The business and biodiversity methodological assessment comes at a time when urgent action is needed to halt and reverse biodiversity loss and when there is increasing recognition of the central role of businesses in creating transformative change for a just and sustainable future. Evidence shows that biodiversity and nature’s contributions to people are declining across much of the globe. The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework commits to a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach to put biodiversity on a path to recovery for the benefit of people and the planet. Businesses have been key to driving innovation and economic growth that has generated rising standards of living, improved health, food security and poverty alleviation, but these benefits have been unevenly distributed across and within countries. Further, unsustainable economic activity and a focus on growth as measured by the gross domestic product, has been a driver of the decline of biodiversity and nature’s contributions to people and stands in the way of transformative change. Despite being historically neglected, there is now growing awareness of biodiversity decline and of the increasing risks that further declines pose for society, the economy and businesses. 

All businesses depend on and impact biodiversity and can act now based on existing knowledge. Improving the knowledge base would allow them to better measure and respond to their dependencies and impacts. Biodiversity has multiple dimensions, from genes to species to ecosystems. Methods exist to analyse impacts and dependencies of businesses on biodiversity, though tying specific business actions to biodiversity outcomes can be difficult. Different methods are appropriate for different levels of business decision-making, at operations, value chain, corporate and portfolio levels. Information about impacts and dependencies can guide businesses and enable reporting, transparency, decision-making and actions to address risks and opportunities, which in turn can lead to improved outcomes for biodiversity and businesses. For businesses to play a central role to halt and reverse biodiversity loss, the current conditions in which they operate need to be fundamentally changed to provide businesses with incentives for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. These conditions affect businesses differently depending for example on their size, resources and influence. Important dimensions of an enabling environment that provides businesses with incentives for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity involve policy, legal and regulatory frameworks, economic and financial systems, social values, norms, and culture, technology and data, and capacity and knowledge. Creation of an effective enabling environment can help closely align what is profitable for businesses with what is good for biodiversity and society. An enabling environment requires coordinated, collaborative action through a whole-of-government and a whole-of-society approach. 

This assessment reviews and critically evaluates approaches for measurement of impacts and dependencies of businesses on biodiversity and discusses how such information can be used to improve outcomes for biodiversity and nature’s contributions to people. The assessment also discusses the role of multiple actors in creating an enabling environment.