Dive Brief:
- As biodiversity loss gets increased attention, packaging companies Crown Holdings, International Paper, Smurfit Kappa and Stora Enso are among an inaugural cohort of 320 companies that have committed to begin making nature-related disclosures, according to an announcement from the task force amid the World Economic Forum meeting last week in Davos, Switzerland.
- The disclosures are based on recommendations published in September 2023 from the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures. Early adopters intend to publish TNFD-aligned disclosures in reports for fiscal year 2023, 2024 or 2025.
- The task force, which was launched in 2021, says its 14 recommended disclosures follow the approach and structure developed by its predecessor, the Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures. Multiple packaging companies have shared TCFD reports in recent years.
Dive Insight:
Public companies across the packaging industry currently report sustainability metrics against a patchwork of frameworks. Many publish their own sustainability reports with voluntary targets and also align with standards from outside groups, including CDP, the Global Reporting Initiative, Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) and TCFD.
Packaging companies are anticipating new regulations that could bring more order and consistency to reporting across the industry, including in the state of California and from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The task force said the TNFD recommendations are designed to hit goals that 196 countries agreed to at COP15 in December 2022 through the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. They’re consistent with nature and biodiversity impact reporting standards promulgated by GRI.
The 14 disclosures, which involve describing metrics and processes for assessing and managing nature-related risks and opportunities, are sorted into four categories: governance; strategy; risk and impact management; and metrics and targets.
Crown Holdings will first report its TNFD disclosures for the 2025 financial year in 2026.
Examples of factors that could be covered in the report include identifying whether any species are at risk, possible mitigation measures and progress toward them. “We'll be looking at and assessing our operations and our value chain in a way that's different than the TCFD, but the two standards are very closely aligned,” said Jennifer Bogs, director of global sustainability at Crown.
International Paper has aligned its reporting with GRI and SASB.
“As a 125-year-old natural resource-based company, it makes sense for IP to become a TNFD early adopter and formalize what we’ve been doing for a long time as part of our transparent nature impact disclosure,” Sophie Beckham, chief sustainability officer at International Paper, said in an emailed statement. “This type of reporting is connected to our legacy of forest stewardship and our business model which depends on the sustainability of forests.”
Smurfit Kappa announced it will adopt TNFD-aligned disclosures together with its financial results in 2025. The company said this builds on nature-related targets and reporting in its sustainable development report.
“By integrating TNFD recommendations into reporting mechanisms, Smurfit Kappa is demonstrating its dedication to preserving nature, enhancing biodiversity, and maintaining the highest standards of sustainability across the Group,” the company said in a press release.
