The Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) officially launched today, aiming to deliver a framework by 2023 for organisations to report and act on evolving nature-related risks.

The new initiative aims to build on the success of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), which was established by the Financial Stability Board in 2015, with the goal of developing consistent disclosure standards for companies, in order to enable investors and other stakeholders to assess the companies’ climate-related financial risk.

With a goal to support organizations in reporting and acting on their nature-related risks, the TNFD aims to consult with a variety of stakeholders from all regions, to develop and build on voluntary, consistent disclosures to help corporates, investors, lenders and insurance underwriters manage nature-related risks. The framework will be tested and refined in 2022 before its launch and dissemination in 2023.

The TNFD will consist of approximately 30 members, with an equal representation of financial institutions, corporates and data/service providers from developed and emerging markets, and informed by a diverse stakeholder group. The organization is co-chaired by David Craig, CEO of Refinitiv and Group Leader of Data & Analytics Division at London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG), and Elizabeth Maruma Mrema, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

Elizabeth Maruma Mrema, Co-Chair of the TNFD, said:

“Science and economists are clear: nature is too big to fail. The health of the ecosystems on which we, and our economies, depend is deteriorating more rapidly than ever. Over the next few years we will work with Taskforce members, and other stakeholders, to design a framework that can be impactful and ultimately practical to companies and financial institutions. We encourage a wide range of financial institutions and corporates to participate in the TNFD and to become early adopters of the TNFD framework when it launches in 2023.”

TNFD Co-Chair, David Craig, added:

“Without urgent action, ongoing loss to biodiversity poses unprecedented risks for business, both now and in the future. Better nature-related data that enables informed decision-making by financial institutions and companies is how we will solve the global ecological crisis. Financial disclosures are essential to a market-based solution to nature loss. A properly functioning, informed market will price in risks appropriately and be empowered to channel investments to more sustainable opportunities.”

Along with the announced launch, a report setting out the proposed technical scope for the TNFD was released, as well as “Nature in Scope,” a report describing how the initiative will deliver a framework for organisations to report and act on evolving nature-related risks.