Introducing IPBES
The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) is the main international body that governments rely on for authoritative scientific advice about biodiversity. At its 12th Plenary held on 9th February in Manchester, more than 150 members, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, approved the release of the new Business and Biodiversity Assessment.
IPBES has produced major reports before, including the Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. However, the Business and Biodiversity Assessment adopted at IPBES 12 in February 2026 marks the first time the platform has coordinated a dedicated assessment focused specifically on the interdependence between business, finance and nature. It’s also the first time governments have formally endorsed detailed scientific guidance outlining what companies and financial institutions can do to support biodiversity.
Setting the foundation for best practice
Together with the Second Global Assessment Report, which was agreed at IPBES 11 in 2025, this newly released report represents a milestone in aligning science, policy, and private sector action for nature.
While the Business and Biodiversity Assessment concentrates on the private sector’s role, the forthcoming Second Global Assessment will provide a broader, updated overview of the global state of biodiversity.
The Business and Biodiversity Assessment – launched last week – looks directly at the relationship between business, finance, and nature. It explores how companies and financial systems depend on biodiversity, how economic activity contributes to its decline and what practical, science-based steps organisations can take if they want to operate in ways that support rather than undermine nature.
The Second Global Assessment Report, which is due for consideration by the Plenary in 2028, will provide a broader update on the overall state of biodiversity worldwide, the drivers behind its loss and the implications for people and economies.
These reports will sit alongside one another, with their own unique role: one zooms in on the role of the private sector, the other steps back to assess the global picture.
Although the assessment is not a regulation, it will have significant weight, influencing future policy, investor and reporter expectations and corporate strategies companies are encouraged to adopt. It will essentially become the shared scientific foundation for what good practice in the private sector looks.
A pivotal moment for Earth Active
This is also a pivotal moment for Ecology Group company, Earth Active.
Rob Selwyn, Principal Consultant in Biodiversity, is one of the Lead Authors for Chapter 5 of the forthcoming Second Global Assessment, the section focused on options for action. This chapter will turn the scientific findings into practical guidance that businesses and financial institutions can build into decision-making to lead transformative change.
Rob’s experience across UNEP-WCMC, corporate nature strategies, TNFD and SBTN approaches and lender standards such as the IFC Performance Standards, is particularly relevant to the upcoming report. He can contribute meaningfully to the assessment as he understands both the science and the realities of corporate priorities and operations.
This authorship means Earth Active are contributing directly to the global dialogue on how science, policy, and business come together to support nature. Rob’s IPBES role means real Earth Active experience is impacting one of the most influential biodiversity assessments produced for the private sector.
The assessment report will also shine a light on Earth Active’s valuable work, with a focus on the importance of safeguards, biodiversity advisory, nature strategies and risk assessments, especially as governments, development banks, lenders and corporate decision makers use this assessment as a reference point. What’s more, having an Earth Active team member as lead author on the report will further elevate the business’ reputational weight.
Why this is important
This comes at a time when the private sector is increasingly aware that biodiversity and business are interdependent, and risk to nature means risk to business. As expectations around nature continue to tighten across sectors like finance, energy, and infrastructure, Earth Active is placed at the point where global guidance and real technical delivery meet to help businesses navigate this interdependency and make meaningful change.
IPBES has now set the scientific direction for how business should address nature, and Earth Active has helped shape that direction, putting the business, and the wider Group in an even stronger position as demand for biodiversity expertise continues to grow.