The Australian Institute of Company Directors issues Australia’s first study of how directors are responding to nature as a governance priority

This is the first Australian study to examine how boards are beginning to consider nature in their governance, strategy and risk oversight. Developed by the AICD and the University of Sydney Business School, it provides new evidence on how non-executive directors and chairs are identifying and managing nature-related risks and opportunities. 

What is nature-related governance

Nature-related governance describes how boards oversee their organisation’s relationship with nature – the dependencies, impacts and risks that influence long-term value and resilience. 

Nature underpins Australia’s economy – from water and soil to biodiversity and ecosystems that sustain industry, infrastructure and supply chains. As these systems come under pressure, this study finds directors are recognising that effective governance of nature is critical to organisational resilience, value creation and social license. 

What the study found

The findings show that directors see nature as a material governance issue – but practice is varied and at an early stage of maturity. 

• Four in five directors (81 per cent) surveyed agreed that nature-related risks are an important consideration for their organisations. 

• Half (52 per cent) report having updated risk frameworks to include nature-related issues, and one in three have sought external expert advice. 

• The study found that ‘nature’ is rarely named directly in board discussions – it is most often addressed through topics such as climate, resilience or cultural heritage. 

• Increasingly, boards are adapting their existing climate governance practices to nature, extending risk systems and oversight approaches developed for climate to encompass broader environmental dependencies and impacts. 

• Oversight arrangements are varied: one in five report their boards have no formal structures, while another fifth are ‘active’ on nature – integrating nature within climate governance, setting targets and drawing on frameworks, such as the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD).