ISO 14001:2026 · Biodiversity · Management System Evidence
By Diana Lynn, President and Principal ISO Consultant, MSI · Updated October 16, 2026
Nature-related disclosures are reports in which an organization explains how it depends on, affects, and is exposed to nature, including biodiversity and ecosystems.
On October 22, 2026, the board that writes the world’s baseline sustainability reporting rules plans to release its first proposals on nature. Within days, sustainability teams everywhere will forward the news with a short note: “Can we report this?” That note will land on one desk. Yours. The environmental manager’s.
Here is the truth most commentary will miss. Nature-related disclosures are not a reporting problem. They are an evidence problem. A disclosure framework can tell you what to say about nature. Only a working environmental management system can tell you whether it is true.
That is why this article exists. It shows experienced EHS and quality managers exactly where nature-related disclosures connect to the ISO 14001:2026 clauses you already run, what ISO’s new biodiversity standard adds, and how to make your nature data defensible before anyone asks for it. It follows our Gross Domestic Regeneration article, which looked at nature from the nation’s point of view. This one comes down to the plant floor.
Key Takeaways
- The ISSB plans to launch its nature-related exposure draft on October 22, 2026, with comments open until February 19, 2027 (as of October 16, 2026).
- ISO 14001:2026 Clause 4.1 now requires organizations to consider environmental conditions such as biodiversity and ecosystem health.
- ISO 14001:2026 Annex A.4.1 points readers to ISO 17298, the first International Standard for biodiversity in strategy and operations.
- Clause 7.4.1 requires that environmental information you communicate is consistent with your EMS records and reliable.
- The TNFD LEAP approach maps cleanly to ISO 14001 planning, operation, and review clauses, as MSI’s crosswalk below shows.
- Management review is the natural place to decide what nature data your organization will stand behind.
Direct Answer
Nature-related disclosures describe how an organization depends on and affects nature. The frameworks behind them, TNFD and the ISSB, define what to report. An ISO 14001:2026 environmental management system produces the evidence: Clause 4.1 now names biodiversity and ecosystem health, and Clause 7.4.1 requires communicated information to be reliable.
The October 2026 Turning Point
What Are Nature-Related Disclosures, and Why Does October 2026 Matter?
Locate. Evaluate. Disclose.
Nature-related disclosures grew out of a simple observation. Organizations depend on water, soil, pollination, and stable ecosystems, and their operations change those systems in return. The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework Target 15 asks governments to encourage businesses to assess, monitor, and transparently disclose biodiversity risks, dependencies, and impacts.
The scale of the problem is not in dispute. The IPBES Global Assessment estimated that around one million animal and plant species face extinction. That is the environmental condition behind every one of the nature-related disclosures now being drafted.
Who wrote the framework behind nature-related disclosures?
The Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) launched in 2021 and built the first full market framework, with 14 recommended disclosures and an assessment method called LEAP. The TNFD is an independent, market-led initiative, not an ISO body. In October 2026 it released LEAP version 2.0, the first update since 2023.
Uptake is broad. The TNFD 2026 Status Report counts 802 organizations committed to TNFD-aligned reporting, and more than 1,000 organizations across 56 countries or areas that have already published TNFD-aligned disclosures (as of September 2026).
What is the ISSB doing with nature?
In November 2025, the ISSB announced it would set requirements for nature-related disclosures, drawing on the TNFD framework. The TNFD agreed to finish its technical work by the third quarter of 2026 and support the ISSB instead.
In April 2026 the ISSB chose the form: an IFRS Practice Statement that explains how to apply its existing IFRS S1 requirements to nature. Its Chair, Emmanuel Faber, put the point plainly: “Providing material nature-related disclosures is not optional; IFRS S1 already requires that.”
As of October 16, 2026, the IFRS Foundation has scheduled the exposure draft launch for October 22, 2026, during the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP17) in Yerevan, Armenia, which runs October 19–30. The 120-day consultation is set to close on February 19, 2027. ISO is also at COP17, hosting sessions on biodiversity standards and reporting for nature.
For a management-system professional, the headline is not the finance angle. It is this: the information requests behind nature-related disclosures will flow down to sites, suppliers, and EHS teams. MSI client experience suggests those requests arrive with short deadlines and little warning, the same pattern climate questionnaires followed. The organizations that answer calmly will be the ones whose systems already hold the records.
