Nature Action Just Got More Practical

What the latest NPI, TNFD and SBTN updates mean for your business

9 November 2026

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Three major framework updates have raised expectations on how businesses assess and respond to nature-related risk. This piece covers what has changed and what it means for business.

About half of global GDP, around US$58 trillion in 2023, depends on nature. Yet the natural systems behind that value are in steep decline. WWF’s 2026 Living Planet Report found that monitored populations of mammals, birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians fell by an average of 73% between 1970 and 2022.  

For business, that is more than an environmental headline. Every organisation both depends on nature and has an impact on it. As ecosystems weaken, so do the supply chains, operations and markets that rely on them. Nature loss is now an operational, financial, regulatory, reputational and supply chain risk. 

Until recently, many companies struggled to know where to start. The frameworks were new, the metrics were many and the path from assessment to action was unclear. That is starting to change, and quickly.

Nature is no longer just an environmental issue in the Middle East

For businesses in the Middle East, nature-related risks are increasingly becoming business risks. Water scarcity, ecosystem degradation and pressure on global supply chains can directly influence operating costs, growth plans, investment returns and asset performance.

As a result, organisations across a range of sectors are starting to assess nature-related risks with the same rigour applied to other strategic business issues:

  • Finance & Investment: Understanding exposure to nature-related risks across lending, investment and portfolio assets. 
  • Food & Agriculture: Managing dependencies on water availability, soil health and ecosystem services that underpin productivity and supply security. 
  • Real Estate: Considering implications for permitting, asset value, development viability, supply chains, resilience and community outcomes. 
  • Technology & Digital: Evaluating risks associated with resource-intensive supply chains, critical infrastructure and increasing stakeholder expectations. 
  • Retail & Consumer: Strengthening supply chain resilience and addressing sourcing risks linked to natural resource availability. 

Recent developments from the Nature Positive Initiative (NPI), the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) and the Science Based Targets Network (SBTN) are helping organisations move from broad commitments to practical implementation. For businesses in the Middle East, these frameworks provide a structured approach to understanding where nature matters most to the business, assessing material risks and opportunities, and prioritising actions that support long-term resilience and value creation.

From understanding to action

The nature agenda is moving on from awareness and commitments to implementation. The 2026 Business and Biodiversity Assessment from the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) sets out more than 100 actions that businesses, governments, financial actors and civil society can take to understand, measure and respond to their impacts and dependencies on nature. One of the clearest is to use established frameworks to assess and report nature-related impacts, dependencies, risks and opportunities. 

Those frameworks are now growing up together. Recent updates from the Nature Positive Initiative (NPI, TNFD and SBTN have made them more practical and better aligned than ever. Seen together, they form a joined-up journey:

  • Measure what is happening to nature, using a common set of metrics (NPI). 
  • Assess your impacts, dependencies, risks and opportunities (TNFD). 
  • Act by setting science-based targets and putting them into practice (SBTN). 

With nature also becoming part of mainstream financial reporting, including through emerging nternational Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) guidance, this alignment means less duplication, clearer priorities and a more credible case for investment.

Measure: one common language for the state of nature 

One of the biggest barriers to nature action has been measurement. With hundreds of different metrics in use, it has been hard to compare results or know whether action is working.

NPI’s new State of Nature framework tackles this head-on. Developed over two years with scientists, businesses, financial institutions and nature experts, it streamlines more than 600 existing metrics into four core indicators:

  • Ecosystem extent: are ecosystems expanding or shrinking? 
  • Ecosystem condition: is their condition improving or declining? 
  • Species extinction risk: how important is the area to overall extinction risk? 
  • Species populations: how healthy are the species found there?

The framework offers guidance for different levels of data and rigour, using both public datasets and company data. It is aligned with the Global Biodiversity Framework and designed to support TNFD, SBTN and the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). 

Why it matters: State of Nature metrics answer the question that matters most: is nature actually recovering as a result of what we do? A shared set of outcome measures gives companies and financial institutions a consistent way to track performance, compare risk and direct capital to where it will make a real difference. 

