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London Reporting Academy ESRS E4 · Biodiversity and Ecosystems · Disclosure Requirement E4-3

Applicable from FY2027

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

Actions and resources related to biodiversity and ecosystems

E4-3 · mandatory · narrative disclosure

E4-3 reports key actions and resources related to material biodiversity and ecosystems impacts, risks or opportunities under GDR-A.

Start preparing ↓ Official European Commission source ↗

Disclosure focus

Actions taken and planned may be organised using the mitigation hierarchy — avoidance, minimisation, restoration and compensation — but the standard does not require a separate action in every category.

Biodiversity offsets are conditional. Where used, disclose their aims, key terms, standards or methodologies and relevant social and environmental safeguards. Respect for Indigenous Peoples' free, prior and informed consent is addressed where applicable.

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 addressed by each key action.

    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.

  • Actions taken and planned

    Sustainability reporting / Operations

    Describe key actions taken in the reporting year and planned for the future, including their timeframes.

    Evidence Dated source records, governance papers and approval evidence supporting actions taken and planned.

    Watch for The published response for actions taken and planned is incomplete or does not match the supporting records.

  • Action scope

    Sustainability reporting / Operations

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

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

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

  • Expected outcomes and policy objectives

    Sustainability reporting

    Describe expected outcomes and, where applicable, how implementation contributes to related policy objectives.

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

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

  • Progress

    Sustainability reporting

    Describe progress in implementing the action.

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

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

  • Significant resources

    Sustainability reporting / Finance

    Where significant resources have been or are expected to be allocated, describe current and future operating and capital expenditure and relevant financial-statement references.

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

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

  • Resource assumptions and preconditions

    Sustainability reporting / Finance

    Explain significant assumptions or preconditions for the resource information where applicable.

    Evidence Dated source records, governance papers and approval evidence supporting resource assumptions and preconditions.

    Watch for The published response for resource assumptions and preconditions is incomplete or does not match the supporting records.

  • Mitigation hierarchy

    Environment / Sustainability reporting

    Explain how key actions relate to avoidance, minimisation, restoration or compensation where relevant.

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

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

  • Biodiversity offsets

    Environment / Sustainability reporting

    Where offsets are used, describe their aims, key terms, standards or methodologies and safeguards.

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

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

  • Free, prior and informed consent

    Sustainability reporting / Legal

    Describe how applicable Indigenous Peoples' FPIC rights are respected.

    Evidence Dated source records, governance papers and approval evidence supporting free, prior and informed consent.

    Watch for The published response for free, prior and informed consent is incomplete or does not match the supporting records.

Before you start

  • Apply the full GDR-A scope and keep biodiversity-offset and FPIC information conditional on the undertaking's circumstances.
  • If no key actions are in place or planned for identified material biodiversity and ecosystems IROs, record that fact through the applicable ESRS 2 route.
  • Have the supporting records and the final response been reconciled?
＋ Show E4-3 sub-elements (LRA working checklist)

How to prepare it

Apply the full GDR-A scope and keep biodiversity-offset and FPIC information conditional on the undertaking's circumstances.
Collect and reconcile the records for: Material impacts, risks and opportunities; Actions taken and planned; Action scope; Expected outcomes and policy objectives; Progress; Significant resources; Resource assumptions and preconditions; Mitigation hierarchy; Biodiversity offsets; Free, prior and informed consent.
If no key actions are in place or planned for identified material biodiversity and ecosystems IROs, record that fact through the applicable ESRS 2 route.
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 material-IRO mapping, action register, timeframes, full scope, expected outcomes, policy links, progress, significant resources, mitigation-hierarchy assessment, offset records and FPIC evidence where applicable.

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

Better request

Provide the material-IRO mapping, action register, timeframes, full scope, expected outcomes, policy links, progress, significant resources, mitigation-hierarchy assessment, offset records and FPIC evidence where applicable.

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

Classify actions consistently with the mitigation hierarchy and distinguish significant resources from routine operating costs.

Context note

Conservation and restoration may be useful internal categories but are not mandatory separate disclosure fields.

Download Centre

Preparation tools & forms

Download preparation tools for E4-3 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.

  • Actions taken and planned is reported accurately and completely.

    Risk The response omits, misclassifies or overstates actions taken and planned.

    Evidence to check Dated source records, governance papers and approval evidence supporting actions taken and planned.

  • Action scope is reported accurately and completely.

    Risk The response omits, misclassifies or overstates action scope.

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

  • Expected outcomes and policy objectives is reported accurately and completely.

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

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

  • Progress is reported accurately and completely.

    Risk The response omits, misclassifies or overstates progress.

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

  • Significant resources is reported accurately and completely.

    Risk The response omits, misclassifies or overstates significant resources.

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

  • Resource assumptions and preconditions is reported accurately and completely.

    Risk The response omits, misclassifies or overstates resource assumptions and preconditions.

    Evidence to check Dated source records, governance papers and approval evidence supporting resource assumptions and preconditions.

  • Mitigation hierarchy is reported accurately and completely.

    Risk The response omits, misclassifies or overstates mitigation hierarchy.

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

  • Biodiversity offsets is reported accurately and completely.

    Risk The response omits, misclassifies or overstates biodiversity offsets.

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

  • Free, prior and informed consent is reported accurately and completely.

    Risk The response omits, misclassifies or overstates free, prior and informed consent.

    Evidence to check Dated source records, governance papers and approval evidence supporting free, prior and informed consent.

Evidence pack to prepare

Common reporting gaps

  • Using only Actions & Resources as the title.
  • Omitting planned actions or expected outcomes.
  • Using sites as the whole action scope.
  • Requiring conservation and restoration as separate categories.
  • Treating offsets or resources as unconditional.
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Framework references

Relevant ESRS requirements and related disclosures

ESRS

E4-3

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 → CardPolicies → 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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