Australian insights
Ocean in the Boardroom(Opens in a new tab/window)
Oceans Decade Australia, in collaboration with the University of Sydney, have released(Opens in a new tab/window) a white paper on oceans in the boardroom. It highlights that nature and natural capital—across terrestrial, freshwater, atmospheric and ocean systems—are rapidly becoming material governance, risk and strategic considerations for Australian boards. Despite this, ocean issues rarely reach board agendas, with only 20% of directors engaging and typically bundling ocean matters with broader environmental topics.
The paper provides guidance to support directors beginning to recognise the ocean as a foundational asset underpinning operational continuity, long-term value creation, and community trust. It identifies opportunities to strengthen board literacy on ocean systems and to align ocean stewardship with existing climate governance approaches.
Nature Positive Labelling Program(Opens in a new tab/window)
Accounting for Nature has been awarded(Opens in a new tab/window) a $250,000 grant from NAB Foundation to support the development of a new nature positive commodity and asset labelling program. Accounting for Nature's Chief Executive Officer, Dr Adrian Ward, said ‘producers are looking for trusted and cost-effective ways to demonstrate the real value of their environmental management. This labelling product will connect sustainable production with stronger market opportunities, while maintaining the integrity of the science.’ As part of the first phase, Accounting for Nature will work with industry producers to navigate and road-test the labelling program in real production settings. These pilots will ensure the program is practical, effective, and aligned with both producer needs and market expectations.
Sustainable forestry project to become Australia’s largest nature-based carbon initiative(Opens in a new tab/window)
The Clean Energy Finance Corporation and River Capital, a multi-asset investment firm, are investing(Opens in a new tab/window) in a landmark First Nations-led plantation forestry initiative in the Northern Territory’s Tiwi Islands, owned by the Tiwi Plantations Corporation and managed by Midway Pty Ltd, a plantation and carbon management investment company.
The $81 million project is expected to become one of Australia’s largest nature-based carbon initiatives, planting native species for a long-rotation program, generating high-integrity Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) as well as timber. The planting of 30,000 hectares of Eucalyptus pellita, trees native to Northeastern Queensland, is projected to generate around 5 million nature-based ACCUs under the Plantation Forestry method over the life of the plantation.
Australian beef industry collaborates on nature-based methane reduction trial(Opens in a new tab/window)
Woolworths Group, Sea Forest, DIT AgTech and Teys Australia, have joined forces(Opens in a new tab/window) in multi-year collaboration to trial Sea Forest’s SeaFeed™ supplement in Australian grass-fed cattle, with the shared ambition to significantly reduce methane emissions and unlock additional productivity across the beef value chain. The trial, backed by investment from all four partners, aims to validate the concept and help drive industry-wide adoption, consistent with their focus on sustainable supply chains and emissions reduction. It reflects their belief in the potential of innovation in science to deliver material environmental and commercial benefits. Trial results will be independently verified against globally recognised standards.
Sustainable finance market update(Opens in a new tab/window)
Westpac IQ has published(Opens in a new tab/window) a sustainable finance market update review of 2025's performance that looks ahead to 2026 and highlights developments in nature and finance. Despite global sustainable debt issuance decreasing 8% from 2024 (USD 1,578bn in 2025), Australia recorded a new high in 2025 with USD 53.8bn in issuance, an 11% increase on 2024. This included a 22% increase on sustainable loan issuance to USD 22bn.
WestpacIQ has identified three key themes for 2026: transition finance (particularly for high-emitting sectors like steel, cement and chemicals), strong investment pipeline for renewable energy and net zero infrastructure, and the release of the Australian Sustainable Finance Taxonomy in mid-2025 that is expected to increase financial flows to activities creating a more sustainable and resilient Australia.
Report into creating a more dynamic and resilient economy(Opens in a new tab/window)
The Productivity Commission's inquiry report into creating a more dynamic and resilient economy was tabled(Opens in a new tab/window) in Parliament on 29 January 2026. The report presents recommendations focused on two key policy reform areas: corporate tax reform to spur business investment and regulating to promote business dynamism.
The report finds that reforms to corporate tax and regulation have broad impacts across the Australia economy. They seek to restore corporate tax and regulatory systems that produce growth and prosperity, while strengthening our social compact and achieving our social and environmental objectives in ways that are consistent with a dynamic and resilient economy.
International insights
IPBES Business and Biodiversity Assessment(Opens in a new tab/window)
During the 12th session of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) plenary, 150 member countries approved(Opens in a new tab/window) the Business and Biodiversity Assessment report, which warns that biodiversity loss is a systemic risk to global economic stability, financial markets, and human wellbeing.
