Through a Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD)-aligned biodiversity heatmap assessment, Nordic Sustainability enabled If, a Nordic insurance company, to identify where biodiversity loss could translate into material financial risk across its commercial insurance portfolios. The assessment provided a structured basis for prioritisation, internal decision-making, and next-step actions aligned with emerging regulatory and disclosure expectations.
The impact
If gained its first portfolio-wide view of nature-related impacts, dependencies, and risk concentration, enabling the organisation to move from high-level screening to targeted, decision-relevant prioritisation.
Key outcomes:
- Mapped exposed sectors within If’s commercial portfolios where biodiversity impacts and dependencies are likely to be most significant
- Linked nature-related impacts and dependencies to financial exposure
- Established a robust, TNFD-aligned baseline to support future risk management, disclosure, and product-level analysis
The project positions If to turn biodiversity considerations into meaningful action and meet future TNFD and CSRD reporting requirements in a structured, evidence-based way.
The client perspective
“We have really appreciated the collaboration with Nordic sustainability, in particular their data-driven approach and extensive knowledge about biodiversity. The result gave us a good first insight into our potential impacts and dependencies and helped us identify which key sectors that will require more in-depth analysis.”
The challenge
As expectations around nature-related risk management and disclosure increase, If sought to better understand whether biodiversity loss could represent a financially material risk across its commercial insurance portfolios.
Key challenges:
- Limited visibility into where biodiversity impacts and dependencies concentrate across insured sectors
- The need to translate nature-related exposure into decision-relevant insight for a financial institution
- Designing an approach aligned with TNFD guidance while remaining pragmatic and scalable
Our approach
Nordic Sustainability conducted a TNFD-aligned biodiversity heatmap assessment across If’s commercial portfolios, combining sector-level impact and dependency analysis with country-level risk indicators to identify biodiversity hotspots and areas of prioritisation.
Core steps:
- Portfolio scoping and prioritisation: We defined relevant sectors, subsectors, geographies, and portfolios based on financial materiality thresholds
- Impact and dependency assessment: We applied ENCORE-based analysis (Exploring Natural Capital Opportunities, Risks and Exposure), a tool developed by UNEP Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre, to identify how insured sectors interact with natural capital
- Geographical risk overlay: We integrated country-level biodiversity and environmental risk indicators to contextualise sector exposure
- Synthesis and prioritisation: We combined nature-related exposure with financial metrics to identify priority sectors and next steps
Looking ahead
The assessment provides If with a robust analytical foundation to deepen biodiversity risk management over time. It helps the organisation to progress from high‑level screening to product‑level risk analysis, integrate biodiversity into enterprise risk management, and identify key sectors and customer segments that need further analysis and actions going forward.
From biodiversity risk to business action
As every organisation has nature-related dependencies, biodiversity risk is moving up the agenda for businesses across sectors. Get in touch to understand where to start.