1. What is biodiversity?

Biodiversity refers to the variety of life on Earth. It includes diversity within species, between species and across ecosystems.

Healthy ecosystems support many of the natural processes that people and organizations rely on. These can include the provision of water and raw materials, soil fertility and pollination, as well as the regulation of climate and other environmental conditions.

For businesses, biodiversity is therefore not only an environmental issue. It can be closely connected to how products are made, where materials come from, how supply chains operate and how resilient an organization is to changes in the natural systems around it.

2. Why does biodiversity matter to business?

Every organization interacts with nature in some way. Some relationships are direct, while others occur through suppliers, customers, investments or wider value chains.

A business can both depend on biodiversity and have impacts on biodiversity. Understanding both sides of this relationship is an important starting point for taking meaningful action.

How businesses depend on biodiversity

Organizations can rely on nature and ecosystem services for the resources and conditions they need to operate. The importance of particular dependencies varies considerably between sectors, locations and activities.

Examples can include:

• access to water;
• fertile soils and productive land;
• pollination and other ecosystem processes;
• forests, crops, fish and other biological resources;
• natural processes that help regulate environmental conditions.

Dependencies can also exist further along a supply chain. An organization that does not interact directly with an ecosystem may still rely on suppliers whose activities do.

How businesses affect biodiversity

Business activities can also create pressures on biodiversity. The type and scale of these impacts depend on the organization, its sector, its location and its value chain.

Impacts can be associated with areas such as:

• land and ecosystem use;
• water and natural-resource use;
• pollution and waste;
• the sourcing and production of materials;
• activities throughout supply and value chains.

Looking at both impacts and dependencies gives organizations a more complete picture of how their activities interact with nature.

3. What are biodiversity-related risks and opportunities?

Changes in biodiversity can create risks for organizations when the ecosystems or natural resources they depend on are degraded or become less available. These effects can influence operations, supply chains and longer-term business resilience.

Organizations may also face changing expectations from governments, investors, customers and other stakeholders about how they understand, manage and communicate their relationship with biodiversity.

Assessing impacts and dependencies can help organizations identify where biodiversity issues are most significant and where action should be prioritized. It can also reveal opportunities to improve practices, strengthen resilience and contribute to the protection or restoration of biodiversity.

What does biodiversity action look like for a business?

There is no single biodiversity action that applies to every organization. A useful starting point is to understand where the organization interacts with nature and then build biodiversity considerations into existing decision-making and management processes.

A structured approach can include:

1. Understand impacts and dependencies. Identify where activities, operations and value chains depend on biodiversity and where they may affect it.
2. Prioritize. Determine which impacts, dependencies, risks and opportunities are most significant for the organization and its stakeholders.
3. Set objectives. Decide what the organization is trying to achieve and integrate biodiversity considerations into relevant strategies and plans.
4. Take action. Implement measures appropriate to the organization's activities, context and biodiversity priorities.
5. Measure and monitor. Track relevant information to understand whether actions are producing the intended results.
6. Review and communicate. Use the information collected to improve decision-making and communicate progress appropriately.

This turns biodiversity from a standalone environmental commitment into something that can be considered within strategy, operations and ongoing management.

4. How can businesses measure biodiversity?

Biodiversity is complex, and measuring it is not as simple as relying on a single universal indicator. Organizations may need to consider different types of information about ecosystems, species, natural resources, impacts and dependencies.

The appropriate measures will depend on what the organization is trying to understand or manage. For example, measurement may be used to establish a baseline, identify significant impacts and dependencies, monitor changes or evaluate progress against biodiversity objectives.

Consistent approaches to measurement can help organizations compare information over time, improve decision-making and communicate biodiversity-related information more clearly.

Natural capital accounting provides another way to understand an organization's relationship with nature. ISO 14054:2025 provides principles, requirements and guidance for preparing natural capital accounts, helping organizations systematically assess and account for their impacts and dependencies on natural systems.

5. What does the Global Biodiversity Framework mean for businesses?

The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework sets global goals and targets for addressing biodiversity loss.

For businesses, Target 15 is particularly relevant. It calls on governments to take measures that encourage and enable businesses and financial institutions to regularly monitor, assess and transparently disclose their biodiversity-related risks, dependencies and impacts. It places particular emphasis on large and transnational companies and financial institutions, including their operations, supply and value chains and portfolios.

The aim is to progressively reduce negative impacts on biodiversity, increase positive impacts and reduce biodiversity-related risks.

This means that understanding biodiversity impacts and dependencies is becoming an increasingly important part of the wider international approach to business and nature.

6. How can ISO 17298 help organizations take action on biodiversity?

ISO 17298:2025, Biodiversity — Considering biodiversity in the strategy and operations of organizations — Requirements and guidelines, provides a framework for organizations to integrate biodiversity into their strategy, operations and decision-making.

It is designed for organizations of different types, sizes and sectors and supports a structured approach to:

• identify biodiversity impacts and dependencies;
• consider related risks and opportunities;
• prioritize significant biodiversity issues;
• develop a biodiversity action plan;
• set objectives and monitor progress;
• embed biodiversity considerations into organizational decision-making.

ISO 17298:2025 can therefore help organizations move from understanding their relationship with biodiversity to establishing a more systematic approach to action.

The standard also supports implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, including Target 15 on business and biodiversity.

7. How do ISO standards fit together for biodiversity?

Biodiversity management can involve different organizational needs, from understanding impacts and dependencies to managing environmental performance and accounting for natural capital. Different ISO standards can support different parts of this work.

Managing biodiversity in strategy and operations: ISO 17298

ISO 17298:2025 focuses specifically on biodiversity. It helps organizations identify and prioritize their biodiversity impacts, dependencies, risks and opportunities and integrate biodiversity into strategy and operations.

Accounting for natural capital: ISO 14054

ISO 14054:2025 focuses on natural capital accounting. It provides a systematic approach for organizations to prepare natural capital accounts and understand how they depend on and affect natural systems.

Managing environmental performance: ISO 14001

ISO 14001:2026 provides requirements for an environmental management system. It helps organizations systematically manage their environmental impacts and improve environmental performance, with the latest edition strengthening alignment with environmental priorities including biodiversity.

Organizations may use these standards together where appropriate. Their roles are different but complementary: one can provide a broader environmental management system, another focuses specifically on biodiversity strategy and action, while another supports natural capital accounting.

8. What can businesses do first?

Organizations beginning to address biodiversity do not need to understand every methodology or standard before starting. Useful first steps can include:

• identify where your organization's activities and value chain interact with nature;
• consider both how the organization affects biodiversity and how it depends on it;
• review what biodiversity-related information and environmental data you already have;
• involve relevant teams, including environmental, sustainability, risk, procurement and operational functions where appropriate;
• identify the most significant areas that may require further assessment or action;
• explore ISO 17298:2025 and related standards to support a structured approach.

For organizations that already use an environmental management system such as ISO 14001, existing processes and information may provide a useful foundation for integrating biodiversity considerations.