An assessment of 20 large JSE-listed companies in the financial services, consumer goods and telecommunications sectors shows that only one has formally adopted the Task Force on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) framework. Furthermore, by the end of 2025, only four had committed to aligning their public disclosures with TNFD recommendations.
These are among the findings of Fast-tracking finance for nature: Trends in nature-related financial disclosures of South African companies.A new report by WWF South Africa. The results are troubling, especially against the backdrop of global 620 organizationRepresenting over $20 trillion of assets under management in more than 50 countries, the firm is committed to TNFD-aligned disclosures, with over 500 reports already published.
the stakes are high
“South African companies have work to do when it comes to understanding and disclosing their full impact on nature,” says Pavitra Pillay, head of business development and marketing at WWF South Africa. “Although good progress has been made in climate disclosures, there is a lack of understanding and attention to business impacts on nature. Yet without nature, there is no business.”
She adds, “Nature underpins the physical, operational and financial foundations of every business value chain.” “To do business, companies rely on ecosystem services such as safe and adequate water, healthy soils, pollination, raw materials and biomass, and a stable climate. When these systems are disrupted, the effects are immediate: higher input costs, lower productivity, operational disruptions, and lower yields.”
Yet globally, the World Economic Forum ranks biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse as low Second biggest long-term risk to economiesFollowing extreme weather events. Natural disasters occurred in the first half of 2025 alone $162 billion Worldwide economic losses. And with only a few years left until the 2030 deadline set by the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, the international agreement that aims to halt and reverse biodiversity loss globally, the pressure is increasing on businesses to act.
“We can't manage what we don't measure,” says Pillai. “And right now, most South African companies are not measuring nature at all.”
Awareness is not enough
While most of the companies assessed were aware of the TNFD recommendations, awareness is not translating into action. Climate-related disclosures are more mature in all sectors assessed, but nature, despite being equally important for long-term business resilience, remains an afterthought. None of the companies assessed have explicitly disclosed their governance of nature-related dependencies, impacts, risks or opportunities, and not a single South African bank has formally adopted the TNFD framework.
“Remuneration committees are approving KPIs for climate action, but no companies have linked executive pay to nature-related metrics,” says Pillay. “It tells you everything about where nature sits on the corporate priority list.”
This is particularly worrying at a time when investors globally are paying close attention. According to TNFD 2025 status reportGlobally, 63% of respondents believe that their nature-related risks are as important, or more important, to their future financial prospects as their climate-related risks. And 77% of asset managers and asset owners want a dedicated nature standard based on TNFD recommendations. “Transparent companies are in a better position to access capital, build investor confidence and avoid liabilities as well as regulatory shocks,” says Pillay.
Changing regulatory horizons
The pressure is not just coming from investors. South African regulators are expected to adopt IFRS S1 and S2 – international sustainability disclosure standards that require companies to report on sustainability-related risks, including the nature of, and how these affect their financial performance. For many large South African companies, mandatory nature-related disclosures may soon become a legal requirement rather than a voluntary option.
The King V Code on Corporate Governance, which came into force on 1 January 2026, reinforces the expectation that company boards will play an active role in overseeing nature-related risks and opportunities. Together, these developments indicate a clear direction of travel. Companies that wait to be forced by regulation run the risk of getting caught out.
The tools are there, but the will must follow
“There is no shortage of tools to help businesses take action,” explains Pillay. “Continued public disclosure transforms sustainability from a narrative into decision-useful information, enabling investors to accurately price risk and allowing customers, regulators and communities to scrutinize claims. It also marks a shift away from the typical corporate social investment story towards stronger business risk management.”
The TNFD's recommendations provide a practical roadmap for businesses to integrate nature-related risks and opportunities into their business models. By building on existing climate governance structures, companies can fast-track their nature-related disclosures without starting from scratch. Pillay suggests that companies incorporate nature oversight into board charters, link executive pay to nature-related metrics, and implement TNFD's Locate, Evaluate, Assess and Prepare (LEAP) approach across their value chains.
She emphasizes that there is an opportunity to change how organizations understand their relationship with nature. “We need a financial system that recognizes the natural world not as an externality, but as a fundamental asset on which all economic prosperity depends.” WWF recently released the third report in its “Financing Nature” series. Topic Natural finance in South Africa: Leaping from framework to practice.This report provides practical insights into the LEAP approach and two sector-specific examples for mining and agriculture.
Pillay concludes, “By acting on, managing and disclosing nature-related risks, South African companies can support the shift of global finance flows away from nature-negative outcomes towards nature-positive outcomes.”
Both reports in the Financing Nature series are available in full here WWF South Africa.
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