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Concepts, campaigns and companies worth tracking. Selected by our experts, delivered daily.

Using environmental DNA, NatureMetrics enables brands to track their biodiversity impact

At COP15 in December 2022, nearly 200 countries agreed to the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), which aims to not just halt but reverse biodiversity loss by 2030. This week, an international fund launched to support those goals. But to protect nature, you need to know what to protect. Biodiversity is a complex tangle of living things that isn't easy to measure, and traditional methods are costly and cumbersome.

UK-based NatureMetrics is making the process cheaper, faster and simpler. How? By relying on environmental DNA. eDNA is everywhere — from the trails fish leave in water to the minute traces mammals shed through their hair and skin. Every living entity contributes to a vast reservoir of ecological data that NatureMetrics can tap into by collecting samples from water and soil. It's also working on capturing eDNA from the air.

At COP15, NatureMetrics launched the world's first nature performance monitoring service powered by eDNA technology, which translates collected data into key indicators that are easy to understand for stakeholders within multinational corporations — including Nestlé and Anglo American — and conservation organizations. Earlier this month, NatureMetrics raised GBP 10 million to scale up its capacities and meet growing global demand.

Three of NatureMetrics' dashboards showing biodiversity and species data

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Not too long ago, companies could hide behind the notion that biodiversity was just too complex to take into account. With new tools like NatureMetrics, they can no longer use a lack of data to justify neglecting their impact on the natural world. Initially, corporations might be driven by GBF-related mandates on tracking and reporting how their operations affect biodiversity. But the resulting data could well make its way into consumer-facing metrics, much like nutrition or carbon footprint labels.

Hollow marketing messages in various shades of green have damaged brand reputation and caused consumers to lose trust in sustainability claims. Certified data backed by hard science like NatureMetrics' eDNA, on the other hand, offers brands an opportunity to set the record straight. Get started now, and your organization could be a LABEL-LED frontrunner in demonstrating true commitment to reversing biodiversity loss.
31 August 2023

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