Assess: TNFD’s LEAP 2.0 raises the bar 

For many organisations, TNFD’s LEAP approach (Locate, Evaluate, Assess, Prepare) is the starting point for understanding their relationship with nature. TNFD has now released LEAP 2.0, making assessments more robust and easier to align with other frameworks. 

The biggest changes include: 

  • Built-in State of Nature metrics: NPI’s indicators are now integrated, alongside expanded guidance on invasive alien species. 
  • Stronger methods for measuring nature-related risks and, importantly, opportunities. 
  • Wider scope: new guidance on environmental crime, closer links between climate and nature, and more tailored support for financial institutions. 
  • From assessment to planning: guidance on building nature into transition plans and working at a landscape and seascape level with other stakeholders. 
  • Closer alignment with SBTN: shared terminology and metrics, and references to SBTN methods. 

The momentum goes further. TNFD is supporting a new ISO standard for LEAP, expected in 2028, continuing its work with ISSB on reporting requirements, and updating its interoperability mapping with the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS). 

Why it matters: LEAP is becoming the practical backbone of nature risk assessment and disclosure. With TNFD, SBTN, NPI, ISSB and ISO pulling in the same direction, companies can do the work once and use it many times, rather than repeating assessments for different frameworks. 

Act: SBTN 2.0 makes nature targets more achievable

Setting science-based targets for nature has often felt out of reach, particularly for companies with imperfect data, limited traceability or complex value chains. SBTN’s updated guidance, Science-based Targets for Nature 2.0, is shaped by years of consultation with partners and companies and is designed to change that.

What’s new:

  • More flexible routes to targets, depending on a company’s readiness, data and supply chain traceability.
  • Build on what you already have: enhanced Step 1 and Step 2 guidance lets companies use existing assessments, disclosures and datasets, with more focus on dependencies and pressures.
  • Sharper prioritisation, combining pressure, biodiversity and ecosystem condition data with business context to show where action is needed most.
  • Broader coverage: freshwater guidance now covers groundwater and pesticides, while land methods add routes for regeneration and restoration, and for sectors such as mining, infrastructure, construction and extractives.
  • Step 4: Act: new guidance, action-planning templates and an expanded database of response options help companies move from targets to delivery.

There is also growing evidence that this effort pays off. SBTN and the Accountability Accelerator’s report, Step Up for Nature: The Business Case for Science-Based Targets, draws on 14 case studies across food and beverage, fashion and textiles, construction and energy, packaging and printing, and pharmaceuticals. Companies reported better use of resources, stronger supplier engagement, greater credibility with stakeholders, more effective governance and more confidence about where to act. 

Why it is important: SBTN provides a clearer pathway from assessment to action. While science-based targets can support regulatory preparedness, they can also help organisations make more informed decisions about risk, resilience and long-term value creation.

What these updates mean for your business

Taken together, these updates send a clear message: the tools for nature action are maturing, converging and becoming more practical. Companies no longer need to wait for perfect data or a settled landscape to make progress.

Where to start:

  1. Build on what you have. Existing climate work, supply chain data and disclosures are a strong foundation. SBTN and TNFD now actively encourage you to reuse them.
  2. Find your material hotspots. Identify where your most significant nature impacts and dependencies sit across your operations and value chain, using LEAP and SBTN’s prioritisation methods.
  3. Measure what matters. Use the four State of Nature indicators to track whether your actions are making a real difference.
  4. Connect climate and nature. Treat them as one agenda, linked through land use, value chains and transition planning.
  5. Move to action. Use SBTN’s Step 4 resources to turn priorities and targets into a practical plan.
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How Anthesis can help

Anthesis helps organisations turn nature ambition into practical action. Building on our extensive experience across both climate and nature, we help you understand how biodiversity, climate, land use and value chains connect, and what that means for your business.

Our multidisciplinary team brings together expertise in ecology, biodiversity, nature risk and geospatial analytics. We help you pinpoint where your most material nature-related issues occur, understand what they mean for your business and decide where action will have the greatest impact. That gives you a strong foundation for:

  • TNFD-aligned assessment and disclosure
  • SBTN target-setting
  • Nature strategy development
  • Better-informed business decisions that build resilience and support nature’s recovery

Ready to take the next step? Get in touch with our nature team to find out how these updates apply to your organisation.

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