Biodiversity is no longer a niche topic
Many companies still associate biodiversity mainly with sectors such as agriculture, forestry or food production. Yet biodiversity is increasingly a supply chain, sourcing and business risk for a much broader set of companies. For many organizations, the greatest exposure is not located in their own facilities, but in sourcing regions and supplier practices throughout the value chain. Biodiversity is therefore relevant not only to corporate environmental specialists, but also to procurement, strategy, reporting and risk management.
The financial relevance is significant: A widely cited World Economic Forum estimate found that more than half of global GDP, around 44 trillion USD at the time of the analysis, was moderately or highly dependent on nature and its services. In the euro area, European Central Bank analysis found that 72% of non-financial companies are critically dependent on at least one ecosystem service and about 75% of corporate bank loans are extended to such companies. Indirect dependencies through supply chains are particularly significant for companies in manufacturing, wholesale and retail.
The hidden ways supply chains depend on biodiversity
Biodiversity dependencies are often indirect, upstream and highly location-specific. They may be embedded in raw materials or intermediate goods and therefore remain largely invisible to the purchasing company. Agricultural inputs, for example, depend on healthy soils, pollinators, and ecosystem condition. Timber, natural fibers and rubber also rely on functioning ecosystems. Even manufacturers that do not consider themselves nature-intensive can therefore have significant upstream dependencies.
Location matters as much as the material itself. Ecological conditions differ greatly between regions, so the same raw material can present very different dependencies, impacts and risks depending on where it is sourced and the condition of local ecosystems.
Risks, opportunities and impacts of biodiversity loss
Biodiversity loss is not only an environmental impact issue, but also a business dependency and resilience issue. Soil fertility, pollination, flood and erosion control and broader ecosystem stability can influence the resilience, quality and cost of supply.
Disruption may initially look like an ordinary supply chain problem: declining yields, lower resource availability, inconsistent raw material quality or rising sourcing costs. Shortages, price fluctuations and delayed deliveries may therefore be symptoms of ecological decline rather than isolated procurement issues. At the same time, better visibility into biodiversity-related dependencies can create opportunities to diversify sourcing, strengthen supplier engagement, improve resource efficiency and identify more resilient materials or production practices.
Turning biodiversity risk into action
Companies do not have to start from zero. A practical first step is to screen high-risk commodities, sourcing categories and geographies, then examine the ecosystem services on which they depend and the pressures they place on nature. This hotspot approach helps focus limited resources on the locations, inputs and supplier relationships most likely to translate into business consequences, rather than waiting for a perfect biodiversity dataset.
Existing frameworks can then serve complementary purposes. The Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) helps organizations identify and assess nature-related dependencies, impacts, risks and opportunities with its LEAP approach (Locate, Evaluate, Assess, Prepare). The related European Sustainability Reporting Standard (ESRS E4) provides the reporting lens where biodiversity and ecosystems are material, while the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI 101: Biodiversity 2024) provides a dedicated standard for reporting biodiversity-related impacts. The ISO standard on Considering Biodiversity in Strategy and Operations of Organizations (ISO 17298:2025) helps translate assessments into governance, objectives, actions and strategic and operational integration. Where companies are ready to move from assessment to target-setting, the Science Based Targets Network (SBTN) provides methodologies for setting science-based targets for nature, addressing key drivers of biodiversity loss across land, freshwater and ocean.
Biodiversity work is most effective when connected to existing business processes: procurement can strengthen supplier visibility and sourcing criteria, sustainability teams can link biodiversity with climate and other sustainability aspects, and risk and finance teams can consider potential effects on cost, continuity, asset exposure, finance and insurance. The result should be a focused and practical approach that addresses the biodiversity-related risks and opportunities most relevant to the business.
How Sphera can help
Sphera’s sustainability and ESG consultants support organizations with biodiversity and nature strategy, assessment and reporting. This includes gap assessments, double materiality assessments, value-chain hotspot identification, and support in applying TNFD, ISO 17298, ESRS E4, GRI and SBTN. Sphera also helps organizations integrate biodiversity into governance, sustainability strategies and reporting processes.
Sphera´s extensive expertise in life cycle assessment (LCA) furthermore enables companies to assess biodiversity-related impacts across product life cycles using Biodiversity Loss Risk indicators (BioMAPS method) incorporated into Sphera Managed LCA Content to support more informed decisions.
By combining biodiversity expertise with value-chain insights, Sphera can support companies to move from understanding their nature-related interactions to taking focused action where it matters most.
