Upgrading the nature data value chain for market participants

Overview

The Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) has published a set of eight recommendations for upgrading the nature data value chain for market participants, including a blueprint to govern, launch, operate and finance a Nature Data Public Facility (NDPF) first proposed by the TNFD in 2023.

Developed in close collaboration with a wide range of technical experts and market participants across the nature data value chain, these recommendations represent the culmination of four years of research and pilot testing about how best to respond to the nature data challenges identified by companies and financial institutions around the world.

The eight recommendations proposed seek to catalyse a whole-of-value-chain mindset shift about the discoverability, quality and accessibility of nature-related data as a strategic global public good.

Together, they also seek to unlock a much-needed new source of finance for the collection of essential state-of-nature data through the operation of a global common data facility.

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    The eight recommendations proposed by the TNFD seek to catalyse a whole-of-value-chain mindset shift about the discoverability, quality and accessibility of nature-related data as a strategic global public good.

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Recommendations

The eight recommendations cover both state-of-nature data used by companies in their assessment of nature-related issues as well as reported data produced by companies, for example about their impacts and dependencies on nature.

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1. Global nature data principles

Address market user data quality and consistency concerns by promoting global
adoption of a set of data principles for nature-related data by all actors across the nature data value chain.

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2. Common metadata requirements

Support data transparency and enable better decision making by end users
through the provision of standardised metadata information by all data collectors and aggregators of nature data

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3. Harmonised data licensing and user agreements

Address market user concerns about the accessibility and cost of nature-related data through the development and adoption of harmonised nature data provision and usage agreements across the nature data value chain.

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4. A Nature Data Public Facility (NDPF) to provide open access to core state-of-nature data

Enable the baseline assessment and reporting of nature-related issues by all companies and financial institutions, including small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs), by launching a Nature Data Public Facility (NDPF) to provide global commons open access to a core set of decision-useful data about the state of nature around the world.

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5. Incentivising corporate nature data exchange

Accelerate and expand mechanisms and incentives for companies and financial institutions to contribute state-of-nature data they have collected back into the global commons as a recognised and valuable contribution to global policy goal to halt and reverse nature loss.

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6. An international Nature Data Trust

Establish an independent international not-for-profit organisation, in the form of a data trust, to generate and redistribute funding for long-term strategic investment in state-of-nature data collection and quality enhancement initiatives across the nature data value chain. This organisation would operate the proposed NDPF (Recommendation 4), consistent with the global nature data principles, metadata standards and common licensing and user agreements (Recommendations 1, 2 and 3) and encourage corporate nature data exchange through the facility (Recommendation 5).

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7. A nature data measurement protocol

Support standardisation and consistency of nature-related measurement for the benefit of companies and financial institutions by establishing an international, cross-sector initiative to develop globally applicable, science-based standards for how to measure and account for nature-related impacts and dependencies. This could be modelled on, and learn from, the GHG Protocol for measurement of GHG emissions.

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8. A universal digital protocol for sharing nature data across supply chains

Respond to the costs and complexities associated with collecting and sharing
sustainability data across supply chains (particularly the burden on SMEs facing information requests from multiple downstream customers) by encouraging the development of a standardised global digital protocol for sharing climate and nature-related impact and dependency data (output data) from one company to another.