The International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) has launched a new standard to help organisations assess their biodiversity impacts, dependencies, risks, and opportunities.
Called the ISO 17298, the standard aims to provide a practical and scalable framework to support action on biodiversity. It was launched at the Annual Meeting 2025 (AM25) in Kigali, Rwanda, during the ISO AM25 session From risk to action: why biodiversity matters to your business.
Biodiversity, which refers to the variety of life on Earth, plays a key role in maintaining healthy ecosystems, economies, and communities. As the rate of nature loss increases, the new standard provides a framework for organisations to measure and manage their biodiversity impacts in a structured and accountable way.
During the event, the Minister of environment of Rwanda unveiled the country’s National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP). The strategy aims to advance Rwanda’s commitments in protecting and restoring nature.
The loss of biodiversity can lead to higher operational costs, supply chain disruptions, and increased regulatory and reputational risks for businesses. Integrating biodiversity considerations into corporate strategies can help strengthen operations, attract sustainable finance, and improve stakeholder confidence.
“Many organisations see the urgency of biodiversity action, but navigating the path can be complex,” says Noelia Garcia Nebra, ISO head of sustainability and partnerships. “Until now, there has been no globally agreed standard for organisations to integrate biodiversity into their strategies and operations.
“This lack of a common framework has contributed to fragmented approaches and growing confusion as nature-related risks and expectations increase.
“ISO 17298 addresses this gap by offering a structured roadmap that enables organisations to assess biodiversity-related impacts and consider these effectively in their strategies.
“The standard embeds biodiversity into core governance and risk management practices – not just sustainability reporting – ensuring alignment with global expectations and organisational operations.”
The standard is designed to be interoperable with other widely used initiatives such as ISO 14001, ISO 26000, TNFD, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It contributes directly to the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, particularly Target 15 on corporate action.
Marco Rossi, ISO director of standardisation, says: “ISO 17298 is suitable for a wide range of users, from SMEs and large corporates to public institutions and cities. It supports the production of credible, comparable biodiversity data that can inform investment decisions, improve disclosure, and unlock access to nature-positive economy and biodiversity-linked markets.
“By grounding biodiversity action in a globally agreed standard, ISO 17298 allows organisations to move from ambition to implementation – creating the transparency, accountability, and consistency needed to halt and reverse nature loss.”
The standard was developed by ISO Technical Committee 331 on Biodiversity (ISO/TC 331), which brings together experts from over 60 countries. ISO 17298 is the committee’s first published standard, with additional workstreams underway to further expand guidance in this critical area.
The Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD), a liaison organisation to TC331, says biodiversity is a critical consideration for the resilience of business strategy, risk management and value creation, across sectors and geographies.
Emily McKenzie, TNFD technical director, says: “The TNFD is pleased to have supported ISO with the development of this important standard, building from its recommendations and guidance of the TNFD LEAP (Locate, Evaluate, Assess, and Prepare) approach.
“ISO 17298 will help as an international standard in further harmonising concepts, definitions and approaches, and supporting organisations to consider nature-related issues in their strategy and operations.”
ISO 17298 is the first in a planned series of biodiversity standards. Upcoming work includes standards focused on terminology, biodiversity net gain, and the classification of products derived from native species. Together, these standards aim to provide a consistent technical basis for measurable and transparent biodiversity action.
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