Addressing social impacts for a just nature-positive transition
Does the company address its social impacts to ensure a just nature-positive transition?
The WBA Nature Benchmark measures and ranks the world's most influential companies on their efforts to protect the environment and its biodiversity, tracking how companies are reducing their negative impacts on nature and contributing to the protection and restoration of ecosystems, aligned with the goals of the Global Biodiversity Framework. The 2026 edition assessed 750 companies across multiple sectors including agro-food, forestry, building, tourism and the blue economy. The benchmark is developed in close collaboration with an Expert Review Committee and partners including GRI, SBTN, and TNFD, with a methodology designed to incentivise companies to understand where nature-related risks are highest and act to halt damaging trends, while keeping human rights and social impacts at its core.
More information can be found here.
More information can be found here.
While climate-related transition plans are becoming more prevalent in corporate agendas,
it is imperative for companies to also disclose nature-positive transition plans to address the
interconnected challenges of climate change, environmental degradation and pollution. A holistic
approach that integrates these efforts is essential to effectively confront the environmental polycrisis
and ensure long-term sustainability. This must be achieved in a just manner that supports, rather than
harms, the most vulnerable stakeholders on the ground.The company must show evidence of at least one of the following, in at least one location where the company operates:
Demonstrate how it addresses the impact of the nature transition on affected stakeholders’ social protection in the contexts in which it operates (e.g. provide job severance packages to workers who lose their jobs or create community funds to support the local economy).
Organize stakeholder engagement processes to identify and respond to the impacts of a nature-positive transition.
Build the resilience of communities affected by the nature-positive transition.
Quantifie the number of jobs created or destroyed and where. In instances where the number of jobs created are smaller than those destroyed, impact mitigating measures must also be described.
Demonstrate the measures it takes to create and provide or support access to green and decent jobs for workers and other affected stakeholders.
Has a public commitment (or describes measures it takes) to re- and/or up-skill workers displaced by the nature-positive transition.
it is imperative for companies to also disclose nature-positive transition plans to address the
interconnected challenges of climate change, environmental degradation and pollution. A holistic
approach that integrates these efforts is essential to effectively confront the environmental polycrisis
and ensure long-term sustainability. This must be achieved in a just manner that supports, rather than
harms, the most vulnerable stakeholders on the ground.The company must show evidence of at least one of the following, in at least one location where the company operates:
Demonstrate how it addresses the impact of the nature transition on affected stakeholders’ social protection in the contexts in which it operates (e.g. provide job severance packages to workers who lose their jobs or create community funds to support the local economy).
Organize stakeholder engagement processes to identify and respond to the impacts of a nature-positive transition.
Build the resilience of communities affected by the nature-positive transition.
Quantifie the number of jobs created or destroyed and where. In instances where the number of jobs created are smaller than those destroyed, impact mitigating measures must also be described.
Demonstrate the measures it takes to create and provide or support access to green and decent jobs for workers and other affected stakeholders.
Has a public commitment (or describes measures it takes) to re- and/or up-skill workers displaced by the nature-positive transition.