The Nature Positive Initiative today launched a landmark new set of indicators and metrics for measuring the state of nature, marking a major step forward in the global effort to halt and reverse biodiversity loss and secure business resilience: the State of Nature (SoN) Indicators and Metrics. 

Developed through a two-year, international consensus-building process involving more than 500 experts and practitioners from business, finance, science, civil society and governments, the new State of Nature Indicators and Metrics establish, for the first time, a globally aligned minimum set of measurements for assessing changes in the state of nature. Measuring the state of nature is essential because it tells us whether our pressure and response actions are having the desired effect.

The State of Nature Indicators and Metrics respond to one of the most significant barriers to action on biodiversity: the absence of a common approach for measuring whether efforts to protect and restore nature are actually delivering an absolute improvement in the state of nature. The framework does not intend to monitor nature per se; it is designed to help organizations – with a primary focus on companies and financial institutions – assess their nature-related dependencies, impacts, risks and opportunities. This is essential for private sector organizations to ensure they are securing their business against ever-mounting nature-related shocks and contributing to nature's recovery. 

"Nature underpins our economies, our health, our food and water systems, a stable climate and the resilience of businesses and communities worldwide. Yet until now there has been no clear consensus on how to measure whether efforts are leading to nature’s recovery," said Marco Lambertini, Convener, Nature Positive Initiative. "The State of Nature Indicators and Metrics plug a critical gap. They provide a practical, science-based, decision-useful and universally applicable way for businesses, financial institutions and other actors to understand their nature-related dependencies, impacts, risks and opportunities and, most importantly, to assess whether their actions are helping to put nature on a path to recovery while building their own resilience."

“If you want to continue to create the prosperity humanity needs, we need to be able to use nature in a way that is sustainable. The best way to do this is to actually start to measure it,” said André Hoffmann, Vice Chairman of Roche, Co-Chair of the World Economic Forum and Co-Founder of InTent.

A practical framework for a complex challenge

Following extensive technical review of more than 600 existing state of nature metrics and indices, wide stakeholder consultation and real-world testing, consensus has centred on four core indicators that together provide a holistic picture of the state of nature:

• Ecosystem Extent → Are ecosystems expanding or declining? 
• Ecosystem Condition → Is ecosystem condition improving or declining? 
• Species Extinction Risk → How important is the area to overall species extinction risk? 
• Species Populations → How healthy are the species populations present?

The indicators and their underlying metrics are designed to be applied across terrestrial, freshwater and marine environments, supported by practical measurement guidance at both site and landscape or seascape scale.

In practice, this might mean, for example, a company assessing a landscape within which they source raw materials and looking at whether natural habitat is expanding or shrinking, ecosystem condition is improving, extinction risk is changing and species populations are recovering. This in turn would support their broader approaches to managing risk, ensuring supply chain resilience, returns on investment and simplifying nature-related reporting.

The framework is aligned with the goals and ambitions of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, adopted by 196 countries in 2022, and is intended to support implementation of nature-related initiatives and reporting frameworks across the global economy.

Building consensus across sectors and geographies

The new framework is the result of one of the most extensive collaborative efforts undertaken to date in the nature measurement space. The process included the review of more than 600 existing state of nature metrics, multiple rounds of technical workshops and expert focus groups, two global public consultations, piloting by 29 companies from different sectors across more than 50 sites in 23 countries, freshwater and marine feasibility assessments, and input from more than 500 experts and practitioners.

The final indicators and metrics descriptors have been approved by the 27 core members of the Nature Positive Initiative, including the world’s most influential sustainable business platforms, standard-setting organizations and nature conservation organizations, as well as academia, Indigenous and local governments networks. 

Technical partners who worked with the Nature Positive Initiative to develop the framework to this initiative included EY, The Biodiversity Consultancy, the World Economic Forum, the Ocean Risk and Resilience Action Alliance and a dedicated technical working group of the 27 Nature Positive Initiative core members. Throughout the process, the objective remained clear: identify a minimum set of indicators and metrics that are scientifically rigorous, practical to use, accessible to a broad range of organizations and suitable for being embedded consistently across standards, frameworks and reporting systems. 

Early adoption announced by leading sustainability frameworks

Growing demands from investors, regulators, customers and society mean organizations increasingly need robust evidence of their dependencies and impacts on nature. Until now, the diversity of available state of nature metrics – while adding sophistication to the way we measure nature – has often created confusion, inconsistency and inaction. Findings in a recent market survey published in the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosure (TNFD)’s 2026 Status Report strongly highlight market demand for standardized metrics. The new State of Nature Indicators and Metrics provide a common framework for measuring nature-related outcomes. 

