Biodiversity Footprinting
Clarity, Credibility, and Consistency in Biodiversity Footprinting
As biodiversity moves into the boardroom, clarity on what we measure—and how we measure it—matters more than ever. This is a rapidly-evolving space and we aim to provide clarity on the jargon, as well as define the standards that shape credible biodiversity strategies, grounded in ecological integrity, scientific evidence, and decision-useful data.
Foundational Principles
It is critical to use standardised ecosystem condition or integrity assessment methodologies to ensure results can be compared over time, across any ecosystem, site or company. This is why we measure impacts on nature against a reference state, typically a pre-industrial situation. Although we are not always able to precisely define an accurate reference state, we strive to avoid environmental amnesia and the associated shifting baseline syndrome. It is critical not to confuse land uses with ecosystems when undertaking biodiversity footprinting.
We apply ecological equivalency, at the finest scale of possible, for all our biodiversity work. Biodiversity is context specific. No two ecosystems are alike, and each species is unique. Designing and implementing impact mitigation plans, for instance around no-net-loss or nature positive targets, requires accurate baseline measurements and realistic projected outcomes of ecologically equivalent gains and losses. We do not make or support claims which cannot be backed up by site-specific evidence.
Accounting for the state of nature requires measuring both accumulated and periodic changes to ecosystems and species. We produce Statements of Biodiversity Position and Performance to help organisations track their progress towards their biodiversity targets, recognising the full extent of biodiversity losses and gains to date. To that end, we use our proprietary Biodiversity Footprint Accounting Software (BFAS) based on the double-entry bookkeeping rules of the Biological Diversity Protocol (BD Protocol).
We always stive to provide confidence or accuracy levels for all our work. Informed decision-making requires a clear understanding of the benefits and limitations of data sets, methods and findings. Focused on sharing our learnings with the broader public, we always push our clients to make public the outcomes of our work.
The Biological
Diversity Protocol
The Biological Diversity Protocol: Best-practice accounting framework for Biodiversity Footprinting
The Biological Diversity Protocol (BD Protocol) is the leading accounting framework for measuring, tracking, and reporting on biodiversity impacts and gains. Designed to bring the same rigour to biodiversity as financial accounting, the protocol enables organisations to quantify their biodiversity footprint over time—transparently, consistently, and credibly- employing all the foundational principles
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