More than half, or 55% of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP) is exposed to material nature risk, according to new research by the global professional services and accounting firm PwC, that was released on the eve of Global Earth Day, which was on Saturday.
The findings in their new report, “Managing nature risks: From understanding to action,” showed that nature’s decline is a significant risks to the global economy and society-at-large if organisations do not transform their practices, a statement said Friday,
More than half (55%) of the world’s GDP is equivalent to an estimated $58 trillion (R1048trl) and was moderately or highly dependent on nature, rising from $44trl in 2020, the research found.
All 163 economic sectors analysed by PwC had a portion of their value chain that was highly dependent on nature.
The five most exposed industries were agriculture, forestry, fishery and aquaculture, food, beverages and tobacco as well as construction.
“The health of natural ecosystems and biodiversity has far- reaching implications, with more than half (50.6%) of the market value of listed companies on 19 major stock exchanges exposed to material nature risks.
Today, our natural world is declining at an unprecedented rate. As a result, businesses are facing new risks from nature loss, and will need to address the regulatory, consumer and investor responses accordingly,” PwC said.
PwC launched a Global Centre for Nature Positive Business, and the firm said it would provide “nature positive training” to help upskill its 328 000-strong global workforce to better understand nature impacts and work towards nature positive outcomes with clients.
PwC Africa ESH lead Lullu Krugel said: “It has become increasingly important to be more concerned about the environment in which we live and work. We should all be striving to leave the societies in which we live better than how we found them, and considering the decline of our natural ecosystems, we are faced with one of the most pressing modern-day challenges.
In Africa, we need to better understand how organisations can transform their business models to mitigate their impacts on nature, harness its potential, manage risks and deliver sustained outcomes.”
PwC’s new Centre for Nature Positive Business would bring together and expand key nature capabilities across the world in areas such as biodiversity, water, regenerative agriculture and forestry. The group also intended to double the size of its team of nature specialists over the next 12 months, from 500 to 1 000.
These work on a variety of topics including nature positive strategy and transformation, nature risk management and reporting, nature technology, data and measurement, and nature finance and fund management.
PwC would also continue to collaborate with organisations on industry-leading initiatives. The group currently supports the Science Based Targets Network by seconding experienced staff to conduct validation of newly developed corporate nature targets, works with the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures to improve market access to nature-related data, and with the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) on sector-based TNFD piloting.
In addition, PwC has collaborated with the World Economic Forum to develop guidance on how businesses can implement the Global Biodiversity Framework, and with the WBCSD to develop insights on ecosystem valuation, natural climate solutions and nature-based solutions.
BUSINESS REPORT