Direct Answer
Nature-related disclosures are moving from voluntary to mainstream. The TNFD framework now has 802 committed organizations, and the ISSB plans to launch a nature exposure draft on October 22, 2026, at COP17. For EHS managers, the practical effect is more requests for nature data, so the time to organize the evidence is now.
Evidence Before Reporting
Why Do Nature-Related Disclosures Start Inside an Environmental Management System?
Measure. Verify. Communicate.
A reporting framework is a set of questions. An environmental management system is the machinery that answers them, every day, with records. That is the core argument for anchoring nature-related disclosures in ISO 14001 rather than building a separate nature reporting process.
ISO 14001:2026 already contains the clause that makes this connection explicit. Clause 7.4.1 requires the organization, when establishing its communication processes, to ensure that environmental information communicated is consistent with information generated within the EMS and is reliable. That requirement carries over from the 2015 edition. What has changed is the volume of nature information organizations are being asked to communicate.
Clause 9.1.1 adds two more requirements. The organization shall determine what it monitors, the methods that ensure valid results, and the criteria and indicators for evaluating performance. It shall also communicate relevant environmental performance information internally and externally as identified in its communication processes and compliance obligations.
The informative guidance in Annex A.9.1.1 describes the quality bar. Monitoring results should be reliable, reproducible, and traceable, and analysis should let the organization report trends. Annex A is informative, so this is guidance rather than a new duty. Still, it describes exactly what a credible nature figure needs: a source, a method, and a history.
“I have always felt that integrity is at the center of all ISO standards.”
— Diana Lynn, President and Principal ISO Consultant, MSI
After 28 years of ISO consulting and more than 200 audits attended, MSI has seen the same pattern repeat. When a number leaves the building without a procedure behind it, it eventually has to be walked back. When it leaves with a procedure, a record, and an owner, it holds. Nature-related disclosures will follow the same rule.
This is also why our ISO ESG integration and environmental reporting requirements articles reach the same conclusion from different directions: build the system once, and let many reports draw from it.
Start Here
Start Here: Every ISO Procedure Template in One Place
Browse MSI’s ISO procedure templates and guides by standard, built from 28 years of implementations. It is the fastest way to give your nature evidence a home inside procedures your team already follows.
Direct Answer
Nature-related disclosures start inside an environmental management system because the EMS produces the records that make a disclosure credible. ISO 14001:2026 Clause 7.4.1 requires communicated environmental information to be consistent with EMS records and reliable, and Clause 9.1.1 requires defined monitoring methods and indicators.
What the Standard Says
What Does ISO 14001:2026 Require on Biodiversity and Nature?
Read. Label. Apply.
Precision matters here, because nature-related disclosures draw scrutiny and a misread clause spreads quickly. ISO 14001:2026 uses three kinds of text: requirements (“shall”), NOTEs that are for consideration only, and informative Annex A guidance that adds no requirements. The table below labels each nature-related item by its status, verified against the published standard.
| Item | Clause | Status | What it means in practice |
|---|---|---|---|
| Environmental conditions such as pollution levels, natural resources, climate change, biodiversity, and ecosystem health | 4.1 | Requirement | Your context review must include nature conditions you affect or that can affect you. |
| Surroundings described in terms of biodiversity and ecosystems | 3.2.1, Note 2 to entry | Definition note | Clarifies that “environment” includes biodiversity and ecosystems. |
| Interested parties’ needs related to biodiversity or ecosystem health | 4.2, NOTE 1 | NOTE (guidance only) | Customers, regulators, or communities may raise nature expectations; you decide which become compliance obligations. |
| Policy commitment to protect biodiversity and ecosystems | 5.2 c), NOTE | NOTE (guidance only) | An example of a specific commitment; not mandatory. |
| Risks and opportunities, including external environmental conditions affecting the organization | 6.1.4 | Requirement | Nature conditions from 4.1 feed your risk and opportunity determination. |
| Ecosystem health, natural capital, and a reference to ISO 17298 | A.4.1 | Informative Annex A | Explains the concepts and names ISO 17298 as a source of further information. |
| Improved land management to enhance biodiversity as an opportunity; biodiversity loss as an adverse effect | A.6.1.4 | Informative Annex A | Examples to help you identify nature risks and opportunities. |
| Communicated information consistent with the EMS and reliable | 7.4.1 | Requirement | Any nature claim you publish must trace to EMS information. |
| Changes in external issues reviewed by top management | 9.3.2 b) 1) | Requirement | Shifts in nature conditions belong on the management review agenda. |
The headline change is Clause 4.1. The requirement now says the external and internal issues an organization determines shall include environmental conditions being affected by the organization or capable of affecting it, with biodiversity and ecosystem health named as examples. We unpack that clause in depth in our ISO 14001 Clause 4.1 and ISO 14001 environmental conditions guides.
