Playbook: Building a corporate marine & freshwater biodiversity strategy

Why It Matters

Roughly 40 percent of global GDP depends on aquatic ecosystem services, from fisheries and coastal tourism to freshwater provisioning and natural flood protection (World Bank, 2025). Yet marine and freshwater biodiversity is declining faster than terrestrial biodiversity: the Living Planet Index recorded a 83 percent decline in monitored freshwater vertebrate populations between 1970 and 2020, and coral reef coverage has dropped by more than 50 percent globally since the 1950s (WWF, 2024). For corporates, these declines translate into tangible risks. Companies in seafood, shipping, pharmaceuticals, coastal real estate, agriculture, and water-intensive manufacturing face disruptions from fisheries collapse, salinization, water scarcity, and regulatory tightening. The Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) explicitly includes marine and freshwater realms in its LEAP assessment framework, and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) Target 3 commits nations to protect 30 percent of ocean and inland waters by 2030. This playbook provides a structured, five-step approach to building a credible corporate aquatic biodiversity strategy.

Key Concepts

Marine vs. freshwater scope. Marine biodiversity covers open ocean, coastal, and estuarine ecosystems, including coral reefs, mangroves, seagrass meadows, and deep-sea habitats. Freshwater biodiversity encompasses rivers, lakes, wetlands, and groundwater-dependent ecosystems. Many corporate impacts straddle both: nutrient runoff from agriculture degrades rivers and creates coastal dead zones; shipping introduces invasive species to both ports and inland waterways.

Ecosystem services at stake. Aquatic ecosystems provide provisioning services (fish protein feeds 3.3 billion people), regulating services (mangroves reduce coastal flood damages by an estimated US $65 billion annually), cultural services (marine tourism generates US $390 billion per year), and supporting services such as nutrient cycling and carbon sequestration (OECD, 2024). Blue carbon ecosystems (mangroves, salt marshes, seagrass beds) sequester carbon at rates up to four times higher per hectare than tropical forests.

TNFD LEAP for aquatic realms. The TNFD guidance recognizes that aquatic environments require distinct assessment parameters: water flow regimes, connectivity between habitats, salinity gradients, and vertical water column dynamics. Companies should apply the LEAP framework (Locate, Evaluate, Assess, Prepare) with aquatic-specific indicators, including freshwater quality metrics (biological oxygen demand, nutrient concentrations) and marine health indicators (coral cover, fish biomass per unit area).

Regulatory landscape. The EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive requires member states to achieve "good environmental status" in marine waters. The EU Water Framework Directive sets ecological status targets for freshwater bodies. The High Seas Treaty (BBNJ Agreement), adopted in 2023, creates a framework for marine protected areas in international waters. Companies operating across these jurisdictions must track how aquatic biodiversity obligations affect their operating licenses.

Step 1: Map Aquatic Dependencies and Impact Hotspots

Start by identifying every point in your value chain where operations interact with marine or freshwater ecosystems. Use the ENCORE database (UNEP-WCMC) to screen for dependencies on aquatic ecosystem services, and overlay your operational footprint with the World Database on Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) and Ramsar Wetland Sites.

Unilever mapped freshwater dependencies across its top 20 agricultural supply chains in 2024, identifying that over 60 percent of its sourcing volume originates from water-stressed basins or areas adjacent to high-biodiversity freshwater habitats (Unilever, 2025). This exercise revealed that tea, rice, and palm oil supply chains presented the highest combined water-biodiversity risk.

For marine-facing businesses, the Global Fishing Watch platform and the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) risk assessment tool can identify fishery-dependent supply chain nodes and their proximity to marine protected areas or ecologically sensitive zones. Outputs should include a geo-referenced dependency map, a prioritized list of aquatic impact hotspots, and a gap analysis of missing ecological data.

Step 2: Set Science-Based Targets for Water and Ocean Impact

The Science Based Targets Network (SBTN) released its freshwater targets methodology in May 2025, covering water quantity, water quality, and freshwater ecosystem condition (SBTN, 2025). Companies can now set validated targets for reducing nutrient loading, maintaining environmental flows, and protecting riparian buffer zones.

