A-Track has released a timely snapshot on the state of play between business and nature.
The Embedding nature in business decision-making: challenges and gaps report provides a synthesis of findings from the A-Track business needs assessment survey.
A-Track is a transformative project funded by Horizon Europe, the European Union’s scientific research initiative. With an €11 million budget and a four-year timeline, A-Track is designed to accelerate nature action in businesses, governments and financial institutions.
The overall goal of A-Track is to consolidate and mainstream activities to accelerate transformation in organisations, such that, by the end of the project, a critical mass of businesses, financial institutions and governments integrate the value of natural capital into their decision-making, helping to halt and subsequently reverse biodiversity loss.
In 2024, A-Track surveyed 84 businesses in various countries and sectors to explore their capabilities and challenges to integrate the value of nature into decision-making. People around the world responded to the survey with the bulk of responses (68%) coming from Europe.
The results of the survey are compelling.
A large majority (78%) of respondents reported having a nature strategy. Of these, approximately half have embedded nature within their broader sustainability strategies, while the other half have standalone strategies or focus on specific drivers (such as deforestation or plastic pollution).
Almost one-third of respondents already estimate the biodiversity footprint of their company’s operations and/or value chains, and around half indicated that they are planning to do so.
There is less maturity in the use of natural capital accounting, with fewer than one-fifth of respondents having or building accounts for their company. However, the interest is high, with another 40% of respondents interested in developing natural capital accounts.
Next steps for business
In addition to providing the results of the survey, the Embedding nature in business decision-making: challenges and gaps report outlines steps that business can take to start building natural capital assessment and accounting into their processes.
Important considerations in starting that work include understanding:
- where an organisation is on the nature journey
- the challenges to getting started
- challenges along the way – such as regulatory compliance or supply chain complexity
- how to incorporate nature into decision making.
Using data to inform action
At IDEEA Group, we organise data to inform action. We help organisations of all sizes to use natural capital data to support strategic direction, decision making and investment.
As a member of the A-Track consortium, our main focus is developing nature information pathways. Our aims are to demonstrate:
- how the combination of private and public sector information can be used to support decision making
- the use of various data applications at corporate and government levels.
We’re excited to be part of A-Track’s continued engagement with business and government in Europe and beyond.
And we’re here to support organisations on their natural capital journey with:
- tailored advice, including specific actions organisations can take
- capacity building for boards and teams
- data analysis
- natural capital software (Data4Nature)
- natural capital accounts
- reports and dashboards to support decision-making.