Annex A.4.1 then explains ecosystem health as the condition of an ecosystem and its ability to keep its structure, function, and resilience over time. It describes ecosystems as key components of natural capital and observes that organizations both depend on them and can preserve, enhance, or degrade them. Our ISO 14001:2026 ecosystem health article walks through that language in detail.
Notice what the standard does not do. It does not require a biodiversity metric, a nature target, or a public report. It requires you to understand the conditions, decide which risks and opportunities to address, and communicate reliably. That flexibility is the reason nature-related disclosures fit so naturally on top of an EMS: the standard builds the foundation and leaves the reporting choices to you. For the full biodiversity picture, see Biodiversity and ISO 14001:2026.
Related reading in this cluster
For ISO 14001 Teams
Update Your ISO 14001:2015 EMS to 2026 in a Week
Built for experienced EHS managers who already run a 2015 system. MSI’s ISO 14001:2026 Procedure Templates & Guides help you carry the 2026 changes, including the new environmental-conditions language, into your existing procedures in about a week.
Direct Answer
For nature-related disclosures, the key ISO 14001:2026 requirement is Clause 4.1, which now includes environmental conditions such as biodiversity and ecosystem health. Clause 6.1.4 links those conditions to risks and opportunities, while Clause 4.2 NOTE 1, Clause 5.2 NOTE, and Annex A provide guidance only.
ISO’s Biodiversity Standard
Where Does ISO 17298 Fit Alongside an ISO 14001 EMS?
Assess. Prioritize. Act.
In October 2025, ISO published ISO 17298:2025, Biodiversity — Considering biodiversity in the strategy and operations of organizations — Requirements and guidelines. According to ISO/TC 331, it is the first International Standard dedicated to helping organizations act on biodiversity, and the first of a planned family of biodiversity standards.
ISO 17298 gives organizations a structured way to assess biodiversity impacts and dependencies, prioritize actions at operational and landscape levels, set measurable objectives, and monitor progress. ISO describes it as supporting Target 15 of the Global Biodiversity Framework, the same target behind today’s nature-related disclosures.
The link to your EMS is printed in ISO 14001:2026 itself. Annex A.4.1 lists ISO 17298 among the documents to consult for information on environmental conditions, and the bibliography cites it again. ISO’s own biodiversity for business guide describes the two standards as complementary: ISO 14001 provides the broader management framework, and ISO 17298 focuses on biodiversity strategy and action.
In practice, that gives experienced EHS managers a clean division of labor:
- ISO 14001:2026 is the system. It owns context, aspects, risks, objectives, operational control, monitoring, internal audit, and management review.
- ISO 17298 is the method. It sharpens how you assess and prioritize biodiversity-specific impacts and dependencies.
- Nature-related disclosures are the output. They draw on what the system has already recorded.
You do not need a second management system to use ISO 17298. You need your existing aspects, risks, and monitoring processes to carry biodiversity information properly. That is a documentation and competence task, and it is exactly where ISO consulting earns its keep. Related standards such as ISO 14054:2025 on natural capital accounting can add further depth if your organization needs it.
Direct Answer
ISO 17298:2025 is the first International Standard for considering biodiversity in strategy and operations. For nature-related disclosures, it supplies the biodiversity assessment method, while ISO 14001:2026 supplies the management system. ISO 14001:2026 Annex A.4.1 references ISO 17298 directly as a source of information.
MSI’s Original Crosswalk
How Does the TNFD LEAP Approach Map to ISO 14001:2026?
Locate. Evaluate. Assess. Prepare.
LEAP is the TNFD’s method for identifying and assessing nature-related issues: Locate your interface with nature, Evaluate dependencies and impacts, Assess risks and opportunities, and Prepare to respond and report. The TNFD designed it for organizations of every size and sector, including those without any formal disclosure obligation.
