We’re adopting a framework aimed at driving reductions of impact on nature

A few years ago, we launched a sustainability strategy with ambitious goals in three key areas: climate action, circularity and responsible business. However, in light of the world's current triple planetary crisis – climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss – we recently revised our strategy to enhance our focus on biodiversity.

Our ambition for the future is to be net positive, which means that we will take actions to avoid and reduce our impacts on nature. In addition, we will engage in restoration and regeneration of nature to positively balance our negative impact.

As we work towards this ambition, we believe in being transparent about our progress. That’s why we’re happy to announce that we’re now becoming the first global car maker to sign up as a TNFD adopter. And yes, as you might have guessed, the name behind the acronym is a mouthful, so let’s dig a bit deeper to understand what it means.

TNFD stands for Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures and is a global initiative offering a framework for companies to assess and report their impacts on nature, as well as a process for evaluating and addressing priorities, with the aim of shifting global financial flows away from outcomes that harm nature and towards positive ones.

“Being the first global car maker to sign up as a TNFD adopter, we strive to act as a pioneer in the automotive industry on biodiversity,” says Vanessa Butani, our head of global sustainability. “By using TNFD’s set of recommendations and guidelines, we can integrate nature-related dependencies, impacts, risks and opportunities into our decision-making. This will help propel us towards our long-term ambition to be net-positive across our value chain and contribute to a nature-positive future.”

Committed to nature

Joining TNFD is not a symbolic gesture; it means we're committing to disclosing our impact on biodiversity and outlining strategies to minimise our environmental footprint throughout our entire value chain. This includes taking concrete steps to assess, report, and mitigate the effects we have on biodiversity, ensuring that our operations are as sustainable and environmentally responsible as possible.

As a TNFD adopter, we will follow an approach called Locate, Evaluate, Assess, Prepare (LEAP).

In a nutshell, this approach means we will locate and identify where our operations and activities interfere with nature. We will evaluate how our operations impact these areas across our value chain, including suppliers and distributors. We will assess the risks we identify during the evaluation stage. Finally, we will prepare by developing strategies and actions to manage identified risks and to maximise opportunities.

“We have a lot of work to do to achieve our biodiversity ambitions,” says Owain Griffiths, our head of circular economy and biodiversity. “We anticipate significant benefits for both ourselves and our stakeholders from the TNFD, to support transparency in our assessment and progress going forward.”

To a more sustainable future

As a company that believes in the power and importance of transparency, not least when it comes to environmental impact reporting, signing up to TNFD also means we can provide stakeholders with clear and actionable information on our sustainability journey.

Committing to TNFD is not about planning for the next quarter, but for the next generation, and it's a small but important step towards a more sustainable future.