It’s that simple: Ask better questions on nature

Nature’s decline is now a central governance challenge – one that demands strategic questions by boards, rather than simply disclosure frameworks. Boards in New Zealand, Hong Kong and globally are beginning to recognise that their long-term performance depends on healthy ecosystems and biodiversity. Yet for most boards, nature frequently remains absent from the agenda.

A new report from the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD), Asking Better Questions on Nature, helps boards start the conversation by reframing nature governance as a series of strategic boardroom conversations. The starting point for directors is deceptively simple: asking better questions.

Often boardroom conversations about nature start and end with compliance: “Do we need to disclose?” or “What metrics should we use?” While disclosure matters, governance is more than reporting. The TNFD report makes clear that directors need to push beyond compliance toward genuine strategy integration.

Directors can ask:

• Have we considered how nature’s decline could materially impact our business model?
• Where are our hidden vulnerabilities in nature-related supply chains?
• Could investing in nature-positive practices unlock new business opportunities?

Traditionally, directors have a fiduciary responsibility to act in the best interests of the company, often interpreted as maximising long-term shareholder value. Increasingly, it is recognised that this includes managing material environmental risks such as climate change, biodiversity loss or ecosystem collapse where these risks could impact company performance, continuity or reputation.

Case studies: Hong Kong’s emerging experience

In Hong Kong, a small but growing group of companies have committed to TNFD-aligned disclosures. Their experiences highlight how asking sharper questions can drive change.

For example, one property developer asked how biodiversity affects the long-term value of its assets and responded by incorporating habitat restoration and urban farming into projects. Another real estate group questioned how its buildings depend on healthy ecosystems, leading to biodiversity checks in development and procurement decisions.  A consumer goods company asked how ecosystem degradation could threaten its agricultural inputs and began working with farmers on more regenerative practices. A major utility considered how ecosystem health interacts with energy transition, and is now factoring water use and biodiversity into its planning and community programmes.

These experiences suggest the types of questions other boards can ask:

• How does nature underpin our assets and supply chains?
• What risks emerge if ecosystems decline?
• What opportunities come from supporting nature-positive outcomes?

When boards bring these questions into governance conversations, biodiversity and ecosystem health move from the margins into core strategy – strengthening both resilience and long-term value creation.

From risk to resilience: Strategic boardroom conversations in New Zealand

One New Zealand infrastructure organisation has embraced the kind of strategic shift advocated by the TNFD. Its governance approach began by asking how nature-related risks intersect with business continuity, community engagement and climate adaptation. This framing led directly to nature-positive actions such as habitat restoration, species protection and investment choices that reduce both climate and nature risks.

This example shows the strategic potential of governance-led conversations about nature. Rather than treating nature as a compliance issue, board-level questioning enabled a holistic strategy that linked operational resilience, reputation and regulatory preparedness.

In the property development sector, one organisation has embedded biodiversity into its core practices through a formal Nature and Biodiversity Policy. Initiatives include restoring indigenous vegetation across development sites, creating pollinator-friendly gardens, installing beehives and favouring redevelopment of brownfield land over greenfield expansion – all of which directly improve local ecosystem health.

Another large landowner has actively invested in restoring previously farmed or leased land back into native ecosystems. Projects include extensive native planting, wetland protection and pest control measures, integrated into land-use decisions across rural and tourism assets. These initiatives demonstrate how aligning nature restoration with long-term asset value and cultural stewardship can create enduring benefits.

Integrating climate and nature at the board table

Boards across the Asia-Pacific are realising that nature and climate risks are inseparable. New Zealand’s agriculture and export sectors, for example, depend heavily on natural resources and ecosystem health. Boards increasingly understand that nature loss compounds climate vulnerability, and climate change accelerates nature degradation. Integrating nature fully into climate governance conversations becomes not merely logical, but essential.

Directors might ask:

• Are our climate strategies inadvertently exacerbating nature risk or could they instead deliver nature-positive outcomes?
• Do our emissions reductions approaches also improve biodiversity and ecosystem health?
  
  

Looking forward: Governing nature for strategic advantage

Informed by the TNFD approach, leading directors understand that governing nature is about anticipating change rather than reacting to it. New Zealand and Hong Kong examples show that boards asking better, bolder questions about nature have begun unlocking strategic clarity, competitive advantage and greater resilience.

Directors must move beyond disclosures toward integrated strategies that embed nature at their heart. Climate Governance Initiative networks in Hong Kong and New Zealand stand ready to support boards on this journey, sharing early experiences, challenges and insights from across sectors.

Ultimately, the shift towards better questions on nature isn’t about compliance, it’s about good governance and long-term business resilience. For directors committed to future-ready leadership, the path forward is clear: start by asking better questions.