Read it with ISO eyes and something becomes obvious. Each LEAP phase asks for evidence an ISO 14001 system is already designed to produce. MSI built the crosswalk below so environmental managers can see where their current records already answer the questions behind nature-related disclosures, and where they need strengthening.
| LEAP phase | What it asks | ISO 14001:2026 clauses that produce the evidence | Evidence you should already hold |
|---|---|---|---|
| Locate | Where do our operations and value chain interface with nature? | 4.1 context (environmental conditions); 4.3 scope; 6.1.2 aspects with a life cycle perspective; 8.1 externally provided processes | Site maps, context register, aspects register, list of sensitive locations near sites and key suppliers |
| Evaluate | What are our dependencies and impacts on nature? | 6.1.2 significant aspects and impacts; 4.2 interested parties; A.4.1 ecosystem health | Significance criteria and scores, water and land-use data, interested-party register |
| Assess | Which nature-related risks and opportunities matter? | 6.1.4 risks and opportunities; 6.1.3 compliance obligations; 6.3 planning of changes | Risk and opportunity register with nature entries, compliance obligations register, change records |
| Prepare | How will we respond, set targets, and report? | 6.1.5 and 6.2 objectives and plans; 7.4 communication; 9.1 monitoring; 9.2 internal audit; 9.3 management review | Objectives with indicators, communication plan, monitoring records, audit reports, management review minutes |
Two differences are worth noting. First, LEAP is an assessment cycle you run periodically, while ISO 14001 runs on Plan-Do-Check-Act every day. The EMS keeps LEAP findings alive between assessments, through operational controls, monitoring, internal audits, and continual improvement.
Second, LEAP looks across the value chain, and so does ISO 14001:2026. Clause 8.1 control of externally provided processes and the life cycle perspective both reach suppliers. Our ISO 14001 externally provided processes and climate-resilient supplier networks articles show how to extend those controls without overwhelming your supply base.
This crosswalk is MSI’s interpretation for management-system practitioners. It is not an official TNFD or ISO mapping. It does, however, give your team a defensible starting point when someone asks how your EMS supports nature-related disclosures.
Direct Answer
MSI’s crosswalk maps the TNFD LEAP phases to ISO 14001:2026: Locate to Clauses 4.1, 4.3, and 6.1.2; Evaluate to 6.1.2 and 4.2; Assess to 6.1.4 and 6.1.3; Prepare to 6.2, 7.4, 9.1, 9.2, and 9.3. For nature-related disclosures, most required evidence already lives in a working EMS.
The Nature Measurement Stack
How Do Nature-Related Disclosures Connect to Gross Domestic Regeneration?
Nation. Investor. Site.
Our Gross Domestic Regeneration article drew a strong response from readers, and for good reason. It asked whether a country should measure restoration instead of output alone. Nature-related disclosures ask a version of the same question at a different level.
Think of it as a three-level measurement stack:
| Level | The question being asked | Framework | Where the data comes from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nation | Is the country regenerating its natural capital? | Gross Domestic Regeneration and beyond-GDP measures | National statistics built from millions of local records |
| Organization (reporting) | Is the organization exposed to, or causing, nature loss? | TNFD recommendations and the ISSB Practice Statement | Corporate data rolled up from sites and suppliers |
| Site (operating) | Are our operations actually improving nature outcomes? | ISO 14001:2026 and ISO 17298 | Aspects registers, monitoring records, audits, and management review |
Every level depends on the one below it. A national regeneration figure is only as good as the organizational data feeding it, and organizational nature-related disclosures are only as good as the site records feeding them. The site level is where ISO 14001 lives, and it is the level most commentary skips.
That is also where the social side connects. Our article on sustainability, human rights, and health and our guide to the UN Sustainable Development Goals and ISO standards both show how site-level management systems carry global goals into daily work.
The Registrar’s-Eye View
What Does Defensible Nature Evidence Look Like in Practice?
Record. Trace. Defend.
MSI has attended more than 200 audits and seen many findings first-hand from the registrar’s side of the table. That vantage point shapes how we think about nature-related disclosures. A procedure that works in practice produces evidence as a by-product. A procedure that fails in practice produces a scramble every time someone asks a question.
