Protecting biodiversity to drive sustainable development
Published date: 22 May 2025
On International Biodiversity Day, GRI deepens support for companies to be accountable for their nature impacts
Biodiversity is reaching a breaking point. Over the past 50 years, wildlife populations have declined over 70% -- and with over half of the global GDP moderately or highly dependent on nature, the impacts on the economy and people, as well the environment, are clear to see.
The deepening crisis underlines why this year’s International Day for Biological Diversity sees a call for urgent action to protect nature, while acknowledging the importance of biodiversity for achieving the sustainable development agenda.
As the global leader for sustainability reporting, GRI has a key role in supporting organizations on their journey towards understanding and addressing their biodiversity impacts. GRI collaborates closely with companies and offers standards, programs and educational resources, such as:
- GRI 101 Biodiversity Standard: Since launch last year, this global benchmark in transparency for impacts on biodiversity has seen over 100,000 downloads. GRI 101 enables comprehensive reporting on biodiversity, through location specific disclosures that address the direct drivers of biodiversity loss.
- The Nature Positive Initiative (NPI) global pilot: As an NPI Partner, GRI is participating in a new program, launched this month, in which over 30 businesses and financial institutions from 32 countries are shaping a scientifically credible approach to assess ‘state of nature’ metrics.
- GRI Community Biodiversity case studies: Five early adopters of GRI 101 have shared the insights on the benefits and challenges of using the Biodiversity Standard to enhance their reporting, in this practical and solution focused series.
- GRI Academy biodiversity courses: A limited-time 30% discount is currently available for the course ‘Charting a greener path: reporting on biodiversity with GRI Standards´ with the code GRI_Biodiversity_2025. The course – available in English and Spanish – dives into the topic of biodiversity and its crucial influence on the environment, society and economy.
- GRI-TNFD Interoperability Mapping: GRI and the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures have jointly launched a mapping resource to help companies align their reporting using both the GRI Standards and the TNFD Disclosure Recommendations.
As the world enters the final five years to meet crucial biodiversity and sustainability targets, the urgency for action to safeguard ecosystems has never been greater. That’s why GRI is committed to supporting organizations to disclose their impacts on biodiversity, contributing to transparency and change.
Elodie Chêne, Senior Standards Manager