The Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) has described the publication of its final recommendations as a key milestone in the relationship between nature, business and financial capital.
In a September 19 announcement, the TNFD said the 14 recommended disclosures and a suite of additional implementation guidance marked the culmination of a two-year consultative development process.
This included a pilot by over 200 companies and financial institutions.
The TNFD, with its 40 members representing more than $20 trillion, said that the new recommendations build on those of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and are consistent with various global standards including the International Sustainability Standards Board’s (ISSB), the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and the new European Sustainability Reporting Standards.
The recommendations aim to inform better decision making by companies and capital providers, and “ultimately contribute to a shift in global financial flows” toward nature-positive outcomes and the goals of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. “Nature-risk is sitting in company cash flows and capital portfolios today,” said TNFD co-Chair David Craig.
“Building on the language, structure and approach of the TCFD and consistent with the ISSB’s sustainability reporting baseline, the adoption of the TNFD recommendations represent a step-change in the momentum and capacity for business and finance to identify, assess and disclose their exposure to nature-related issues in a manner consistent with climate-related-reporting.”
Consumer products giant Glaxo Smith Kline (GSK) has already announced a commitment to publish its first TNFD disclosures from 2026, based on 2025 data.
An inaugural list of TNFD adopters is set to be announced at the World Economic Forum at Davos in January 2024.
The 14 recommended disclosures come under four categories, encouraging disclosure of the organization’s governance of nature-related dependencies, impacts, risks and opportunities, as well as disclosure on the effects of these factors on the organization’s business model, strategy and financial planning.
The third category recommends that organizations describe the processes they use to identify and assess these nature-related factors, while the last encourages disclosure of the metrics and targets used to assess and manage material nature-related dependencies, impacts, risks and opportunities.