Here is what defensible nature evidence typically includes, based on MSI client experience:
- A context review that names specific conditions, such as a wetland next to the site, a water-stressed basin, or a supplier region with deforestation risk, rather than a generic line about “biodiversity.”
- Significance criteria that can score nature impacts, so land use, habitat disturbance, and water withdrawal compete fairly with energy and waste.
- Indicators with a method, an owner, and a frequency, consistent with Clause 9.1.1, so the number reported this year can be compared with last year.
- Compliance obligations that include voluntary nature commitments once the organization adopts them, as Clause 4.2 and Annex A.4.2 explain. Our free Compliance Obligations Maturity Check is a quick way to see how complete yours are.
- Internal audit coverage of nature claims before they are published, so communicated information is verified against EMS records, as Clause 7.4.1 requires.
“Having systems, acting on what the records are reporting, and never letting anyone deny the facts is what prevents good systems from deteriorating.”
— Diana Lynn, President and Principal ISO Consultant, MSI
Internal audit is where this either holds together or quietly falls apart. Registrars across the industry expect every requirement of the standard to be internally audited each year, and nature-related content in Clauses 4.1, 6.1.4, and 7.4.1 is no exception. Our internal audit services and SureResults ISO maintenance program exist for organizations that want that coverage handled by experienced auditors. Our article on why green manufacturers need an ISO 14001 internal auditor explains why the role matters even more now.
Training
Walk Your Team Through Every ISO 14001:2026 Change
MSI’s ISO 14001:2026 Transition course explains each revision, including the new environmental-conditions requirement, so your team can apply it with confidence. The updated ISO 14001:2026 Internal Auditing course is coming soon.
Prefer to follow the internal auditing course launch? See the ISO 14001:2026 Internal Auditing course page for status.
Original Assessment
How Ready Is Your EMS? The Nature Evidence Readiness Check
Score. Prioritize. Improve.
Use this ten-question checklist to see how prepared your environmental management system is to support nature-related disclosures. Score each item 0 (not in place), 1 (partly in place), or 2 (in place with records). Work through it with your EMS documentation open.
| # | Question | Clause link | Score (0–2) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Does the context review name specific biodiversity and ecosystem conditions at or near each site? | 4.1 | |
| 2 | Are nature-related needs of interested parties recorded, with a decision on which become compliance obligations? | 4.2 | |
| 3 | Do aspects significance criteria include land use, habitat, and water dependencies? | 6.1.2 | |
| 4 | Does the life cycle perspective consider upstream nature impacts in key supply categories? | 6.1.2, 8.1 | |
| 5 | Does the risk and opportunity register contain at least one nature entry with an owner? | 6.1.4 | |
| 6 | Is there an environmental objective or action plan linked to a nature risk or opportunity? | 6.1.5, 6.2 | |
| 7 | Do nature indicators have a defined method, frequency, and owner? | 9.1.1 | |
| 8 | Is externally communicated nature information checked against EMS records before release? | 7.4.1 | |
| 9 | Did the last internal audit cover Clause 4.1 environmental conditions? | 9.2 | |
| 10 | Did the last management review discuss changes in nature-related external issues? | 9.3.2 b) |
How should you read your score?
- 16–20: Disclosure-ready. Your EMS can support credible nature reporting. Focus on trends and external communication.
- 9–15: Foundation in place. The structure exists, but evidence is thin in places. Prioritize items scored 0, then indicators and audit coverage.
- 0–8: Start with context. Begin at Clause 4.1 and work forward. A planning session can shorten the path considerably.
MSI client experience suggests that mature ISO 14001 systems usually have the structure in place and simply have not written nature into it yet, so a middle-band first score is a common and encouraging starting point. That is good news: the work is mostly about extending processes you already run.
Organizations still working through the wider 2026 revision can pair this checklist with our free ISO Transition Risk Scorecard and the companion article on ISO transition risk assessment.
Direct Answer
MSI’s Nature Evidence Readiness Check scores ten EMS items from 0 to 2 to show how ready a system is to support nature-related disclosures. Scores of 16 to 20 indicate readiness, 9 to 15 a solid foundation with thin evidence, and 0 to 8 a need to start with ISO 14001:2026 Clause 4.1.
Management Review
Why Should Nature-Related Disclosures Be on Your Next Management Review Agenda?
Review. Decide. Resource.