For marine impacts, the UN Global Compact's Sustainable Ocean Principles provide a voluntary framework, while the Ocean Disclosure Project tracks corporate seafood sourcing transparency. Set targets across three tiers:

1. Avoidance and reduction. Commit to eliminating discharges of persistent pollutants into aquatic systems, reducing nutrient runoff by a quantified percentage, and eliminating plastic leakage from packaging.
2. Restoration. Fund measurable restoration of degraded aquatic habitats. Danone set a 2025 target to restore 2,000 hectares of wetlands across its dairy watersheds in France and has already exceeded 1,600 hectares through partnerships with Conservatoire du Littoral (Danone, 2025).
3. Transformation. Shift sourcing practices toward certified sustainable fisheries (MSC), responsible aquaculture (ASC), and regenerative agricultural models that protect watershed health.

Ensure targets are time-bound, publicly disclosed, and reviewed annually. Board-level sign-off is essential; aquatic targets that sit exclusively within sustainability teams rarely attract the capital needed for implementation.

Step 3: Integrate Aquatic Biodiversity into Supply-Chain Due Diligence

Most corporate aquatic impacts are indirect, originating in upstream supply chains. Effective due diligence requires traceability from finished product back to source waterbody.

For seafood companies, this means full chain-of-custody traceability from vessel or farm to retail shelf. Thai Union, the world's largest canned tuna producer, implemented vessel-to-shelf traceability across 100 percent of its branded tuna supply by 2025 using digital tracking and third-party audits (Thai Union, 2025). This system enables the company to verify that sourcing does not overlap with IUU (illegal, unreported, and unregulated) fishing zones or marine protected areas.

For non-seafood companies, focus on agricultural commodities with high water-biodiversity footprints. Key actions include requiring suppliers to disclose water withdrawal volumes relative to local availability, mapping supplier proximity to high-biodiversity freshwater or coastal areas, verifying compliance with local water quality discharge standards, and incorporating aquatic biodiversity clauses into supplier codes of conduct.

The Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS) Standard provides a site-level certification framework that connects water stewardship to biodiversity outcomes. By early 2026, over 250 sites globally hold AWS certification, with Coca-Cola, AB InBev, and Nestlé among the leading adopters.

Step 4: Invest in Blue Carbon and Aquatic Restoration Projects

Blue carbon projects, covering mangrove restoration, seagrass planting, and salt marsh rehabilitation, offer both carbon sequestration and biodiversity co-benefits. Apple invested US $50 million in a mangrove conservation and restoration project in Colombia through its Restore Fund, targeting 27,000 acres of mangrove and tropical forest (Apple, 2024). The project uses Verra's VM0033 methodology for blue carbon accounting and independently monitors biodiversity outcomes, including shorebird populations and fish nursery habitat recovery.

When evaluating blue carbon investments, apply five criteria: ecological baseline (pre-project species inventories), community co-management (local fishing communities as stewards), permanence mechanisms (legal protection status), additionality (demonstration that restoration would not occur without investment), and monitoring protocols (eDNA, acoustic sensors, or satellite-based change detection).

Beyond blue carbon, consider investing in freshwater restoration. Wetland mitigation banking in the United States and the emerging EU wetland credit pilots offer structured vehicles. The Landscape Enterprise Networks (LENs) model, pioneered by 3Keel in the UK, aggregates corporate funding to deliver landscape-scale watershed restoration projects that benefit multiple companies sharing the same catchment.

Step 5: Disclose, Report, and Improve

Report aquatic biodiversity outcomes using TNFD-aligned disclosures. The TNFD recommends reporting across four pillars: Governance (board oversight of aquatic nature risk), Strategy (how aquatic biodiversity risks and opportunities shape business direction), Risk and Impact Management (processes for identifying, assessing, and managing aquatic nature impacts), and Metrics and Targets (quantified indicators of performance).

