The share of firms publicly committed to protecting biodiversity has more than doubled, from 14% in 2022 to 35% in 2025, new data from the S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment has shown.
S&P Global‘s analysis covered 7,425 companies that participated in both the 2022 and 2025 research cycles.
As it noted, the year 2022 marked the adoption of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), which saw 196 countries set 23 targets to address nature and biodiversity loss.
Latin America leads the way
According to the data, Latin America had the highest share of companies with biodiversity commitments as of last year, at 63%. As S&P Global put it, Latin American firms ‘appear to recognise their role in protecting what is a uniquely important hotspot for global biodiversity’, given that the region is home to some of the world’s most important ecosystems.
Asia-Pacific recorded the largest increase, with the percentage of companies committed to addressing biodiversity more than tripling between 2022 and 2025. Commitment levels also doubled in North America, although both regions remained behind Europe.
Utilities and energy companies were the sectors most likely to have biodiversity commitments, followed by materials and consumer staples. Almost half of companies assessed in these sectors had some form of commitment in 2025, compared with around one-fifth in 2022.
On a sector-by-sector basis, meanwhile, utilities and energy companies were the most likely to have biodiversity commitments in place, followed by the materials and consumer staples sectors.
Of the 1,801 companies that conducted biodiversity risk assessments last year, 96% assessed their own operations, while 37% examined upstream suppliers and 24% considered downstream activities.
Tackling deforestation
Elsewhere, deforestation commitments have increased but remain relatively limited. As S&P Global noted, the share of companies with public commitments to stop deforestation rose from 6% in 2022 to 12% in 2025. However, Latin America recorded a rate of 32%.
Europe is likely to see an increase in deforestation commitments in the coming months, with the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) entering its enforcement period in December 2026.
‘ Large and medium-sized European companies will come under new pressure to certify that the supply chains behind their products have not contributed to deforestation, wherever their suppliers are located,’ S&P Global noted, adding that recent data indicates that around three-quarters of European companies with deforestation commitments already include their supply chain in that commitment.
‘Significant momentum’
‘Corporate attention to nature has gained significant momentum since the GBF was adopted, with commitments to biodiversity and halting deforestation doubling since 2022,’ S&P Global noted. ‘The maturation of disclosure frameworks and stronger policymaking in some regions could push adoption of corporate commitments higher still.
‘The full picture is more complex, however. Among companies with nature-related commitments, few look beyond their own operations or conduct risk assessments, potentially leaving gaps in their strategies and exposing them to risk. Corporate engagement on nature issues is also expanding more in some regions and sectors than others.’
The analysis was published to coincide with COP17, taking place in Armenia. Read more here.
