The Methodology for the 2026 Nature Benchmark

We are currently facing an environmental polycrisis that demands urgent action on multiple fronts. Biodiversity is in steep decline, the impacts of climate change are increasingly evident and air, plastic and water pollution are escalating.

Despite the critical need for action, the private sector has been slow to respond to many of these challenges. While areas such as climate change have comparatively clear and well-established standards and expected disclosures, corporate expectations on other critical topics such as biodiversity are still emerging.

Several new initiatives and frameworks are under development, leading to rapid changes and clearer guidance in this space. In line with these developments, we have revised our methodology from the previous version to better reflect the latest expectations that companies face.

These include expectations set out in the most recent publications from organisations, such as the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), Science Based Targets Network (SBTN) and the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD). WBA continues to collaborate with these and other stakeholders to ensure our methodology reflects the most up-to-date science and knowledge.