FAQs

A nature positive approach puts nature and biodiversity gain at the heart of decision-making and design. It goes beyond reducing and mitigating negative impacts on nature as it is a proactive and restorative approach focused on conservation, regeneration, and growth.

With over half of global GDP—around £30 trillion—depending on high functioning biodiversity, according to the World Economic Forum, early movers will benefit from new business opportunities and improved standing with customers and investors.

The Get Nature Positive campaign and supporting Nature Handbook have been created to help businesses prepare for and navigate the pioneering and global effort to change the curve of nature and biodiversity loss.

Frameworks to measure nature positive gains are in development and science-based targets for nature are expected by the end of 2022. Yet nature cannot wait. Positive action is needed urgently. While the world awaits further detail of emerging evaluation frameworks, there are many actions businesses can start taking today.

The UN Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) was adopted in December 2022 by governments from around the world.

This historic framework sets out a vision to create a world in which we live in harmony with nature: “By 2050, biodiversity is valued, conserved, restored and wisely used, maintaining ecosystem services, sustaining a healthy planet and delivering benefits essential for all people.”

The framework sets out a 2030 mission to take urgent action to halt and reverse biodiversity loss to put nature on a path to recovery, with 23 action-oriented targets. Targets 1-8 aim to reduce threats to biodiversity. Targets 9-13 seek to meet people’s needs through sustainable use and benefit sharing. And Targets 14-23 aim to provide mechanisms for implementation and the mainstreaming of the transformational targets and reforms required to deliver on the ambitions of the GBF.

Governments agreed to ensure large and transnational companies and financial institutions monitor, assess, and transparently disclose their risks, dependencies and impacts on biodiversity through their operations, supply and value chains and portfolios under Target 15.

Businesses can start now to assess impact, reduce negative consequences, and restore the natural resources our industries and society depend on. Get Nature Positive and the accompanying handbook seeks to help businesses play their part in supporting the delivery of the vision, mission and targets laid out in the GBF.

In May 2021, the UK government set out plans to restore nature and build back greener from the pandemic by protecting and restoring nature, tackling the climate and biodiversity crisis, and helping deliver a Net Zero equivalent for nature by 2050.

Businesses now have an opportunity – and responsibility – to start developing strategies and processes that embed reducing and mitigating negative impacts on nature and biodiversity into their core business processes and models.

By doing so now, they will be better prepared to adopt new targets and frameworks as they become available. At the same time, their efforts will contribute towards existing carbon neutrality targets – a positive by-product that makes participation a win-win.

The Net Zero carbon movement has gained huge business momentum over recent years, the time we don’t have for nature. The time to act is now.

Starting the Get Nature Positive journey with the support of the Nature Handbook is a step every business can take today.

Get Nature Positive has been started in preparation for readiness to commit to specific goals and metrics, such as the upcoming Science-based targets for nature.

Available in 2023, the upcoming science-based targets for nature will be based on universal frameworks and biodiversity-related metrics being developed by Science-based Targets Network (SBTN), Task Force on Nature-related Financial Disclosure (TNFD), and other partners.

Companies looking to take their commitment to nature one step further can join the SBTN corporate engagement programme. This programme is available now and allows companies to co-design and develop nature science-based targets as well as to assess their impact on nature and prioritise where they need to take action to meet global and planetary boundaries.

The Get Nature Positive team is a voluntary coalition of businesses all committed to restoring the natural world. Founded by the Council for Sustainable Business (CSB) commissioned by Defra, with support from Accenture, Get Nature Positive seeks to engage a broad cross-section of business and other organisational leaders including the Global Commons Alliance, UNFCCC, SBTN, Business for Nature, to build momentum on nature and biodiversity.

The CSB are commissioned by the Environment Secretary and advise Defra on how businesses can help achieve the aims of the UK Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan.