OCE-B.15.D - Societal Impact of Nature Impact Assessment
Does the company assess the impacts to society stemming from its impacts on nature?
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
The private sector has historically been one of the main contributors to environmental
degradation. It is crucial for companies to reverse this trend to ensure a sustainable future. A vital first
step in this process is for companies to transparently disclose their impacts on nature. Frameworks
provided by organisations such as Business for Nature, Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), Nature Action
100 (NA100) and the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) offer comprehensive
guidelines to help companies report and mitigate their environmental footprints.
Research Guidance:
Companies must quantify impacts to people stemming from its impact on nature. This can be done, for example, by:
Applying environmental valuation techniques (either monetary or non-monetary) to assess the impact to society stemming from the company's impacts on nature.
Quantifying numbers of people impacted.
Databases/tools that can be used to measure environmental values include:
Environmental Profit & Loss (EP&L)
Natural Capital Protocol
UN-SEAA EA
degradation. It is crucial for companies to reverse this trend to ensure a sustainable future. A vital first
step in this process is for companies to transparently disclose their impacts on nature. Frameworks
provided by organisations such as Business for Nature, Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), Nature Action
100 (NA100) and the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) offer comprehensive
guidelines to help companies report and mitigate their environmental footprints.
Research Guidance:
Companies must quantify impacts to people stemming from its impact on nature. This can be done, for example, by:
Applying environmental valuation techniques (either monetary or non-monetary) to assess the impact to society stemming from the company's impacts on nature.
Quantifying numbers of people impacted.
Databases/tools that can be used to measure environmental values include:
Environmental Profit & Loss (EP&L)
Natural Capital Protocol
UN-SEAA EA
License
Topics
Framework Mappings
Value Type
Category
Options
Yes
No
Assessment
Steward Assessed
Report Type
Aggregate Data Report