The report finds that businesses are central to halting and reversing biodiversity loss and that the current conditions in which businesses operate are not always compatible with achieving a just and sustainable future, and that these conditions also perpetuate systemic risks. The report finds that business as usual is not inevitable – with the right policies, as well as financial and cultural shifts, what is good for nature is also what is best for profitability. To get there, the report offers tools for choosing more effective measurements and analysis. IPBES has released the Summary for Policymakers, with the full report expected in a few months.
Insights from global biodiversity conservation horizon scan(Opens in a new tab/window)
Trends in Ecology & Evolution, a Cell Press journal publication, has published(Opens in a new tab/window) the 17th annual horizon scan, which identified 15 emerging issues of concern for global biodiversity conservation over the next decade - from new AI models and chips, climate change driving drying soils and ocean changes, and shifts in global food demand, to changes in ocean dynamics and forest finance.
Principles framework for the insurance industry(Opens in a new tab/window)
The Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership has reported(Opens in a new tab/window) on the 2025 independent review of the ClimateWise Principles, which provide a framework for the insurance industry to disclose climate and nature-related risks and opportunities. Key findings from the 2025 independent review included nature considerations becoming more firmly embedded, with 39% of the 33 members now integrating nature-related risks into board-level governance processes; and a growing focus on materiality with 58% of members having conducted, or planning to conduct, double materiality assessments. Priorities for 2026 include advancing climate risk management, transition planning and the integration of nature-related considerations within governance structures will remain key priorities, reinforcing the foundations of long-term resilience.
Guidance on Integrating Deforestation into Net Zero Strategies(Opens in a new tab/window)
The Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change has published(Opens in a new tab/window) guidance to support institutional investors seeking to address deforestation, land conversion, and associated human rights risks. While the guidance takes a climate-focused lens, it acknowledges that by addressing deforestation investors can leverage wider benefits for nature, adaptation and resilience, and highlights that nature and human rights considerations do not sit outside the climate agenda but reinforce it. The guidance details a variety of tools that investors can use to begin to address material deforestation exposure, including a catalogue of tools for assessing deforestation and associated risks.
Board leadership for growth and resilience(Opens in a new tab/window)
The World Economic Forum (WEF) has released(Opens in a new tab/window) a white paper with Deloitte that provides a practical framework to help boards take action on climate and nature. The framework was created with input from 90 stakeholders across 16 industry sectors. Each section of the framework is accompanied by guiding questions for board members to ask themselves and management, providing practical starting points. Board members are expected to look further ahead through scenario analysis and to engage more deeply with a broader range of stakeholders. The four principles and three foundations outlined in the report framework can guide directors in embedding climate and nature into governance, enabling resilient, innovative and sustainable organisations.
A business guide to using biodiversity data(Opens in a new tab/window)
Biodiversa+, a European Biodiversity Partnership co-funded by the European Union, has published(Opens in a new tab/window) a guide to using public biodiversity data to inform risk assessments, strategy, and reporting. The guide notes the key data challenge is not scarcity, but usability: knowing where to look, what data is fit for purpose, how to interpret it, and how to apply it responsibly in a business context. The guide notes the technical and social barriers limiting the use of existing public biodiversity- and nature-related data, including fragmentation of data, and capability gaps within organisations to interpret and apply biodiversity data. It also provides use cases, including Allianz’s use of a combination of public data and in house data to complete a preliminary biodiversity assessment across their insurance and investment portfolio.
Scottish Parliament passes landmark Nature Restoration Bill(Opens in a new tab/window)
The Scottish Parliament has passed(Opens in a new tab/window) the Natural Environment (Scotland) Bill delivering for both nature and people with ambition at its heart and showing respect for nature, for the land and the people who steward and care for it. For the first time statutory targets will be in place to enhance nature and protect biodiversity in Scotland. The Bill forms a key part of Scotland's response to the twin crises of climate change and nature loss. It will give Ministers new powers to develop legislation relating to wildfire management, sustainable forestry management and our internationally important protected sites.
Perspective on the role of banks in restoring and protecting New Zealand’s natural capital(Opens in a new tab/window)
The Aotearoa Circle shares insights from Vittoria Shortt, Chief Executive of ASB Bank. Vittoria notes(Opens in a new tab/window) that banks have broader role in economic transformation saying that ‘beyond food and fibre, banks have a key role to play in unlocking capital for infrastructure, renewable energy, and affordable housing that is essential to future-proof our economy.’ Vittoria also notes that ‘leadership at a strategic and governance level is key. Boards and executive teams must embed sustainability into decision-making, not as a compliance exercise but as a core driver of value creation.’