The study, led by conservation and academic experts from the University of Cambridge, BirdLife International, Fauna and Flora International and the Key Biodiversity Areas (KBA) Partnership, evaluated 129 biodiversity-related tools listed by leading disclosure frameworks like the Task Force on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) and the Science Based Targets Network (SBTN). These tools aim to help companies measure, disclose, and ultimately reduce their risks and impacts on ecosystems and species worldwide, to achieve Target 15 [1] of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF). 

Key insights from the study reveal that while a broad selection of tools exists—from online software and spatial mapping layers to comprehensive biodiversity databases—only 13 tools provide fine-scale data critical for assessing impacts on individual species, a necessary level of detail to drive meaningful action. Most tools rely heavily on global ecosystem maps or generic biodiversity layers, which, though useful, fall short in tracking the threats facing specific vulnerable species or precise ecosystems.

Among the tools that use individual species data, seven draw from the Integrated Biodiversity Assessment Tool (IBAT), which incorporates data from the IUCN Red List and KBA databases, allowing companies to pinpoint priority sites and species under threat. KBAs are recognised as priority sites for biodiversity conservation, and tools that include KBA-related data enable companies to identify areas with high conservation value and assess risks to species of concern effectively.

The research also calls for greater transparency and independent classification of these tools to ensure companies can select those that truly meet disclosure and action requirements. Sustained investment is essential to maintain and improve the high-quality biodiversity data that underpin these tools—resources vital for the private sector to contribute effectively to global biodiversity targets and sustainability goals.

This evaluation underscores an urgent need for consolidation and scientific rigour in the rapidly growing "biodiversity tools" space. With over 200 tools now available and many more emerging, the private sector’s journey toward true nature-positive outcomes depends on robust tools that integrate species-level data with ecosystem insights, backed by continuous financial and technical support. Developers, policymakers, and businesses alike must ensure transparency, usability, and impactful outcomes that can help reverse biodiversity loss and achieve the vision of a sustainable future for all.

Read the full paper here.

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[1] Target 15:  “Take legal, administrative or policy measures to encourage and enable business, and in particular to ensure that large and transnational companies and financial institutions: 

(a) Regularly monitor, assess, and transparently disclose their risks, dependencies and impacts on biodiversity, including with requirements for all large as well as transnational companies and financial institutions along their operations, supply and value chains and portfolios;

(b) Provide information needed to consumers to promote sustainable consumption patterns;

(c) Report on compliance with access and benefit-sharing regulations and measures, as applicable;

in order to progressively reduce negative impacts on biodiversity, increase positive impacts, reduce biodiversity-related risks to business and financial institutions, and promote actions to ensure sustainable patterns of production.”