TNFD
ENFORCEMENT TIMELINE
Active (published September 2023)
Overview
The Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) establishes an international recommended framework enabling companies and financial institutions to assess and disclose their dependencies and impacts on natural capital and biodiversity, along with the financial risks and opportunities these give rise to.
Building on the four pillar structure of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) — governance, strategy, risk management, and metrics and targets — TNFD has developed its own assessment and diagnostic process, the "LEAP approach" (Locate, Evaluate, Assess, Prepare). Aligned with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (including the 30by30 target), TNFD serves as a global reference for corporate decision-making and disclosure aimed at a nature-positive transition.
Within the GRI Global Regulatory Framework, TNFD is positioned as a leading international reporting framework supporting disclosure on natural capital and biodiversity.
Regulatory Sub-LabelsGlobal Applicability: Global
Classification: Reporting Framework
Status (Framework Status): Active
The TNFD Recommendations were published in September 2023 by the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures. The framework is an international recommended framework for nature-related financial disclosure, building on the TCFD structure while incorporating the LEAP approach for assessing nature-related risks and opportunities.
Enforcement (Adoption Mechanism): TNFD does not impose legally binding obligations at the international level. Organizations voluntarily disclose in line with the TNFD framework in response to requests from investors, customers, financial institutions, and regulators. In some jurisdictions and initiatives, future mandatory adoption or incorporation into regulatory frameworks is being considered, similar to the trajectory of TCFD.
Last Amended (Latest Framework Version / Update): Based on the TNFD Recommendations published in September 2023, maintained and updated through ongoing guidance development and implementation support materials (including sector-specific guidance).
Governing Organization: Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD)
Enforcement Timeline
September 2023: TNFD Recommendations published
Latest Framework Version / Update: Based on the TNFD Recommendations published in September 2023, maintained through ongoing guidance development and implementation support materials.
Business Impact
TNFD is raising attention to nature-related risks across the supply chains of companies with operations highly dependent on agriculture, forestry, fisheries, mineral resources, or water resources. Organizations may need to identify whether their sites and sourcing locations overlap with biodiversity-significant or water-risk areas, and strengthen requests for environmental data from suppliers.
ComplianceAlthough voluntary, TNFD exerts practical influence through requests for biodiversity- and water-risk-related data from investors and key customers. Building a diagnostic process for nature-related risks aligned with the LEAP approach (Locate/Evaluate/Assess/Prepare) may be required to meet disclosure expectations.
CostImplementation may require investment in nature-related risk diagnostics for sites and supply chains, data collection on water consumption, land use, and pollutant release, the setting of disclosure metrics, the development of targets (including nature-positive targets), and the establishment of disclosure processes.
Strategic ImplicationTNFD encourages companies to assess operational, regulatory, and reputational risks arising from the degradation of natural capital and tightening regulation, and to build long-term strategies for a nature-positive transition, including avoidance of biodiversity-protected areas, deforestation prevention, and the establishment of sustainable sourcing policies.
Cross ReferencePrimary Domain: Environmental Information & Sustainability Disclosure. Cross Reference Domain: Water & Air Environmental Protection. This Cross Reference reflects the fact that TNFD's disclosure scope includes the diagnosis of water-related dependencies and impacts (within the Locate/Evaluate stages of the LEAP approach). Its Primary Domain, however, remains Environmental Information & Sustainability Disclosure in accordance with the One Primary Parent Principle defined in the approved Global Regulatory Instrument Inventory v0.3.
Architecture PositionWithin the GRI Regulatory Architecture, TNFD is registered as a regulatory framework instrument under the Global Environmental Information & Sustainability Disclosure Domain.
The framework is designated as a Gateway Reference, serving as one of the primary international entry points to the Global Regulatory Framework. While TNFD includes water-resource-related diagnostics, its approved Primary Domain remains Environmental Information & Sustainability Disclosure in accordance with the Inventory v0.3 structure, with the relationship to the water field expressed through Cross Reference.