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Nature risk is material, immediate and soon to be mandatory, states David Craig, co-chair of the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures ( TNFD ), just days after a landmark announcement by the International Sustainability Standards Board ( ISSB ) that it will begin developing a nature disclosure standard.
Craig, speaking with urgency during his keynote address at a TNFD-focused forum in Singapore presented by global real estate firm City Developments Limited ( CDL ), calls the ISSB’s formal move to integrate nature into its global disclosure standards “the most important development since the TNFD was launched. “If you are a board member,” he adds, “you now have a fiduciary responsibility to act.”
The ISSB’s decision to developing the nature disclosure standard, which will draw directly from the TNFD’s own framework, signals what Craig describes as a global shift towards regulatory harmonization on nature risk, akin to the journey climate reporting has taken over the past decade.
Nature risk is not a “nice to have” concern for companies, Craig emphasizes, but a direct threat to operations, supply chains and investment portfolios.
Research conducted by TNFD with Oxford University and Global Canopy highlights over 600 data points across industries showing nature-related risks already driving higher costs, reducing asset value and constraining supply chains.
While many companies continue to prioritize climate risks, Craig challenges the sequencing: “Nature risk is often more immediate and sometimes even greater than climate risk. The two are deeply interconnected and must be addressed together.”
Asia plays an outsized role in this transition. “Singapore is key, not just as a financial hub, but as a supply-chain linchpin,” Craig states, noting that 10 companies in Singapore have already adopted TNFD recommendations, including CDL, Olam Agri and UOB.
During the address, Craig also details the TNFD’s Leap ( locate, evaluate, assess, prepare ) approach, enabling companies to evaluate nature-related dependencies and impacts on specific operational geographies and assess their corresponding nature-related risks and opportunities. This localized analysis, Craig argues, transforms perceived complexity into manageable, actionable intelligence.
More than 730 organizations and US$22 trillion in assets under management have now publicly committed to adopting the TNFD recommendations, a 46% increase since COP16, the UN Biodiversity Summit, in November 2024. Over 500 first- and second-generation TNFD reports have now been published.
Asset managers like BlackRock, Aviva and Fidelity have also issued stewardship guidelines requiring portfolio companies to assess and disclose nature risk.
However, the window for voluntary adoption, Craig warns, is closing. With the ISSB expected to finalize a nature standard ahead of COP17 next year, mandatory disclosures are on the horizon.
“The market should realize that regulation is coming,” he concludes. “We shouldn’t wait. We should build the skills, talent and data now.”
As nature becomes a boardroom issue, Asia’s early movers may find themselves not only on the right side of regulation, but of risk.