Management review is where an organization decides which numbers it will stand behind. That makes it the right forum for nature-related disclosures. ISO 14001:2026 Clause 9.3.2 requires inputs that cover changes in external and internal issues, changes in interested-party needs and compliance obligations, risks and opportunities, and environmental performance trends.
Each of those inputs now has a nature dimension. A new disclosure framework is a change in external issues. A customer questionnaire on biodiversity is a change in interested-party needs. And Clause 9.3.3 requires decisions on continual improvement, on needed changes to the EMS including resources, and on actions when objectives are not achieved. That is where nature data becomes funded, owned work rather than a reporting exercise.
MSI recommends starting with an “End in Mind” management review. Put the nature data you already have on the review slides, mark what is missing as TBD with a target date, and let top management assign owners. It is a quick way to turn the readiness check above into decisions. Our guides to the ISO 14001:2026 management review and structured management reviews for environmental performance cover the full agenda.
Management Review
Put Nature on Your Next Management Review Agenda
MSI’s ISO Management Review Toolkits give you a structured, decision-ready way to run Clause 9.3, including the combined ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 Q/EMS kit. Bring your nature data to the table and leave with decisions and owners.
Running quality and environmental systems together? The Q/EMS 914MR Management Review Tool Kit covers both standards in one review, and our integrated ISO 9001 and 14001 system page explains the approach. For a free starting point, download 5 Steps to a Decision-Ready ISO Management Review.
Direct Answer
Nature-related disclosures belong on the management review agenda because ISO 14001:2026 Clause 9.3.2 requires top management to review changes in external issues, interested-party needs, and risks and opportunities. A new nature reporting framework is exactly that kind of change, and Clause 9.3.3 turns it into decisions and resources.
A Practical Roadmap
What Is a 90-Day Plan to Make Nature Data Disclosure-Ready?
Plan. Build. Prove.
You do not need a multi-year program to support nature-related disclosures. Most of the work extends processes you already run. Here is a 90-day starting framework you can adjust to your organization’s size and risk.
Days 1–30: Locate and record
- Update the Clause 4.1 context review with named nature conditions at each site, using ISO 17298 and the TNFD LEAP Locate phase as prompts.
- Add nature-related expectations to the interested-party register and decide which become compliance obligations.
- Complete the Nature Evidence Readiness Check above and record the baseline score.
Days 31–60: Evaluate and assess
- Revise aspects significance criteria so land use, habitat, and water dependencies can be scored.
- Add nature entries to the risk and opportunity register, each with an owner and a response.
- Define two or three nature indicators with methods aligned to Clause 9.1.1 and the guidance in ISO 14031.
Days 61–90: Prepare and prove
- Set at least one objective or action plan tied to a nature risk or opportunity.
- Add a pre-release check to the communication process so nature information is verified against EMS records.
- Include nature content in the next internal audit, then take results to management review for decisions.
Keep the larger timeline in view as well. ISO 14001:2026 was published on April 15, 2026, and certified organizations have until April 30, 2029 to transition (as of October 16, 2026). Our ISO 2026 transition deadline article tracks the dates. Building nature evidence into your transition work now means doing it once, not twice.
If you would rather move faster with experienced support, MSI’s ISO consulting team can run a planning session with your EHS leads. For organizations starting an EMS from scratch, our SurePath program and ISO 14001 environmental management services cover implementation end to end.
Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions About Nature-Related Disclosures
Ask. Answer. Act.
Are nature-related disclosures required by ISO 14001:2026?
No. ISO 14001:2026 does not require a nature report. It requires organizations to consider environmental conditions such as biodiversity and ecosystem health (Clause 4.1) and to ensure any environmental information they communicate is consistent with the EMS and reliable (Clause 7.4.1). Nature-related disclosures come from frameworks such as the TNFD and the ISSB.
Is the TNFD part of ISO?
No. The Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures is an independent, market-led initiative. Its work is now feeding the ISSB, part of the IFRS Foundation. ISO’s contribution is separate: ISO 17298:2025 for biodiversity, published by ISO/TC 331, alongside ISO 14001:2026.
When will the ISSB nature exposure draft be published?
As of October 16, 2026, the IFRS Foundation has scheduled the launch of its nature-related exposure draft, proposed as an IFRS Practice Statement, for October 22, 2026, during COP17 in Yerevan. The 120-day consultation is set to close on February 19, 2027.
