More than 20 organisations, including Blackmores, AACo, Wesfarmers, Bega Group, Qantas, Rest Super and Lion Group, have co-founded Nature Positive Matters. This initiative creates a network of leaders who recognise the growing importance and economic value of looking after nature internationally.
Federal Minister for the Environment and Water, Tanya Plibersek, said, “It’s fantastic to see some of Australia’s leading businesses looking after nature and inspiring others to do the same.
“Nature Positive Matters will help businesses understand and measure their impacts and dependence on nature. As we know, you can’t manage it if you don’t measure it.”
The network was launched on 7 October 2024, on the eve of the Global Nature Positive Summit, which will bring world leaders, environmental groups, First Nations Peoples and others together to drive private investment in nature repair.
Nature Positive Matters members will work together to:
- Support business uptake of nature-related reporting and data collection
- Pilot programs to inform policies and investment decisions that are good for nature
- Develop tools to help investors understand whether an economic activity is environmentally sustainable
- Help other businesses take action to protect and repair nature
Being part of Nature Positive Matters will provide businesses with the confidence to act on nature and efforts to reverse biodiversity loss.
The founding members are already leading the way in nature reporting and are working to embed nature in their governance and business strategies.
The chair of the Nature Finance Council, Dr Ken Henry AC, said, “By working together, we can better build new business and financial models and opportunities and the regulatory environment to deliver benefits for business, community, and nature.”
In 2022, countries signed up to the landmark Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, which aims to halt and reverse biodiversity loss and environmental damage. Being nature-positive is all about that.
More than 20 Australian businesses and financial institutions have also signed up to report on their nature risks and impacts using Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) international standards.
To support businesses in their nature reporting, Australia is also putting together the data and information it needs. The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water are currently working on a natural capital accounts framework with the United States and Canada, which will determine the value of the natural assets the Australian economy relies on – such as forests, soils, grasslands and mangroves.
Image: Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water
