Biodiversity is declining at unprecedented rates. In part, this is because the value of nature is not embedded within current economic thinking. Approaches to measuring corporate biodiversity performance are emerging, but are not aligned. As a result, efforts to manage natural capital rarely consider biodiversity, with risks going unmanaged and opportunities unrealised. Alignment of existing approaches is needed to improve clarity and build consensus on how businesses and financial institutions can measure and report on performance.

To tackle this need, WCMC Europe, the Capitals Coalition, Arcadis, ICF and UNEP-WCMC are launching the Align project – Aligning accounting approaches for nature. The project, funded by the European Commission, will support businesses, financial institutions and other stakeholders in developing standardised natural capital accounting practices, including a standardised approach to biodiversity measurement.

The aim is to develop validated proposals for standardised, biodiversity-inclusive, natural capital management accounting practices through sector guidance; a generally accepted set of methods, indicators and criteria for corporate biodiversity measurement approaches; sector-specific biodiversity measurement guidance for site-based and supply chain companies, as well as the finance sector, and modules/interfaces with other initiatives to facilitate uptake; a standardised approach for measuring biodiversity impacts and dependencies by business and financial institutions drawing from and linking into existing initiatives; and prioritised needs and opportunities relating to education, training, research and innovation.

It will build on existing work under the EU Business@Biodiversity Platform, the Aligning Biodiversity Measures for Business collaboration and the TRANSPARENT project to maximise synergies and engage with linked initiatives for harmonised progression.

Align is a 3 year business-focused and business-driven project. We invite businesses and other stakeholders in the field of natural capital management accounting and corporate biodiversity measurement, valuation and disclosure to engage in the project throughout its lifespan.

• Community of Interest: If you would prefer not to engage in technical discussions but are interested in following the outcomes of the project, the Community of Interest will be kept informed of progress through webinars and periodic updates.
• Community of Practice: This group of active practitioners will work collaboratively to share experiences of best practice to encourage peer-to-peer learning; help develop a standardised approach to natural capital management accounting and biodiversity measurement; contribute existing knowledge, review and test draft guidance and/or standards to provide feedback. The group will have access to cutting-edge documents as they are developed and input to ensure each is fit-for-purpose.
• Technical Hub: This group (a subset of the Community of Practice) will provide technical support to progress thinking on areas of alignment, divergence and how best to standardise biodiversity measurement approaches for discussion and agreement at Community of Practice meetings. Invitations will be extended based on experience and expertise in the field.

An independent Advisory Board will act as a sounding board to the Align project by reviewing and providing input into key deliverables from the perspective of businesses and financial institutions. Members, representing a range of stakeholders, will act as champions to the project.

Further details on the objective and expectations for each group are described within the Terms of Reference on the EU B@B Platform’s website.

The Align project will be officially launched on Wednesday, 10 March 2021, from 5.00-6.00 pm CET. If you would like to join the Community of Interest, request to join the Community of Practice, or join this webinar please register your interest.