Under the new Taskforce on Nature-Related Financial Disclosures’ (TNFD) framework, businesses are encouraged to establish science-based nature targets and integrate nature risk considerations in their sustainability strategy. Businesses are also expected to disclose all impacts, risks and dependencies relating to nature across their entire value chain.

What is THE TNFD framework?

The TNFD is nature's answer to the Taskforce for Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) reporting, launched at Climate Week NYC September 2023 by the Taskforce.

It’s a voluntary reporting framework to help shape the materiality approach to disclosing your business’s nature-related risks and impact, relating to your sector. The TNFD closely follows the TCFD framework, which was launched in 2017 and became mandatory in 2022.

Why now?

In December 2022, following a four-year consultation and negotiation process, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) was adopted during COP-15.

This historic Framework, which supports the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and builds on COP’s previous Strategic Plans, sets out an ambitious pathway to reach the global vision of a world living in harmony with nature by 2050. Among the Framework’s key elements are 4 goals for 2050 and 23 targets for 2030.

TNFD aligns with this framework and acts as the practical implementation of the GBF.

What’s the difference between TNFD and TCFD?

The TNFD has adopted 11 disclosures from the TCFD framework, adding three new disclosures, making 14 disclosures in total. The new disclosures are:
1. Engagement with indigenous peoples and local communities.
2. Disclosure of locations of assets or activities in your organisations direct operations, ecologically sensitive areas, and, where possible, upstream and downstream value chains. E.g., areas of rapid decline or high biodiversity.
3. Assessment of value chain’s impact on biodiversity – in addition to direct operations.

What’s next?

The UK Government will soon be implementing the Biodiversity Net Gain legislation, and the Environmental Audit Committee Chair has called on government to make TNFD mandatory for companies, like TCFD. Although TNFD reporting is not mandatory (yet!), investors may start asking for corporate disclosures on their impact on nature, and start assessing their own exposure to biodiversity risk.

How can you get started?

Educate yourself and your team.

The Taskforce have created ‘how to’ guidance to help retailers start to adopt and implement these recommendations, following a ‘LEAP’ approach. To learn more about this, click here.

Look within and see what your business is already doing.

Ask yourself how TNFD reporting could fit within your organisations work to tackle biodiversity risks and harness the opportunities for nature recovery.

And don’t forget, you can always speak to the BRC!

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