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London Reporting Academy ESRS E4 · Biodiversity and Ecosystems · Disclosure Requirement E4-2

Applicable from FY2027

This revised ESRS edition applies from reporting year 2027. For reporting years 2024–2026, use the ESRS 2023 edition.

Policies related to biodiversity and ecosystems

E4-2 · mandatory · coverage + narrative

E4-2 reports policies adopted to manage material biodiversity and ecosystems impacts, risks or opportunities in accordance with GDR-P.

Start preparing ↓ Official European Commission source ↗

Disclosure focus

In addition to the general policy information, the disclosure addresses traceability, own-operation sites in or near biodiversity-sensitive areas, sustainable land or agricultural practices, sustainable oceans or seas practices and deforestation where applicable.

A policy may cover only selected aspects of a topic. The disclosure reports the actual scope and exclusions rather than treating partial coverage as automatically deficient.

This LRA educational guidance supports disclosure preparation. For the exact requirements, always refer to the official European Commission source.

Prepare

What to collect before drafting

Tick each field as the evidence lands. Owners are the teams that usually hold the source files.

  • Material impacts, risks and opportunities

    Sustainability reporting

    Identify the material impacts, risks or opportunities that each policy addresses.

    Evidence Dated source records, governance papers and approval evidence supporting material impacts, risks and opportunities.

    Watch for The published response for material impacts, risks and opportunities is incomplete or does not match the supporting records.

  • Policy contents and objectives

    Sustainability reporting

    Describe the policy's key contents and general objectives.

    Evidence Dated source records, governance papers and approval evidence supporting policy contents and objectives.

    Watch for The published response for policy contents and objectives is incomplete or does not match the supporting records.

  • Policy scope and exclusions

    Sustainability reporting

    Describe scope or exclusions across own operations, upstream and downstream value chain, geographies and affected stakeholder groups where defined.

    Evidence Dated source records, governance papers and approval evidence supporting policy scope and exclusions.

    Watch for The published response for policy scope and exclusions is incomplete or does not match the supporting records.

  • Accountability

    Sustainability reporting

    Identify the most senior level in the undertaking accountable for implementation.

    Evidence Dated source records, governance papers and approval evidence supporting accountability.

    Watch for The published response for accountability is incomplete or does not match the supporting records.

  • Third-party commitments

    Sustainability reporting

    Identify third-party standards or initiatives only where the policy commits the undertaking to respect them through implementation.

    Evidence Dated source records, governance papers and approval evidence supporting third-party commitments.

    Watch for The published response for third-party commitments is incomplete or does not match the supporting records.

  • Stakeholder interests and availability

    Sustainability reporting

    Explain how key stakeholder interests were considered and how the policy is made available to affected stakeholders where relevant.

    Evidence Dated source records, governance papers and approval evidence supporting stakeholder interests and availability.

    Watch for The published response for stakeholder interests and availability is incomplete or does not match the supporting records.

  • Policy changes

    Sustainability reporting

    Describe material policy changes during the reporting period, where applicable.

    Evidence Dated source records, governance papers and approval evidence supporting policy changes.

    Watch for The published response for policy changes is incomplete or does not match the supporting records.

  • Traceability policy content

    Sustainability reporting

    Describe relevant traceability commitments and scope.

    Evidence Dated source records, governance papers and approval evidence supporting traceability policy content.

    Watch for The published response for traceability policy content is incomplete or does not match the supporting records.

  • Biodiversity-sensitive locations

    Environment / Sustainability reporting

    Describe policy content for own-operation sites in or near biodiversity-sensitive areas where applicable.

    Evidence Dated source records, governance papers and approval evidence supporting biodiversity-sensitive locations.

    Watch for The published response for biodiversity-sensitive locations is incomplete or does not match the supporting records.

  • Land, ocean and deforestation policy content

    Environment / Sustainability reporting

    Describe sustainable land or agricultural practices, sustainable oceans or seas practices and deforestation commitments where applicable.

    Evidence Dated source records, governance papers and approval evidence supporting land, ocean and deforestation policy content.

    Watch for The published response for land, ocean and deforestation policy content is incomplete or does not match the supporting records.

Before you start

  • Use the complete GDR-P scope and topical conditional elements; dependencies may inform IRO identification but do not replace material IROs.
  • Topical policy elements apply where relevant to the undertaking's material biodiversity and ecosystems matters.
  • Have the supporting records and the final response been reconciled?
＋ Show E4-2 sub-elements (LRA working checklist)

How to prepare it

Use the complete GDR-P scope and topical conditional elements; dependencies may inform IRO identification but do not replace material IROs.
Collect and reconcile the records for: Material impacts, risks and opportunities; Policy contents and objectives; Policy scope and exclusions; Accountability; Third-party commitments; Stakeholder interests and availability; Policy changes; Traceability policy content; Biodiversity-sensitive locations; Land, ocean and deforestation policy content.
Topical policy elements apply where relevant to the undertaking's material biodiversity and ecosystems matters.
Draft the response using the defined terms shown in the disclosure focus; do not substitute broader internal labels.
Review the final wording against every requirement and the supporting governance or data records before sign-off.

