The ISO - International Organization for Standardization has just released the first-ever global standard for biodiversity - ISO 17298.
No media buzz. No front-page headlines.Yet this could transform our economy - and redefine how we account for biodiversity.For the first time, there’s a shared rulebook for how companies measure, manage, and report their impacts and dependencies on nature and ecosystems.
If the Paris Agreement was the turning point for carbon, ISO 17298 could be the one for nature.
Why this matters:
It fills a major gap: until now there was no globally accepted standard enabling organisations to systematically integrate biodiversity into strategy, governance and operations.
Over half of global GDP is moderately or highly dependent on nature’s services - so biodiversity is not just an ecological issue, it’s a business and financial one.
The standard aligns with major frameworks including the Kunming‑Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD), and other ISO standards.Nature Accounting is officially here.The question isn’t if companies will start accounting for biodiversity - but how fast.
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