Key metrics for aquatic disclosures include volume of water returned to freshwater systems at equal or better quality, area of marine or freshwater habitat protected or restored (hectares), percentage of seafood sourced from MSC or ASC certified fisheries, nutrient and pollutant discharge concentrations relative to baseline, and biodiversity indicators such as species richness, eDNA diversity indices, and habitat connectivity scores.

The European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS E4) and the forthcoming ESRS E3 (Water and marine resources) require EU-listed companies to disclose material impacts on aquatic ecosystems from 2025 onward. Companies operating globally should prepare for convergence between European, ISSB, and national reporting requirements.

Iterate annually. Compare monitoring data against your Step 2 targets, identify underperforming projects or supply-chain nodes, and adjust investments accordingly. Publish a standalone aquatic biodiversity progress report or integrate findings into your annual sustainability report with sufficient granularity to demonstrate credibility.

Common Pitfalls

Conflating water stewardship with biodiversity. Reducing water consumption is important, but it does not automatically improve aquatic biodiversity. A factory may reduce water use while continuing to discharge effluent that degrades downstream habitat. Always pair water quantity targets with water quality and ecosystem condition targets.

Ignoring upstream impacts. Agricultural supply chains often dominate a company's freshwater biodiversity footprint. Focusing solely on direct operational water use misses the vast majority of impact.

Relying on unverified offsets. The blue carbon market is still developing integrity standards. Projects without independent ecological baselines, community consent documentation, and long-term legal protection carry significant reputational risk.

Underestimating marine regulatory complexity. Operating in or sourcing from marine environments involves overlapping jurisdictions (national, regional, international). The High Seas Treaty, EU directives, and national marine spatial plans may all apply to a single supply chain.

Treating aquatic biodiversity as solely a coastal issue. Inland water systems, including rivers, lakes, and aquifers, support 12 percent of all known species despite covering only 1 percent of the Earth's surface (WWF, 2024). Companies in landlocked regions still have freshwater biodiversity exposure.

Key Players

Established Leaders

• Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) — Global wild-capture fishery certification; over 20,000 products carry the MSC label worldwide.
• Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) — Leading certification for responsible farmed seafood; over 2,100 certified farms in 44 countries.
• Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS) — Site-level water stewardship standard integrating biodiversity outcomes; 250+ certified sites by 2026.
• IUCN Ocean Team — Provides scientific advisory on marine protected area design, red-listing of marine species, and corporate engagement.

Emerging Startups

• Xylem Analytics (Blue Intelligence) — AI platform integrating satellite, eDNA, and IoT sensor data for real-time aquatic ecosystem monitoring.
• Coral Vita — Commercial coral farm in the Bahamas growing climate-resilient corals 50x faster than natural growth for reef restoration.
• Regen Network — Blockchain-based ecological monitoring and credit platform with emerging blue carbon verification modules.
• Planet (Aquatic Monitoring) — Deploys daily satellite imagery for coastal change detection, sediment plume tracking, and mangrove canopy analysis.

Key Investors/Funders

• Bloomberg Ocean Initiative — Supports data transparency in ocean health monitoring and corporate ocean disclosure.
• Ocean Risk and Resilience Action Alliance (ORRAA) — Coalition including AXA, Swiss Re, and the Nature Conservancy investing in coastal resilience and insurance products for marine ecosystems.
• Global Fund for Coral Reefs (GFCR) — UN-backed blended finance vehicle mobilizing US $625 million for coral reef conservation and restoration.
• Builders Vision — Impact platform with dedicated aquatic and ocean health investment strategies exceeding US $1 billion in deployed capital.

Action Checklist

• Screen your value chain for aquatic ecosystem dependencies using ENCORE and KBA/Ramsar overlays.
• Identify the top three to five freshwater and marine biodiversity hotspots in your supply chain.
• Set SBTN-aligned freshwater targets covering water quantity, quality, and ecosystem condition.
• Adopt or align with the UN Sustainable Ocean Principles if you have marine-facing operations.
• Implement supply-chain traceability from source waterbody to finished product for high-risk commodities.
• Require key suppliers to obtain Alliance for Water Stewardship certification or equivalent.
• Invest in at least one blue carbon or freshwater restoration project with independently verified baselines.
• Prepare TNFD-aligned aquatic biodiversity disclosures covering all four pillars.
• Establish board-level governance for aquatic nature risk alongside climate risk.
• Review and update your aquatic biodiversity portfolio and targets annually.

