The Platform is leading in the field of assessing methodologies – and related metrics – for identifying, measuring, valuing and disclosing business and financial institution impacts and dependencies on biodiversity. Since 2018, it has published annual reports taking stock of the latest evolutions in the field of biodiversity assessment approaches for businesses and financial institutions.
In its Update Report 3 (2021) the Platform introduced the Biodiversity Measurement Navigation Wheel1, a pragmatic decision framework to select the most suitable measurement tool according to business needs.
In the Update Report 4 (2022), the range of criteria underpinning the Wheel has been expanded. Its scope has been expanded to cover measurement of ecosystem services. The report provides examples of how to apply the 'good' and 'best' practices included in the Align recommendations on measuring and valuing biodiversity.
The latest Update Report 5 (2024) introduces version 3.0 of the Biodiversity Measurement Navigation Wheel and covers 37 approaches for measuring biodiversity and ecosystem services
Compared to the Update Report 4, the following measurement approaches were added in the assessment in Update Report 5:
- Biodiversity Impact and Global Extinction Risk Footprinting Tool – (BIGER Footprint)
- Biodiversity Impact Assessment Tool (BIAT)
- Biodiversity Risk Filter (BRF)
- Custom Corporate Biodiversity Footprint (c-CBF)
- DIRO 360
- Leeana
- Link
- Nala.Earth
- S&P Global Sustainable1 Nature & Biodiversity Solutions (S&P NBS)
- SEED Biocomplexity Index (SEED)
- Sensitive Location Assessment and Mapping (SLAM)
- Site Biodiversity Footprint (SBF)
- Xylo Systems Biodiversity Assessment (Xylo)
This report also includes a description of a “biodiversity scoring system” and measurement approaches for ecosystem services:
Biodiversity scoring systems are scoring systems that rely on extent and condition of habitats as a proxy for scoring biodiversity value. They are often developed at a national level (e.g. The Statutory Biodiversity Metric Calculation Tool in the United Kingdom, Natuurpuntensysteem in the Netherlands, Okokonten in Germany) and therefore are not in scope of this assessment. However, The Statutory Biodiversity Metric Calculation Tool that is used in the UK is a very mature metric that has also gained some prominence outside the UK and is increasingly being used for ‘no net loss’ calculations by businesses. Therefore, the Statutory Biodiversity Metric Calculation Tool is included in this Update report.
- Ecosystem Services measurement approaches (ES):
- Ecosystem Intelligence Platform (EI)
- Nature Value Explorer
- ECOPLAN scenario evaluator (ECOPLAN-SE)
- Toolkit for Ecosystem Services Site-Based Assessment (TESSA)
- Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST)
1 The development of the Navigation Wheel is part of a coordinated effort from the Cambridge Conservation Initiative, Capitals Coalition and the EU Business @ Biodiversity Platform. The Biodiversity Guidance Navigation Tool, developed by the Cambridge Conservation Initiative and Capitals Coalition (2021) has integrated the underlying principles and data of the Biodiversity Measurement Navigation Wheel 1.0 (launched as part of the EU Business @ Biodiversity Platform’s Update 3 Report).
Webinar Series
In October 2020, the Methods workstream organised the webinar series “Measuring biodiversity for business and finance.” The series is designed for businesses who want to better understand the latest progress made in the field of biodiversity measurement for companies, including businesses and financial institution representatives, ESG providers, consultants, and NGOs. The recordings of all five webinars are available on YouTube, and more information about each session is available here.
In October 2021, the Methods workstream organized the second webinar series on biodiversity data. The series provided an overview of recent developments in the field of biodiversity data for businesses and financial institutions. The three first webinars presented examples of currently available and well-performing data sources on biodiversity impacts and dependencies, as well as innovative and promising biodiversity data collection techniques. Particular emphasis was put on business applications, e.g., which type of internal decision-making can be supported by which data and which data collection techniques? The final webinar focused on remaining challenges and invited businesses to participate in a debate on how the accessibility, infrastructure and quality of data can be improved. The recordings and presentation slides of the four webinars are available here.
2024 began on a high note with a webinar launching the Thematic Report on Biodiversity Disclosure developed by the EU Business and Biodiversity Platform. This report focuses on biodiversity within the respective disclosure initiatives and highlights the major differences and similarities between 6 biodiversity disclosure initiatives. The presentation slides of the webinar can be found here.
Stay tuned for more!
