This month marks the launch of the BRC’s Plan for Nature 2024/25, an ongoing campaign and programme of events that aims to initiate retail’s journey towards comprehensive industry-wide action on nature and biodiversity. In line with government and global goals on nature and biodiversity, the BRC is supporting members to place nature-positive action at the heart of business strategies and operations, to achieve the ultimate goals of biodiversity net gain and full nature recovery by 2050.  

With our first event, an introductory webinar on Nature and Biodiversity for Retailers, happening online on 16 October at 11:00, we want to outline why incorporating nature and biodiversity strategy matters to your business, what the current regulatory landscape looks like, and what to expect from the BRC’s Plan for Nature in 2024/25. 

Top Three Reasons to Incorporate Nature & Biodiversity into Your Business Strategy 

  1. It is critical to the long-term resilience of retail operations: The natural world and its biodiverse ecosystems has an intrinsic value to humankind, but also holds a foundational material value to business. The retail industry with its vast systems of production, manufacture and consumption has a monumental impact on nature, and dually, it is this systemic reliance on the natural world to facilitate the industry’s production that means nature and biodiversity loss hold the potential for an equally monumental impact on retailers’ operations. From replenishing soils, to pollinating crops, to maintaining natural water systems, a stable and biodiverse natural world underpins functioning at all points of a retailer’s value chain. However, our unregulated reliance on nature has had a destructive impact on biodiversity, with species populations decreasing by almost 70 per cent since 1970. For both businesses and biodiversity to thrive, it is crucial that we cultivate a sustainable relationship with the natural world.  
  2. It has the potential to create new business opportunities and security: Protecting biodiversity is fundamental to the future operation of businesses, and at this early regulatory stage within the space, becoming a leader in nature-positive action now may provide a head-start on government thinking and has the potential to put your businesses firmly ahead of others. 
  3. It is fundamentally interrelated with existing climate action: Biodiversity loss and climate change are twin crises, representing two interrelated effects of unsustainable overproduction and overconsumption. As such, becoming nature positive is increasingly recognised as intertwined with achieving net zero – both are rooted in implementing sustainable business practices and that protect and enhance our natural environments and resources. 

The Current Nature & Biodiversity Policy Landscape 

The focus on nature and biodiversity is growing in the regulatory space, with a myriad of new regulatory requirements, reporting frameworks, guidance, and tools intended to moderate and facilitate business alignment with broader industry, national, and global journeys toward key nature and biodiversity goals. 

The UK’s goals for nature sit beneath ambitious global targets. The historic signing of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) at COP15 of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in 2022 outlined a visionary global goal of a world living in harmony with nature by 2050. Target 15 of the GBF explicitly commits Governments to take measures to enable businesses to monitor, assess, and report on nature-related risks, dependencies and impacts. 

The current key nature regulatory requirements and voluntary initiatives impacting retailers in the UK are:  

  • Science-Based Targets (SBTs) for Nature: SBTs for nature represent a standardised approach for businesses looking to align with new nature reporting requirements and target setting under TNFD. 

  • Mandatory Transition Plans: The government have announced plans to consult in the first half of 2025 on how best to take forward the manifesto commitment on transition plans, in support of its ambition to become the global hub for transition finance.

The new Secretary of State for Defra, Steve Reed, has outlined Nature as one of the five priorities for the department, stating that he wants “to make this the most nature-positive government this nation has ever had.” Ahead of COP16 next month, the Environment Secretary proposed three priorities for the UK delegation at COP16:  

  1. To agree the final details of how we monitor and report our progress on the Global Biodiversity Framework. 
  2. To agree the details of a new global fund to share the benefits that arise when companies use genetic information derived from biodiversity in the creation of products and services. This will ensure genetic information of plants, animals and microorganisms is accessible for research and innovation, like the development of new vaccines. It will also help mobilise financial resources from the private sector. 
  3. To increase efforts to mobilise finance from all sources – and align these with the Global Biodiversity Framework. 

Defra’s strengthened prioritisation of Nature complimented Foreign Secretary David Lammy’s announcement last month of the creation of a UK Special Representative for Nature. The Representative will amplify the UK's diplomatic engagement on nature and will strengthen our partnerships internationally. 

Overall, the UK aims to/for: 

  • No net biodiversity loss by 2030. For instance, this includes the ‘30 by 30’ target to protect and conserve a minimum of 30% of land and sea for biodiversity by 2030, set as part of the GBF. 
  • Net biodiversity gain from 2030. For instance, this includes the target to restore or create over 500,000 hectares of wildlife-rich habitats by 31 December 2042, and to halt the overall loss of species abundance by 2042 compared to 2022 levels. 
  • Full biodiversity recovery by 2050. UK biodiversity indicators include: area of land in agri-environment schemes, area of forestry land certified as sustainably managed, sustainable fisheries, air pollution, marine pollution.

BRC Plan for nature

With nature and biodiversity becoming an ever-growing priority in the UK regulatory space, and with BRC’s Plan for Nature 24/25 launching this month, now is the perfect time to start considering how nature and biodiversity can fit into your business strategy. For more information on the Plan for Nature programme of events in 2024/25, see our blog here. 

Our next event, BRC Nature Day, is on 28 November. This next event aims to map out where and how retailers should begin to incorporate nature and biodiversity into their strategy, including discussions on barriers, challenges, and potential solutions. 

Find some other useful resources on nature and biodiversity from the BRC below:  

  • The BRC’s Retailer’s Guide to Nature and Biodiversity for Business provides an in-depth overview of the latest reporting frameworks and regulatory requirements for nature and biodiversity, to help you understand current nature-related policies and where to begin with your nature strategy. 

  • The BRC’s timeline outlines the UK regulatory landscape for nature and biodiversity for retailers until 2050, featuring key government goals and actions. 

We're here to support you where we can on your work on nature and biodiversity and to coordinate retail’s approach to reaching our goals on nature. For any queries, please contact our policy lead  Sophie De Salis.