The Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) has announced at COP16 in Cali, Colombia, that the total number of companies and financial institutions committed to getting started with voluntary reporting of their nature-related issues in line with the TNFD recommendations now stands at 502. This marks a 57 per cent increase since the first formal announcement of TNFD Adopters in January 2024.
David Craig, Co-Chair of the TNFD, said, “The speed of voluntary market adoption over the past year since the release of the TNFD recommendations highlights the growing appreciation among companies and financial institutions across sectors and geographies that nature is a material risk issue for their business and a new source of opportunity and potential competitive advantage. We have seen significant uptake across sectors – in particular from asset managers, as they address climate and nature risk in their portfolios. Going forward, the growth in these assessments and public disclosures is helping direct financial flows towards more resilient business models and nature-positive outcomes.”
The TNFD’s approach to assessment and disclosure is fully aligned to the goals and targets of the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) and operationalises the specific requirements of Target 15 of the GBF, calling on governments to introduce requirements by 2030 for corporate reporting of nature-related dependencies, impacts and risks.
The announcement by the Taskforce demonstrates that the market is already moving quickly to embrace better nature-related risk management and disclosure aligned with these global policy goals.
Drawn from 54 jurisdictions (including 25 emerging markets) and across 62 of 77 SASB SICS sectors, the publicly-listed companies represent over USD 6.5 trillion in market capitalisation, an increase of 8 per cent since the TNFD’s last formal adoption announcement at London Climate Action Week (LCAW) in June 2024.
129 financial institutions are now registered as TNFD Adopters, representing USD 17.7 trillion in assets under management, marking an 11% increase from LCAW in June, including 25per cent of the world’s systemically important banks (GSIBs).
Among the notable new adopters are financial institutions abrdn, Banco de Bogotá and Manulife Investment Management and a diverse range of companies across sectors, including global professional services firm KPMG, metals and mining company Freeport-McMoRan, airline Qantas, food retailers Morrisons and Sainsbury’s, iron & steel producers Jindal Stainless Limited and JSW Group, solar technology & project developer JA Solar Technology, electronics companies Mitsubishi Electric Corp and Philips, electric utilities EDP, Electrobras and Tokyo Electric Power, and computer hardware company Logitech International.
Simon Roberts, Chief Executive of Sainsbury’s, said, “We want to play a leading role in creating a more sustainable food system and recognise that economic prosperity, improving nature and biodiversity and reducing environmental impact all go hand-in-hand with food production. The TNFD provides a framework upon which businesses like us can build our understanding of nature-related risk and opportunities and embed them further into our strategy and decision making. We’re committed to protecting and enhancing nature and the wider environment on which we depend, to keep providing good food for generations to come.”
Organisations have signalled their intention to begin adopting the TNFD recommendations and publishing TNFD-aligned disclosures as part of their annual corporate reporting for FY2024 (or earlier) or FY2025 outcomes.
John McCalla Leacy, Head of Global ESG at KPMG International, said, “Our mission to tackle climate change will fail without an integrated approach to addressing nature and biodiversity risks – the two are inextricably linked. The World Economic Forum’s latest Global Risk Report puts this challenge into perspective, with biodiversity loss classed as the third highest long-term business risk; extreme weather from climate change is number one. I am proud that KPMG International is a TNFD Adopter and I am equally proud of the nature and biodiversity practitioners across our global organization, that are working with their clients to facilitate the changes that are so urgently needed to deliver a nature positive future.”