FAQ

What tools are available for mapping corporate freshwater biodiversity risk? The most widely used tools include the ENCORE database (UNEP-WCMC) for screening ecosystem service dependencies, the WWF Water Risk Filter for basin-level risk scoring, the Integrated Biodiversity Assessment Tool (IBAT) for proximity to Key Biodiversity Areas, and the Aqueduct tool (World Resources Institute) for water stress and flood risk. For marine environments, Global Fishing Watch, the Ocean Biodiversity Information System (OBIS), and the Allen Coral Atlas provide spatial data on fishery activity, species distributions, and reef health.

How does the SBTN freshwater target differ from the CEO Water Mandate? The CEO Water Mandate focuses on corporate water stewardship commitments, primarily water efficiency, access, and sanitation. SBTN freshwater targets go further by setting science-based, measurable thresholds for water quantity (maintaining environmental flows), water quality (nutrient and pollutant limits), and freshwater ecosystem condition (riparian habitat integrity). SBTN targets are validated by a third party and tied to planetary boundaries, making them more rigorous and comparable across companies.

Can blue carbon credits substitute for reducing direct emissions? No. Blue carbon credits should be used to compensate for residual emissions after a company has pursued deep decarbonization within its own operations and value chain. The VCMI Claims Code of Practice requires that companies purchasing any form of nature-based credit are also on a credible 1.5°C-aligned emissions reduction pathway. Using blue carbon credits without corresponding operational reductions exposes companies to greenwashing risk and potential regulatory penalties under the EU Green Claims Directive.

What is the business case for investing in freshwater restoration? Freshwater ecosystem degradation increases operational costs through higher water treatment expenses, supply disruption, and regulatory compliance burdens. A 2025 CDP analysis found that companies reporting water-related risks face a combined US $225 billion in potential financial impacts (CDP, 2025). Conversely, watershed restoration projects can reduce water treatment costs by 10 to 30 percent for downstream users, extend infrastructure lifespans, and secure operating licenses in water-stressed regions. Companies like AB InBev have documented measurable cost savings from watershed protection programs tied to their brewery operations.

How should seafood companies approach marine biodiversity beyond certification? MSC and ASC certifications are necessary but not sufficient. Leading companies are also investing in fishery improvement projects (FIPs) for supply chains not yet certifiable, deploying vessel monitoring systems to ensure compliance with marine protected area boundaries, funding marine habitat restoration (e.g., seagrass planting, artificial reef deployment), and disclosing full sourcing transparency through the Ocean Disclosure Project. Thai Union's SeaChange sustainability program provides a model for integrating certification, traceability, and habitat investment into a single strategy.

Sources

• World Bank. (2025). Blue Economy and the Role of Aquatic Ecosystem Services in Global GDP. Washington, DC: World Bank Group.
• World Wildlife Fund. (2024). Living Planet Report 2024: Freshwater and Marine Populations. WWF International.
• OECD. (2024). The Ocean Economy in 2030: Opportunities and Challenges. OECD Publishing.
• Science Based Targets Network. (2025). Freshwater Targets: Technical Guidance and Validation Criteria v1.0. SBTN.
• TNFD Secretariat. (2025). Guidance on Aquatic Realm Assessment within the LEAP Framework. TNFD.
• Unilever. (2025). Water Stewardship and Freshwater Biodiversity Screening: Supply Chain Results. Unilever PLC.
• Danone. (2025). Wetland Restoration Progress Report: France Dairy Watersheds. Danone S.A.
• Thai Union. (2025). SeaChange 2025: Traceability and Marine Stewardship Update. Thai Union Group PCL.
• Apple. (2024). Restore Fund: Mangrove Conservation and Blue Carbon in Colombia. Apple Inc.
• CDP. (2025). Riding the Wave: Corporate Water Risk Disclosure and Financial Impacts. CDP Worldwide.