you report on nature, you need to understand it

Dependencies on natural systems are not always visible. Access to water, healthy soils, ecosystems and natural resources can all influence operational resilience and long-term value creation.

Climate reporting often begins by assessing emissions, transition risks and climate-related impacts. Nature reporting frequently starts somewhere else: understanding what the business depends on.

Before you can determine what should be measured or disclosed, you first need to understand how your operations, assets and value chains interact with nature.

Recent developments, including the ISSB’s October 2026 Exposure Draft on proposed nature-related disclosures, and the release of TNFD's new LEAP 2.0 framework, reinforce the growing focus on understanding nature-related dependencies, impacts, risks and opportunities before determining what should ultimately be reported.

The most significant difference between climate and nature reporting may be where the process begins. Rather than starting with disclosures or metrics, nature reporting often begins with understanding the relationships, dependencies, risks and opportunities that connect a business to the natural systems on which it relies.

Location matters because dependencies are local

Nature-related risks and impacts are often shaped by geography, ecosystems and environmental conditions. Water availability may be a critical issue in one region but not another, while biodiversity risks can vary significantly even for organisations operating in the same sector.

Many nature-related dependencies are inherently local, so exposure to risks can vary considerably depending on where an organisation operates, sources materials or maintains assets. Two businesses with similar operations may therefore face very different risks because of their interaction with different ecosystems.

Determining which issues are genuinely relevant to the business becomes a critical part of the reporting process.

Understanding dependencies reveals a more complex picture

Nature-related dependencies rarely exist in isolation; they often span multiple environmental issues.

Climate reporting has largely focused on a common challenge: understanding and responding to climate-related risks and greenhouse gas emissions. Nature reporting encompasses a broader range of interconnected issues, including biodiversity loss, water use, land-use change, deforestation, ecosystem degradation, pollution and resource availability.

Each may affect organisations differently and require different approaches to management and reporting.

Understanding nature often means assessing how these interconnected issues interact with operations, supply chains and long-term strategy.

This is where frameworks such as Science-Based Targets for Nature (SBTN) can play an important role, helping translate assessment into action by prioritising effort and setting science-based targets. Our related article, Why Science-Based Targets for Nature 2.0 matters, explains how the updated guidance is making nature target-setting easier for those working with incomplete data or limited value chain visibility.

Measurement follows understanding

Climate reporting has benefited from decades of work to develop recognised methodologies and metrics. Approaches to measuring nature-related risks and impacts are less mature and continue to develop.

Part of the reason is complexity. Measuring greenhouse gas emissions is challenging, but measuring biodiversity, ecosystem condition, or water-related impacts often requires a deeper understanding of local conditions and business-specific dependencies.

Recent developments, such as LEAP 2.0, are helping improve assessment approaches and bring greater consistency to nature-related reporting.

However, understanding dependencies, impacts, risks and opportunities may prove more valuable than identifying a perfect set of metrics.

Understanding before reporting

Nature reporting challenges some of the assumptions established through climate reporting. Not through the lens of emissions or reporting metrics, but through the natural systems, resources and ecosystems that underpin long-term value creation.

Getting started

Understanding where nature intersects with your business can be challenging, particularly when dependencies and risks may not be immediately visible. Developing a clear picture of those relationships will help you understand where those dependencies exist.

BDO's National Sustainability Reporting team works with organisations to build that understanding, explore the nature-related issues most relevant to your business and make informed decisions about the opportunities and risks ahead.