Request the data

Request the disclosure evidence

Translate the disclosure into an internal business question — then adapt it to your organisation's own language.

Provide the policy inventory, material-IRO mapping, contents, objectives, full scope and exclusions, accountability, commitments, stakeholder considerations, policy changes and applicable topical policy evidence.

Use the organisation's own role and document names, but preserve the defined ESRS terms and the scope described above.

Better request

Provide the policy inventory, material-IRO mapping, contents, objectives, full scope and exclusions, accountability, commitments, stakeholder considerations, policy changes and applicable topical policy evidence.

Draft your disclosure

Notes that turn data into a disclosure

LRA training templates — adapt them to your organisation, and check the official source before sign-off.

Method note

Distinguish direct GDR-P and E4-2 requirements from internal traceability and site-screening evidence.

Context note

Record absence of policies for material matters through the applicable ESRS 2 route.

Download Centre

Preparation tools & forms

Download preparation tools for E4-2 with free verified email access for 24 hours. Source-report links remain public.

Free · Email access
01XLSPrep & Assurance workbookDatapoints, risks, evidence to check, owner and evidence pack.Get it free ↧ 02XLSData-request packRequest email, message template, response fields and sign-off structure.Get it free ↧ 03PDFLibrary CardPrintable one-page summary of this disclosure card.Get it free ↧

Check

For each claim, check the evidence

  • Material impacts, risks and opportunities is reported accurately and completely.

    Risk The response omits, misclassifies or overstates material impacts, risks and opportunities.

    Evidence to check Dated source records, governance papers and approval evidence supporting material impacts, risks and opportunities.

  • Policy contents and objectives is reported accurately and completely.

    Risk The response omits, misclassifies or overstates policy contents and objectives.

    Evidence to check Dated source records, governance papers and approval evidence supporting policy contents and objectives.

  • Policy scope and exclusions is reported accurately and completely.

    Risk The response omits, misclassifies or overstates policy scope and exclusions.

    Evidence to check Dated source records, governance papers and approval evidence supporting policy scope and exclusions.

  • Accountability is reported accurately and completely.

    Risk The response omits, misclassifies or overstates accountability.

    Evidence to check Dated source records, governance papers and approval evidence supporting accountability.

  • Third-party commitments is reported accurately and completely.

    Risk The response omits, misclassifies or overstates third-party commitments.

    Evidence to check Dated source records, governance papers and approval evidence supporting third-party commitments.

  • Stakeholder interests and availability is reported accurately and completely.

    Risk The response omits, misclassifies or overstates stakeholder interests and availability.

    Evidence to check Dated source records, governance papers and approval evidence supporting stakeholder interests and availability.

  • Policy changes is reported accurately and completely.

    Risk The response omits, misclassifies or overstates policy changes.

    Evidence to check Dated source records, governance papers and approval evidence supporting policy changes.

  • Traceability policy content is reported accurately and completely.

    Risk The response omits, misclassifies or overstates traceability policy content.

    Evidence to check Dated source records, governance papers and approval evidence supporting traceability policy content.

  • Biodiversity-sensitive locations is reported accurately and completely.

    Risk The response omits, misclassifies or overstates biodiversity-sensitive locations.

    Evidence to check Dated source records, governance papers and approval evidence supporting biodiversity-sensitive locations.

  • Land, ocean and deforestation policy content is reported accurately and completely.

    Risk The response omits, misclassifies or overstates land, ocean and deforestation policy content.

    Evidence to check Dated source records, governance papers and approval evidence supporting land, ocean and deforestation policy content.

Evidence pack to prepare

Common reporting gaps

  • Using only Policies as the title.
  • Omitting GDR-P elements.
  • Treating dependencies as a substitute for material IROs.
  • Assuming policy must cover the whole business.
  • Using internal screening fields as official datapoints.
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Framework references

Relevant ESRS requirements and related disclosures

ESRS

E4-2

within ESRS E4: Biodiversity and Ecosystems

Open official source →

Guides that settle this question

ESRS E4 Biodiversity and Ecosystems: Sites, Value Chains, Metrics and Transition Plans →

Related & explore

Biodiversity Transition Plan → CardActions & Resources → CardTargets → CardMetrics (Biodiversity change) → CardBrowse all disclosures →

More in ESRS E4 →Browse full catalogue →Search all disclosures →

How this library is built 1,211 published reports indexed 315,012 pages with page-level citations 272 published cards in the active catalogue
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