Singapore’s City Developments Limited C09 (CDL), United Overseas Bank U11 (UOB) and Olam Agri have committed to start making nature-related disclosures in the coming years.
They are among the “first cohort” of 320 organisations from over 46 countries that plan to adopt the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures’ (TNFD) recommendations, which were published in September 2023.
In a Jan 16 announcement made at the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the organisations signalled their intention to begin adopting the TNFD recommendations and publishing TNFD-aligned disclosures as part of their annual corporate reporting for FY2023, FY2024 or FY2025.
The TNFD has published its 14 disclosure recommendations — along with a guidance document — for organisations to report and act on evolving nature-related dependencies, impacts, risks and opportunities. These “drivers of nature change” include climate change, pollution and use of land, freshwater and ocean, among others.
According to the TNFD, this process will enable companies to integrate nature into decision-making, and ultimately support a shift in global financial flows away from “nature-negative” outcomes and toward “nature-positive” outcomes.
Of the 320 organisations who have pledged to adopt the TNFD’s recommendations, 98 are publicly-listed companies in the MSCI 1500. Some 178, or 56% of the total list, are companies; while 106 (33%) are financial institutions and 18 (5.5%) are market service providers.
See also: TNFD framework launch floats nature-related risks to corporates' attention
The publicly-listed companies represent some US$4 trillion ($5.36 trillion) in market capitalisation, while the financial institutions, which include some of the world’s largest asset owners and managers, represent US$14 trillion in assets under management.
Across regions, 137 organisations are based in Europe, while 134 are based in Asia and the Pacific.
In addition to CDL, UOB and Olam Agri, two other Singapore-based organisations — consultancy firm Oceonomy and Olam Food Ingredients (ofi) — also feature on the list.
Other notable names include Acer Incorporated, Bank of America, the BBC, Fidelity International, GSK, Japan Airlines, LVMH, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Newmont Corporation, Ørsted, PwC, SoftBank and Standard Chartered Bank.
The TNFD was launched in June 2021 with the support of G20 and G7 governments. The TNFD published its corporate reporting recommendations on nature-related issues in September 2023 after a two-year process led by the Taskforce’s 40 members and supported by 20 knowledge partners.
The recommendations were designed with the goal of achieving the global policy goals outlined in the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, agreed to by 196 countries at the Convention on Biological Diversity COP15 held in Montreal in December 2022.
They were also designed to be consistent with the S1 and S2 standards on sustainability reporting, published by the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) in June 2023.
According to the TNFD, over 250 institutions worldwide pilot-tested its proposed approach during the design and development phase.
David Craig, co-chair of the TNFD and former founder and CEO of Refinitiv, calls the announcement a “milestone moment” for nature finance and for corporate reporting. “This is a clear signal that investors, lenders, insurers and companies are recognising that their business models and portfolios are highly dependent on both nature and climate and need to be treated as both strategic risks and investment opportunities.”
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Craig adds: “We are delighted to see such a strong, diverse and international group of companies and financial institutions step forward only four months after the release of our recommendations and look forward to even more stepping forward over the coming months.”
Elizabeth Maruma Mrema, TNFD co-chair and deputy executive director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), says: “Twelve months ago, the world came together to agree to the Global Biodiversity Framework to halt and reverse nature loss, including a specific target on corporate reporting. The release of the TNFD recommendations in September last year provided the tools to do that and today we have seen the market commit to start taking action.”
David Atkin, chief executive officer of the Principles for Responsible Investment, says the voluntary uptake of the TNFD disclosure recommendations”at such speed and scale” is a “hugely significant step in the right direction”.
Atkin adds: “By committing to disclosing nature-related information, these early adopters are aligning themselves with emerging and ambitious best practice for the long term. The uptake seen so far further highlights the drive from the private sector to address nature-related risks and opportunities, and its appetite for ambitious action in implementing the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and halting and reversing biodiversity loss.”
At UOB, the bank is expanding its efforts from climate to nature and biodiversity, says chief sustainability officer Eric Lim.
“We recognise that natural capital is the world’s most important asset and underpins all economic activities and people’s well-being,” says Lim. “As an early adopter of TNFD, we want to play our part and contribute to nature-positive outcomes. We look forward to working with our clients and ecosystem partners, and will share our progress as we advance on this journey.”
Meanwhile, a CDL spokesperson cites the World Economic Forum's Global Risk Report 2024, which states that biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse is the third-most severe risk over the next decade. “Large corporations like CDL play a critical role in understanding and disclosing our dependencies and impacts on nature. As one of the first four companies in Singapore to adopt the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) framework in 2017, adopting the TNFD [recommendations] is a natural progression and expansion of our sustainability framework.”
Olam Group Limited says it is taking action to “regenerate the living world” with a continual focus on climate action, healthy ecosystems, healthy soils, water stewardship and addressing food loss and waste. “Applying the TNFD framework will allow us to systematically locate, evaluate, assess and disclose our nature-related dependencies, impacts, risks and opportunities to better inform and direct our efforts to make a positive impact on environments and communities.”
Infographic: TNFD website