Do we need ISO 17298 certification to report on nature?
No. Nature reporting frameworks such as the TNFD recommendations do not require ISO 17298 certification, and organizations can apply its requirements and guidelines as a method. Many organizations will apply its methods inside an existing ISO 14001 environmental management system, which ISO 14001:2026 Annex A.4.1 supports by referencing ISO 17298.
How does the TNFD LEAP approach relate to ISO 14001?
LEAP stands for Locate, Evaluate, Assess, and Prepare. In MSI’s crosswalk, Locate maps to ISO 14001:2026 Clauses 4.1, 4.3, and 6.1.2; Evaluate to 6.1.2 and 4.2; Assess to 6.1.4 and 6.1.3; and Prepare to 6.2, 7.4, 9.1, 9.2, and 9.3. The EMS keeps LEAP findings current between assessments.
Who in the organization should own nature data?
In most organizations the environmental or EHS manager owns the system that produces nature data, while top management decides what to disclose through management review (Clause 9.3). Individual indicators should each have a named owner, method, and frequency, consistent with Clause 9.1.1.
What is the fastest way to start?
Start with the Clause 4.1 context review. Name the specific biodiversity and ecosystem conditions at or near each site, then run MSI’s ten-question Nature Evidence Readiness Check. Bring the results to your next management review, or call MSI at 760-434-9141 for a planning session.
Your Next Step
How Can MSI Help You Get Nature-Related Disclosures Right?
Prepare. Prove. Lead.
The frameworks will keep evolving. The ISSB draft will be debated, revised, and adopted unevenly across jurisdictions. What will not change is the need for evidence. Organizations that build nature into their environmental management system now will answer every version of the question from the same set of records.
MSI brings 28 years of ISO consulting experience, 80+ certifications supported, 200+ audits attended, and 600+ professionals trained to that work. Veteran-owned and female-owned since 1998, we help organizations build systems that work in practice, not just on paper.
Talk to an ISO Expert
Talk Through Your Nature Data With an ISO Expert
Book a planning session with MSI. We will review your context, aspects, and monitoring with you, show where nature-related disclosures connect to your current EMS, and give you a prioritized plan. Call 760-434-9141 or visit our ISO consulting page.
Prefer to start on your own? Begin with the ISO Procedure Templates and Guides hub, then add the ISO 14001:2026 Procedure Templates & Guides for your EMS update. Learn more about MSI and our approach.
References and Sources
- ISO 14001:2026, Environmental management systems — Requirements with guidance for use (ISO)
- ISO 17298:2025, Biodiversity — Considering biodiversity in the strategy and operations of organizations (ISO)
- ISO/TC 331 news: launch of ISO 17298 (ISO)
- Biodiversity for business explained (ISO)
- ISO at COP17 (ISO)
- ISO 14031:2021, Environmental performance evaluation — Guidelines (ISO)
- Guidance on the identification and assessment of nature-related issues: the LEAP approach, v2.0 (TNFD)
- TNFD 2026 Status Report (TNFD)
- ISSB welcomes TNFD’s support as it advances nature-related disclosures, November 2025 (IFRS Foundation)
- ISSB agrees on the proposed way forward for nature-related disclosures, April 2026 (IFRS Foundation)
- Live from COP17: ISSB nature-related disclosures consultation, October 2026 (IFRS Foundation)
- Global Biodiversity Framework Target 15 (Convention on Biological Diversity)
- UN Biodiversity Conference 2026, COP17 (Convention on Biological Diversity)
- Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES)
- The integration of nature into the global baseline: ISSB briefing (Capitals Coalition)
Clause references are to ISO 14001:2026 and were verified against the published standard. NOTEs and Annex A content are identified as guidance and do not create requirements. Framework dates and statuses are as of October 16, 2026, and may change.
About Management Systems International (MSI)
Diana Lynn, President and Principal ISO Consultant at Management Systems International (MSI), a consulting firm she co-founded in 1998. With 28 years of experience including extensive AS9100 work in MSI’s early years, MSI’s track record includes 80+ certifications supported, 200+ audits attended, and 600+ professionals trained across manufacturing, technology, medical device, government, healthcare, and other regulated industries. Today MSI implements ISO 9001, ISO 13485, ISO 14001, and ISO 45001, with an expanding focus on ISO 7101 healthcare quality.
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