Reporting on nature

Global Corporate Reporting Institute | IFRS Sustainability

(This article was published on 6 February 2026 and updated on 30 June 2026)

Highlights

Companies can now preview selected preliminary guidance ahead of the October 2026 exposure draft of the IFRS^® practice statement on nature-related disclosures.

At its June 2026 meeting, the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) also decided that companies already applying Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) recommendations would be permitted to build on their existing nature-related metrics for ISSB^TM reporting purposes.

Barbara Zonneveld

Sustainability Reporting Director

KPMG International

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IFRS S1 already requires reporting on all material sustainability-related risks and opportunities, yet the growing investor focus on nature-related topics warrants more targeted guidance. Clearer guidance would help companies prepare consistent nature-specific disclosures that promote high-quality reporting and informed decision-making.

Barbara Zonneveld

Sustainability Reporting Director

What's the latest?

In June, the ISSB provided companies with a preliminary draft of:

defined terms;
application guidance on nature-related risks and opportunities; and
first-time application and compliance considerations.

The ISSB is proposing to add the TNFD disclosure metrics to its list of permitted sources of guidance in IFRS S1 General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information. A company would be allowed to refer to the TNFD disclosure metrics where they help meet the objectives of IFRS S1 and do not conflict with other IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards or the final IFRS practice statement. This would enable companies already reporting under TNFD to use their existing metrics as a starting point.

The table below summarises the ISSB’s decisions to date.

Focus area	Decision date	ISSB decisions
Latest decisions
Defined terms	June 2026	The proposals would define nature-related physical and transition risks to ensure both these types of risk are in scope of the nature-related disclosures, and to acknowledge that the way those risks arise and are managed may differ.
Identifying risks and opportunities	June 2026	Draft application guidance explains how nature-related risks and opportunities arise from dependencies and impacts on environmental resources and ecosystem services. It clarifies how companies may need to adapt strategy and business models in response to shifts in the external environment related to changes in nature.
First-time application and compliance	June 2026	The practice statement will be non-mandatory, but companies claiming compliance must apply all its requirements. Companies can expect relief from reporting comparative information in the first year they apply the practice statement. This is regardless of whether they already apply IFRS S1.
Metrics	June 2026	Companies could refer to TNFD metrics as a permitted source of guidance for making judgements related to nature-related risks and opportunities, provided that the resulting disclosures align with IFRS S1 objectives. Reference to Climate Disclosure Standards Board (CDSB) framework application guidance in IFRS S1 would be retained, allowing companies to consider it when disclosing metrics on nature-related risks and opportunities.
Previous decisions
Identifying risks and opportunities	May 2026	New guidance is proposed on using the TNFD’s LEAP approach¹ to understand a company’s interfaces with nature, evaluate related dependencies and impacts, and assess associated risks and opportunities. Companies using the LEAP approach may need to adapt it to ensure consistency with IFRS S1 objectives.
Scenario analysis	May 2026	The proposals would add incremental requirements for a company to disclose whether and how it uses scenario analysis in assessing the nature, likelihood and magnitude of nature-related risks, and identifying nature-related opportunities. Scenario analysis would be required for assessing the resilience of nature-related strategies and business models. This would mirror the approach for climate-related assessment under IFRS S2 Climate-related Disclosures and would use similar proportionality mechanisms.
Location-specific information	April 2026	The proposals would require companies to disclose the amount and percentage of assets or business activities vulnerable to nature-related risks or aligned with opportunities. This guidance would be subject to the same proportionality mechanisms in IFRS S1. Companies would receive guidance on how to consider location when identifying risks, opportunities and material information. This may also be relevant for reporting topics other than nature, such as climate.
Indigenous peoples, local communities and affected stakeholders	April 2026	The proposals would introduce application guidance on risks and opportunities arising from the relationship between nature and indigenous peoples, local communities and affected stakeholders. This guidance would illustrate a key connection between environmental and social topics.
Transition plans	March 2026	Companies would need to report on how they are transitioning their business to manage nature-related risks and opportunities. However, companies would not need to disclose a formal transition plan.
Metrics	March 2026	The proposals would not introduce cross-industry, nature-related metrics at this point. Instead, the ISSB proposes to update and enhance nature-related requirements in SASB industry-based standards.
Targets and regulatory alignment	March 2026	The proposals would not include requirements for specific nature-related targets. Instead, the ISSB proposes to add guidance and examples to IFRS S1 to explain what nature-related targets might look like. Companies can also expect guidance to disclose whether and how local laws and regulations have informed any such targets.
Project scope	February 2026	The proposals would focus on nature-related risks and opportunities. As a result, the project was renamed from ‘BEES’ to ‘Nature-related Disclosures’.
Defined terms	February 2026	The project’s scope would encompass nature-related risks and opportunities, aligning with the scope of IFRS S2 for climate-related risks and opportunities, and would also draw on the TNFD recommendations. Other important terms would also be defined, such as ecosystem services and environmental resources, used under the TNFD to explain the benefits and resources nature provides. The ISSB also intends to issue guidance on key concepts and terms such as nature, dependencies on nature and impacts on nature.
Climate-nature nexus	February 2026	Companies can expect targeted guidance on how to apply the existing connected information requirements in IFRS S1 and IFRS S2. This proposed guidance would help companies explain: the effects of climate-nature connections on a company’s risk profile; trade-offs between actions that address climate- and nature-related risks and opportunities; and synergies from addressing them together.

What’s the impact?

Companies already need to report material nature-related information under IFRS S1 (after their first year of reporting). This project aims to help them do so more effectively.

The proposed practice statement is intended to provide more comprehensive support in applying IFRS S1, IFRS S2 and related SASB Standards to a broad range of nature-related topics, such as land use, pollution, resource extraction, water and biodiversity. The proposals also seek to align with European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) and the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards.

By issuing the materials as an IFRS practice statement, the ISSB aims to provide flexibility for preparers, while also minimising disruption as jurisdictions adopt IFRS S1 and IFRS S2. Jurisdictions could choose to mandate the guidance, which would have a similar effect to introducing a new standard.

What’s next?

The June 2026 meeting was the last to address deliberations on nature-related disclosure proposals. In July, the ISSB is expected to discuss any outstanding issues and consider whether to approve moving the exposure draft forward in the due process.

An exposure draft is expected in October 2026 for a period of public consultation. The final practice statement will take time to develop and, once finalised, will need to be adopted locally to become mandatory.

Actions for management

Bookmark and revisit this page to stay informed about the project, including the exposure draft expected in October 2026.
Understand how your company is exposed to nature-related risks and opportunities, including by familiarising yourself with the TNFD’s LEAP approach. If you are exposed, then consider how TNFD materials can help you to report, given that the ISSB is building its practice statement on them.
Companies planning to adopt the practice statement that report under ESRS and GRI Standards need to monitor the ISSB’s proposals closely. Although the ISSB aims to align with these standards, differences may emerge in the final proposals.

¹ LEAP (locate, evaluate, assess, prepare) is a four-phase assessment framework designed to help companies identify, manage and report on nature-related dependencies, impacts, risks and opportunities.

Reporting on nature

Highlights

Barbara Zonneveld

What's the latest?

What’s the impact?

What’s next?

Actions for management

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