Despite growing recognition that biodiversity loss poses a systemic risk to the economy and financial stability, France’s biggest companies remain largely unprepared to manage their impacts and risks on nature, according to a new WWF report.
“Nature loss is a material economic risk that urgently needs to be addressed, yet most major companies continue to treat nature decline – from biodiversity collapse to freshwater scarcity, soil degradation, and the depletion of natural resources – as a peripheral topic rather than a core strategic issue,” said Guillaume Wahl, ESG Expert at WWF France.
The study assessed nature-related disclosures from France’s 40 largest listed companies that fall within the scope of the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), and found that no company currently has a fully formalised Nature Transition Plan. Overall performance on nature disclosures remains low, with an average score of 32 out of 100 across the NAT40 index, and the highest score of just 52 out of 100.
This reveals a broader cross-sector failure to identify and address nature-related impacts, obscuring responsibilities along corporate value chains. Even companies with direct dependencies on nature, such as those reliant on agricultural commodities, often look no further than their direct suppliers and fail to adequately support the primary producers, including farmers, in transitioning to more sustainable practices.
Even in cases where the disclosures of the analysed companies broadly meet CSRD transparency requirements, their policies, nature targets and actions are not backed by dedicated funding commitments towards the ecological transition of their business model.
“As the cost of inaction continues to rise, companies must move beyond risk mitigation and act guided by science to reduce their impact on nature. Developing fully costed and financed nature transition plans is not just a signal beyond short-term profit, it is essential to align business practices with planetary boundaries, build resilience, and secure a long-term licence to operate,” added Christopher Rannou, Senior Natural Capital Officer at WWF France.
The study spotlights good practices but also highlights the need for more coordinated action to address nature-related risks across the economy, urging companies to move beyond basic compliance and warning that agendas of deregulation come at a high cost.
The coming years will be decisive in determining whether action on nature by companies, financial actors and public authorities can scale into a genuine driver of ecological and economic resilience, supported by the enabling conditions for transformative change.
