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Align Project on Track to Deliver Recommendations on Biodiversity Measurement & Valuation for Business

May 31, 2022 |

A year after its launch, the Align project is finalising Draft V01 of the Recommendations for a standard on biodiversity measurement and valuation. The draft will soon be released and will be opened for public consultation in June.

Despite an increasing awareness of the fundamental risks that biodiversity loss presents to business and the growing availability of biodiversity measurement methodologies, adoption has largely been limited to a few front-runner companies. Measures of corporate biodiversity performance are still not broadly agreed upon, and this creates confusion and has prevented broader market uptake.

Align was developed around the objective of co-developing recommendations for principles and criteria for biodiversity measurement and valuation that are scientifically robust and fit for purpose. This will be achieved by describing common elements of biodiversity measurement for companies. The goal is for these concepts to be integrated into voluntary and mandatory frameworks for disclosure and target setting to facilitate an increase in uptake by business.

The recommendations aim to support broader sustainability measurement and disclosure efforts that are currently under development, including the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) revision of its biodiversity indicators, the Taskforce for Nature-Related Financial Disclosures framework (TNFD), the Science Based Targets Network guidance (SBTN), and Align’s sister project – Transparent.

After various consultation rounds with experts and business practitioners from our Technical Hub and Community of Practice, the Align team is looking for public comment on the V01 Draft, during consultation in June. We encourage all businesses to provide their insights and to register for the Align Community.

The anticipated next steps and opportunities for involvement include:

  • 13 April 2022 – Presentation of the V01 Draft to Align’s Community of Practice
  • April 2022 – Review from the Advisory board, Technical Hub, Community of Practice
  • May 2022 – Finalisation of V01 Draft of the recommendations
  • June 2022 – Public consultation

Learn more about Align.

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