Demonstrating the critical need for interoperability across the nature measurement space, several leading frameworks are now adopting the State of Nature Indicators and Metrics consistently. TNFD has today announced that the metrics have been integrated within its framework. The International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) has drawn from TNFD material on nature-related risks and opportunities to develop its upcoming Exposure Draft on Nature-related disclosures, due for launch next week. The proposals are intended to support the implementation of the requirement in IFRS S1 to disclose material information about nature-related risks and opportunities. The Science Based Targets Network (SBTN) has integrated the metrics within Science-Based Targets for Nature 2.0, helping companies use a consistent state of nature measurement basis as they assess and prioritize action on nature. The Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) Nature Working Group is referencing these metrics through their latest guidance to measure, track and compare the real-world impact of nature and development financing. The State of Nature Indicators and Metrics will be integrated into WBCSD’s Nature Action Portal by the end of 2026, and can be used to support disclosures under the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) E4 Standard.

“A common framework for measuring state of nature outcomes is a critical step forward for the market. Corporates and financial institutions depend on resilient ecosystems and healthy species, yet consensus on how business can track changes in the state of nature has been limited. The Nature Positive Initiative’s metrics and measurement guidance provides that shared foundation for measuring state of nature outcomes. By aligning around common indicators and metrics, together we can accelerate progress towards the global nature-positive goal grounded in credible, science-based measurement,” said Tony Goldner, CEO, Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD).

“The State of Nature Indicators and Metrics create greater consistency in how the state of nature is measured across corporate nature approaches. By aligning SBTN’s methodology with it, we’re helping companies apply a common measurement foundation to target-setting and credible action through science-based targets for nature,” said Erin Billman, CEO, Science Based Targets Network (SBTN).

Supporting business action and resilience disclosure, target-setting and reporting

The metrics are designed to be decision-useful and to support corporate and financial institutions in achieving greater consistency in assessing nature-related risk, performance and capital allocation – and ultimately greater stability and resilience. They facilitate reporting, disclosure, target-setting and performance tracking, and are designed to be integrated to fill a key gap in existing frameworks, standards and decision-making processes, rather than forming an additional standalone standard.

“The launch of the State of Nature Indicators and Metrics is an important step toward a shared understanding of how to measure, track and respond to changes in nature. GRI has been pleased to partner with the Nature Positive Initiative in developing and testing these metrics, including their use alongside the GRI Standards. We look forward to building on this work to support greater consistency across nature measurement and reporting, and stronger accountability for biodiversity impacts,” said Robin Hodess, CEO, Global Reporting Initiative (GRI).

“Businesses increasingly recognize that understanding their impacts and dependencies on nature is essential for managing risk and building resilience. By aligning around a practical set of State of Nature metrics, the Nature Positive Initiative is helping create greater consistency in measuring nature outcomes. WBCSD is proud to have contributed to this effort and sees the Framework as an important building block for improving nature-related measurement,” said Peter Bakker, President and CEO, World Business Council for Sustainable Development.

A call for adoption and engagement 

Organizations that promote standards and guidance are encouraged to adopt and embed these metrics where appropriate in order to increase interoperability and comparability, and ultimately to make things easier for users. In addition, there remains an important need for continued collaboration to improve nature data, accessibility and measurement tools. Governments, data providers, academia, technology developers, standards setters and businesses are urged to work together to fill remaining gaps and improve access to biodiversity data, develop automated measurement tools and build capacity for organizations with limited technical resources. The Measurement Guidance and Technical Output Report accompanying the State of Nature Indicators and Metrics are intended to be evolving documents and already highlight some key research questions that will improve the efficiency and robustness of nature measurement. In November 2025, a group of organizations at the forefront of promoting a sustainable economy announced plans to develop a Nature Measurement Protocol in order to further standardize nature measurement methodologies. 

The launch of the State of Nature Indicators and Metrics comes at a critical moment. With less than four years remaining until the expiry of the global target of halting and reversing nature loss by 2030, 196 governments will gather in Yerevan, Armenia at UNCBD COP17 on 19-30 October to discuss progress towards this mission, and bolster efforts to prioritize nature-positive action.

“The State of Nature Indicators and Metrics report released today can be immensely valuable for the Convention on Biological Diversity and aligning efforts to the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. As we go into a global review at COP17 and gear up to accelerate progress on the Framework’s implementation towards 2030, we need these efforts and actors more than ever,” said Astrid Schomaker, Executive Secretary, UN Convention on Biological Diversity.

"The business case is clear, the knowledge and tools are increasingly available, and we now have consensus on metrics," said Lambertini. "There can be no more delay in addressing the decline of nature and the impacts this is having on the economy, society and individual organizations. The next step is measurable action. We urge all businesses and financial institutions to begin their nature-positive journey by using these State of Nature Indicators and Metrics, for their own resilience as well as that of the wider economy and society."