OCE-B.10.D - IAS Risk Mitigation Plan
Does the company demonstrate it has a risk mitigation plan for the introduction of IAS?
About the data
The WBA Ocean Benchmark measures and ranks the world's most influential companies on their efforts to halt and reverse nature loss in marine ecosystems, tracking how companies manage their impacts on ocean biodiversity, marine habitats, and the communities and workers dependent on healthy seas. The 2026 edition is WBA's first Ocean Benchmark, assessing 125 companies across key sectors dependent on oceans, including seafood, maritime transport, offshore wind energy, shipbuilding, port operations, apparel, and chemicals. Companies are assessed on 47 indicators across four measurement areas: governance, ecosystems and biodiversity, social responsibility, and core social indicators. The benchmark builds on WBA's Nature Benchmark and the former Seafood Stewardship Index, and its methodology was developed with input from more than 50 stakeholders including ocean communities, companies, scientists and civil society, with human rights and social impacts kept at its core alongside nature-specific concerns. More information can be found here.
Methodology
IAS include animals, plants and other organisms that humans accidentally or deliberately
introduce to areas outside their natural geographic range. IAS can have detrimental impacts on local
biodiversity. The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services
(IPBES) Global Assessment Report (2019) has identified IAS as one of the five most significant direct
drivers of biodiversity loss. The Convention on Biological Diversity’s (CBD's) Post-2020 Global
Biodiversity Framework requires reducing the rate of introduction and establishment of invasive
species by at least 50%.
Invasive species can enter marine ecosystems through various pathways, such as ballast water,
biofouling, discharged wastewater, escaped fish, imported bait and navigational canals. Lacking
natural predators in their new environments, invasive species often spread and become abundant.
Their ecological consequences can permeate food chains as they carry diseases, outcompete or prey
on native species and alter food webs. These impacts influence ecosystem functioning and can also
have socioeconomic and health implications. Managing invasive species is, therefore, vital for
preserving biodiversity and human welfare (SDG 14.2).
Research Guidance:
For this element to be met, the company must:
Disclose a risk assessment and management or mitigation plan for introducing IAS in its operationsor supply chain and how it is following it.
OR
Has certification that demonstrates it has a risk mitigation plan for IAS introduction.
Guidance:
This process focuses on handling invasive alien species that have been introduced or could be introduced due to the company's activities. It includes actions such as early detection and rapid response, containment and control measures, eradication efforts where feasible, and long-term management and monitoring strategies to minimize the environmental, economic, and social impacts of the introduced IAS. This process also involves regular reporting on the progress and effectiveness of the management actions taken.
introduce to areas outside their natural geographic range. IAS can have detrimental impacts on local
biodiversity. The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services
(IPBES) Global Assessment Report (2019) has identified IAS as one of the five most significant direct
drivers of biodiversity loss. The Convention on Biological Diversity’s (CBD's) Post-2020 Global
Biodiversity Framework requires reducing the rate of introduction and establishment of invasive
species by at least 50%.
Invasive species can enter marine ecosystems through various pathways, such as ballast water,
biofouling, discharged wastewater, escaped fish, imported bait and navigational canals. Lacking
natural predators in their new environments, invasive species often spread and become abundant.
Their ecological consequences can permeate food chains as they carry diseases, outcompete or prey
on native species and alter food webs. These impacts influence ecosystem functioning and can also
have socioeconomic and health implications. Managing invasive species is, therefore, vital for
preserving biodiversity and human welfare (SDG 14.2).
Research Guidance:
For this element to be met, the company must:
Disclose a risk assessment and management or mitigation plan for introducing IAS in its operationsor supply chain and how it is following it.
OR
Has certification that demonstrates it has a risk mitigation plan for IAS introduction.
Guidance:
This process focuses on handling invasive alien species that have been introduced or could be introduced due to the company's activities. It includes actions such as early detection and rapid response, containment and control measures, eradication efforts where feasible, and long-term management and monitoring strategies to minimize the environmental, economic, and social impacts of the introduced IAS. This process also involves regular reporting on the progress and effectiveness of the management actions taken.
License
Topics
Framework Mappings
Value Type
Category
Options
Yes
No
Not Applicable
Assessment
Steward Assessed
Report Type
Aggregate Data Report