Assessing Organisational Biodiversity Performance

This paper sets out how an element of organisational biodiversity impact can be assessed and ranked using a tool called the Normative Biodiversity Metric (NBM). The NBM is designed to assess the biodiversity performance of any land-owning entity, based on the pristineness of the organisation’s land. It can be applied to any type of organisation, company, region or nation.

The assessment generates results which can be used in annual reports, performance assessments marketing strategies/CSR, or as a component of another ecological indicator. The methodology is particularly relevant to raw materials sectors which have a large impact on habitats and biodiversity. The primary advantage of the NBM is that it can be used to compare biodiversity performance at different spatial scales with a standardised methodology, from a garden to a continent: there is no other biodiversity assessment tool which can perform this function. Satellite imagery is used to provide an initial assessment; ecological surveys can also be used where necessary to provide a higher degree of accuracy. The NBM is designed to provide an equivalent to corporate GHG assessment, for biodiversity impact.