Changes to the state of biodiversity

Disclosure focus

Disclosure 101-7 requires an organization to report changes in the condition of ecosystems affected or potentially affected by the sites reported under Disclosure 101-5-a. The organization should use the same approved site list and should not conduct a separate site-prioritization exercise for this disclosure.

For each site, the organization must consider every ecosystem type within the area affected or potentially affected by its activities, including affected areas beyond the site boundary where relevant. It is not required to report on the condition of the entire wider ecosystem or region.

For each affected or potentially affected ecosystem type, the organization must report the ecosystem type for the base year, the ecosystem extent in hectares for the base year, and the ecosystem condition for both the base year and the current reporting period. Ecosystem extent is the fixed area over which condition is measured over time and should not automatically be equated with the total site area, land parcel or operational footprint.

The organization should report the base year and explain how it was determined. A base year can correspond to the start of activities, the date from which the organization owned, leased or managed the site, or the date of a commitment to halt and reverse biodiversity loss. Base year, baseline condition and reference condition should be clearly distinguished.

The organization should report the ecosystem classification used. Ecosystem condition should be assessed against a defined reference condition and should reflect relevant living and non-living characteristics, including ecosystem composition, function and structure, landscape connectivity, and physical and chemical state.

Where ecosystem monitoring is conducted less frequently than sustainability reporting, the organization should report the most recent available condition information and state the measurement date. It does not need to conduct an additional measurement solely to meet Disclosure 101-7.

Changes in ecosystem condition can reflect the cumulative activities of the organization and other actors. The organization should therefore avoid attributing changes solely to its own actions unless this is supported by evidence.

The organization must report the standards, methodologies and assumptions used to compile the information. It should distinguish between primary, secondary and modeled data, identify the datasets used, explain methodological and data limitations, and describe any plans to improve data accuracy.

The organization should additionally report changes in the state of biodiversity for products and services in its supply chain identified under Disclosure 101-5-d, with a breakdown by country or jurisdiction, and for its downstream value chain where information is available. It can also report information on affected species, including extinction risk and population size in the baseline and current periods.

Where required information is unavailable, incomplete, prohibited by law or subject to confidentiality constraints, the organization should apply the relevant reason for omission in accordance with GRI 1 rather than silently excluding or aggregating the information.

This LRA educational guidance supports disclosure preparation. For the exact requirements, always refer to the official Global Reporting Initiative source.