Nature-Positive Industry Sector Transitions

A series of reports on sector-specific actions that companies should take now to transform their businesses and contribute to reversing nature loss by 2030 – the mission at the heart of the Global Biodiversity Framework.

The Global Biodiversity Framework, adopted in 2022, aims to halt and reverse nature loss by 2030. It calls for participation by all stakeholders, including businesses and financial institutions. Every part of the global economy is dependent on nature and its ecosystem services. To take nature-positive action at the scale and speed required, it is crucial for businesses to understand their specific interactions with nature within their sectors.

To help inform these sectoral approaches, the World Economic Forum and Oliver Wyman have released a report series detailing material impacts and dependencies on nature and setting out priority actions within sectors to avoid and reduce the negative impacts, mitigate nature-related risks and unlock opportunities across value chains.

This initiative is a collaboration with Business for Nature and the World Business Council For Sustainable Development, offering sector-specific guidance for 12 global industries. Sector overviews are available on the Business for Nature website.

Global chemicals sales total around $4 trillion a year and provide essential materials for 95% of all manufactured goods worldwide. This report sets out five sector-specific priority actions for the chemical sector to reduce its impact on nature through water use, pollution, GHG emissions and land-use change, and unlock the $320 billion in annual business opportunities by 2030 in the new nature-positive economy.

Household and personal care products are central to our daily lives and generate approximately $700 billion in annual revenues – but comes at the expense of nature. This report sets out five sector-specific priority actions for the household and personal care products sector to reduce its impact on nature through water use and other resources use, pollution, GHG emissions and land-use change, and unlock the $60 billion in annual business opportunities by 2030 in the new nature-positive economy.

After water, concrete is the second most consumed material in the world and, with no scalable substitutes currently available, it is a critical construction material for society – with cement being a key input in its production. This report sets out five sector-specific priority actions for the cement and concrete sector to reduce its impact on nature through water use and other resources use, land use and ecosystem disturbance, GHG emissions and air pollution, and unlock the $40 billion in annual business opportunities by 2030 in the new nature-positive economy.