EcoAct joins initiatives to improve the biodiversity impact of clients

Like climate change, biodiversity decline will have devastating effects for people and for businesses globally, with scientists and governments agreeing on the need to reverse the curve and avoid the worst consequences of biodiversity collapse. As the awareness of this topic has increased, so has the emergence of new regulations and reporting frameworks. Corporate ESG strategies are now expanding to integrate not only climate issues but nature ones too.

Since the signing of the global framework for biodiversity concluded at COP 15 in 2022, EcoAct has been at the forefront of companies prioritising biodiversity and in October 2024, EcoAct biodiversity experts travelled to Cali, Colombia, to take part in the work of COP 16.

These issues require collective action and EcoAct is proud to participate in various working groups and initiatives at international, European and national level. EcoAct contributes to the European CircHive project and to working groups for the Organization for Biodiversity Certificates (OBC) and Afnor. Our experts are committed to advancing biodiversity and nature issues within organisations.

Our expertise in biodiversity allows us to support our clients find the best solutions to their sustainability and nature challenges and to put biodiversity at the heart of their transformation strategies.

Member of the Organization for Biodiversity Certificates

The Organization for Biodiversity Certificates (OBC) brings together several private and public organisations such as Kering, Pernod Ricard and Gold Standard. Its goal is to define methodologies for the development of “biodiversity certificates” to support standards around nature. Its approach is based on a scientific and field approach that would allow the emergence of carbon-biodiversity projects.

In 2024, we took part in several working groups:

• Market: how can we build a voluntary market for biodiversity along the lines of the carbon market? This year’s deliverable will be a reference framework that distinguishes itself from other approaches, by highlighting positive contributions through actions (OBC brochure (1)).

Two other technical working groups have helped create a database of practices that have a positive impact on biodiversity:

• Temperate forests: Best practices to protect forest ecosystems and adapt them to climate change

• Agriculture in temperate environments: The connections between agricultural practices and biodiversity and how can we support practices that are more virtuous for the environment

In 2025, these various methods will be tested on projects and the drafting of guides for tropical environments will be pursued.

EcoAct has over 15 years of experience developing climate-beneficial methodologies and projects, and a strong understanding of the challenges and opportunities of the nature-based solutions market. We are pleased to become part of the OBC as a member of the board to participate in the development of a solid framework and support the global effort for the preservation and restoration of biodiversity.

The methodologies developed by the OBC allow our nature-based solutions experts to use them in our own projects and those proposed to our clients. These new approaches would highlight, for instance, the many co-benefits of carbon projects on biodiversity.

AFNOR biodiversity commission to promote new ISO standard

The AFNOR is responsible for developing standards in France. This year, EcoAct joined a working group on biodiversity approaches made up of various market players. In 2021, this working group supported the publication of the voluntary standard NF X32-001, which provides organisations with a method to help them structure their approach to biodiversity protection. EcoAct is also able to guide companies so that they align with the guidelines required by this standard.

The AFNOR biodiversity working group is now taking this standard to the international level via ISO. A new ISO standard is expected to be published within the next few months.

The other ISO draft standards on the biodiversity theme cover the following areas:

• ISO/DIS 13208 vocabulary: this norm defines important terms related to biodiversity. It covers the 3 levels of biodiversity: genes, species and ecosystems, and also addresses terms related to the 5 IPBES pressures, means of action, etc. This will enable all stakeholders to work on a common reference base.
• Biodiversity Net Gain ISO/DIS 17060: The Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) norm defines guidelines for the design and implementation of biodiversity gains throughout a project’s lifecycle (development, planning, conservation, etc.). The drafting work was based on existing practices, to standardise the approach to gain transparency on results achieved and demonstrate positive biodiversity commitments.

European CircHive project

In 2023, EcoAct joined the European CircHive project that aims to standardise biodiversity footprint and natural capital accounting methods within organisations, based on concrete case studies within companies and territories. The objective of the project is to propose and assess an improved and standardised methodology applicable to different sectors across Europe.

The CircHive project has recently reached an important milestone with the completion of a first phase of in-depth work on different Work Packages (WP) by the partners. The next step is now to launch pilot projects to test the methods and tools developed, while linking natural capital accounting (NCA) with life cycle assessment (LCA). This is part of an integrated approach to better value biodiversity and strengthen sustainable practices within organisations.

A consortium meeting is planned for the end of mid-May, where progress will be discussed and future steps planned.

Next steps to take on biodiversity

Like the climate crisis, the biodiversity crisis needs to be urgently addressed. As it stands, biodiversity loss is increasing and the consequences of biodiversity collapse are significant. So far, not enough has been done to address global biodiversity loss and transformative changes are needed.

EcoAct’s team of biodiversity experts are here to support your organisation measure its impact on biodiversity, as well as understanding its dependencies on ecosystem services. If you want to learn more about EcoAct’s four-step approach to biodiversity footprinting and accounting, download our biodiversity factsheet or get in contact with our experts.