Achieving a nature-positive economy requires a transition from abstract awareness to concrete action. All economic actors depend on and impact nature. Businesses, financial institutions and regulators are increasingly taking measures to better understand nature-related dependencies, impacts, risks and opportunities. Choosing the right tools to support a nature assessment can, however, be challenging. 

The SUSTAIN project developed a set of tools designed to help businesses, financial institutions, and regulators undertake this transition. This tools page is categorized into three sections: Nature Tools Compass, ENCORE, and Inventory of Nature Impact Reduction Strategies.

Nature Tools Compass

The Nature Tools Compass provides an overview of over 70 tools and recommendations on how they can be helpful in different phases of nature assessment. It was developed as part of the SUSTAIN project based on the research led by UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC).  

All tools included in the Nature Tools Compass are licensed for commercial use and offer a free-of-charge access option. Each tool is mapped to the relevant phase of the LEAP approach developed by TNFD. The LEAP approach can help organizations prepare for reporting in line with TNFD as well as other standards and frameworks. These include the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) Standards, GRI Standards, European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) and Science Based Targets Network (SBTN). 

The Nature Tools Compass provides two tailored pathways: 

• A business pathway, designed for corporate nature assessments. 
• A finance pathway, designed for financial institutions and also relevant for regulators assessing sectoral or macroeconomic exposure to nature-related risks and opportunities. 

The final section of the Nature Tools Compass includes descriptions of all featured tools with key information on the tools and their limitations as well as links to more detailed information. 

As the Nature Tools Compass aims to support businesses, financial institutions and regulators with activities in different parts of the world, it primarily features nature tools with global coverage. Organizations are encouraged to look for national and regional tools and datasets that are relevant to their geographical footprint.

ENCORE

ENCORE (Exploring Natural Capital Opportunities, Risks, and Exposure) is a foundational screening resource for financial institutions and businesses seeking to understand their exposure to nature-related risks.

During SUSTAIN, the knowledge base underpinning the ENCORE tool has been updated and this deeply enhanced the understanding of economic activity–nature linkages and strengthen portfolio-level risk identification. These improvements make ENCORE an even more valuable resource for organisations looking to assess their exposure to nature- related risks. With more detailed data and improved functionalities, users can better screen the dependencies and impacts across their value chains.

The improvements to the knowledge base behind ENCORE enable users to explore their use of, and dependency on, nature in greater detail than before. The expert technical research behind the knowledge base update revealed more than 10,000 links between economic activities and ecosystem services, and economic activities and pressures. The updated knowledge base can now be downloaded by ENCORE users running analysis on their activities.

There are several key improvements:

• Expansion of the previous list of 92 ‘production processes’ to 271 ‘economic activities’, catalogued by the globally recognized International Standard Industrial Classification for All Economic Activities (ISIC). These economic activities, ranging from livestock farming to the manufacture of chemicals and nuclear power production, offer a more detailed breakdown on economic sectors.
• The list of ecosystem services is now better aligned with the categorization proposed by the UN’s System of Environmental Economic Accounting – Ecosystem Accounting. Cultural Ecosystem Services – such as recreation, aesthetic appeal, education, and spiritual, artistic and symbolic services – which were previously not included in ENCORE, have been added.
• Improved clarity on how economic activities can impact nature, enabling users to gain more actionable insights.
• Natural capital is now separated into different ecosystem types aligned with the IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology 2.0. This will help users better understand how impacts and dependencies may vary based on where they are located.
• All data on impacts and dependencies of economic activities have been updated based on the latest scientific research, industry expert reviews and grey literature, such as company sustainability reports, organizations’ websites and industry news.
• Improved methodology of the materiality ratings (which indicate how significant potential dependencies are, and how much pressure economic activities have on nature) to enable comparisons across economic activities and sectors. Where possible, these materiality ratings draw on quantitative indicators.
• New information has been added on key value chain links covering two tiers of suppliers and two tiers of consumers for each economic activity, enabling users to see their indirect nature-related impacts and dependencies.
• The updates, particularly the qualitative descriptions, the value chain links and the materiality ratings, have been reviewed by 78 industry experts representing 14 out of the 21 ISIC sections (level 1).

Inventory of Nature Impact Reduction Strategies

People, businesses and economies cannot thrive without nature, including the essential ecosystems services such as clean water or pollination that underpin our collective survival. As scientific evidence of nature’s rapid decline continues to mount, businesses are increasingly acknowledging their specific impacts on nature and the urgent need to transition toward nature-positive models that can restore natural capital, better manage and safeguard ecosystem services.  

The inventory of nature impact reduction strategies was developed for businesses within the agriculture, energy, and built environment sector to help mitigate their impacts on nature. Building on existing guidance from the Science Based Targets Network, the inventory provides a diverse but non-exhaustive list of options businesses could consider as a starting point for addressing their nature-related pressures identified by the ENCORE tool. These pressures range from noise disturbances, water quality issues, the spread of invasive species, land-use change to nutrient pollution.  

The inventory aligns with the well-established High-Level Business Actions on Nature: Assess, Commit, Transform, and Disclose (ACT-D) framework by providing support for businesses in the ‘Transform’ phase of revising their business strategy and models. Compiled through a comprehensive process of identifying best practices from academic literature and company case studies, the inventory has been reviewed by subject matter experts. It is intended as a supplementary resource for businesses that have already completed foundational steps, such as conducting robust risk assessments and setting credible science-based targets. 

Focusing on high-impact sectors such as agriculture, energy and the built environment, the inventory outlines over 150 response options across different stages of the value chain. Businesses can use this to consider options for both their direct operations and for engaging with upstream and downstream stakeholders to address nature-related impacts through coordinated action.

• For agriculture, the inventory addresses both animal and crop production across the entire supply chain, from on farm-level practices to broader systemic interventions. This includes a range of options from diversifying feed sources to alleviate pressures on water and land resources, adopting circular agricultural practices to improve resource efficiency and reduce waste and utilizing certification schemes that help limit deforestation and minimize land-use change.  
• For energy, the inventory covers response options for different types of fossil fuel and renewable energy production including solar, wind and hydropower. It covers a broad spectrum of options, ranging from designating “no-go” zones to mitigate mining and quarrying impacts, to specific operational practices that could improve water quality and toxic pollutant emissions. 
• For built environment, the inventory includes a range of possible options spanning the entire lifecycle of buildings and related infrastructure from minimizing the impacts on nature caused by material extraction to mitigating construction effects and improving waste management.