The Biodiversity Consultancy joins World Benchmarking Alliance

Working closely with its Alliance, the WBA team develops a series of benchmarks assessing 2,000 of the world’s most influential companies, measuring and ranking them on their contributions to the Sustainable Development Goals.  

The Nature Benchmark is one of the latest to be added to their programme. It tracks corporate performance towards a nature positive future by measuring how companies are reducing their impact and potentially regenerating ecosystems.  

We share WBA’s belief that companies must be part of the solution to the loss of nature and that benchmarking is an important enabler. The end result, or ranking, is helpful in measuring company progress, while the process of completing a benchmark can be rewarding in itself. From capacity building to cross-departmental integration, and from implementing improvement strategies to increasing transparency, benchmarking can help companies accelerate and scale their efforts.  

Liesl Truscott, Strategic Director, Nature Strategies at The Biodiversity Consultancy explains why we chose to join the Alliance: 

“We value the way WBA engages openly and transparently with stakeholders to ensure its benchmarks are fit for purpose, reflect the latest best practice and drive a race to the top, encouraging companies to step up and be part of a system transformation. It’s the opportunity to learn and improve together as a collective and hold business accountable at the same time that appeals to us here at The Biodiversity Consultancy. This is fully aligned with our approach.  

We know nature is in crisis and there’s no time to lose, and we need pragmatic and achievable actions that companies can take right now. Accountability is a powerful driver. We are excited to join the WBA, share our knowledge through the Alliance, and in turn support our clients on their Nature Positive-aligned journey.” 

While we are new to the Alliance, we worked closely with Textile Exchange on the development of the Biodiversity Module for their Materials Benchmark. This was rolled out to the Apparel & Textile Industry, a key sector for the WBA Nature Benchmark.  

Liesl continued:

“One of our goals at The Biodiversity Consultancy is to support companies on their nature journey, wherever they’re starting from. A robust strategic plan can provide the foundations companies need to meet the ever-increasing requirements to disclose information and align with stakeholder expectations. What’s definitely improving in business is the diversity of stakeholders involved, respect for others’ knowledge and needs and the commitment to finding common ground. WBA has championed this part of the benchmarking process from the beginning and it’s core to their mission. We are proud to be part of the movement.”