NAT.B02.EC Assessment of Dependencies on Nature Downstream Value Chain
About the data
This metric was designed by The World Benchmarking Alliance, more information can be found here. Sources and Alignments for each indicator can be found here as well as the scoring guidelines here
The World Benchmarking Alliance's Nature Benchmark measures and ranks the world's most influential companies on their efforts to protect our environment and its biodiversity.
This metric relates to the Indicator: The company assesses its dependencies on nature, including biodiversity and nature's contributions to people (NCP), both within its own operations and the upstream and downstream elements of its value chain.
Rationale: Nature's contributions to people (NCP), or ecosystem services, are the benefits that humans derive from ecosystems and on which human life and activities, including corporate activities, rely. Research shows that more than 50% of global gross domestic product is directly linked to these ecosystem services (WEF and PwC, 2020), with most companies depending on nature, including biodiversity and NCP, as part of their business model. Thus, for companies to understand their relation to biodiversity, it is necessary that they assess not only their impacts but also their dependencies.
Methodology
WBA analysed all publicly available group-level disclosure in English on the applicable group website, which was predominantly annual reports and sustainability reports. Draft assessments were then sent to each company inviting them to provide feedback. This feedback could include additional publicly available group disclosure published. These were then reviewed and finalised. Final assessments were then shared with each company before being published online.
For this metric the company needs to disclose the same process as above, but to its downstream activities. This includes disclosing the results of such process, along with the methodology followed. The assessment needs to cover all of its downstream operations. In the case it doesn't cover all, this can be met if it covers roughly a third of downstream value chain and the company discloses have a timebound commitment to cover all operations.