ESRS E4 Biodiversity and Ecosystems: Requirements and Solutions
As biodiversity loss climbs the global risk agenda, regulators and investors are demanding transparency. With the rollout of the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) under the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), biodiversity is no longer optional—it’s a material business issue.
At the center of this shift is ESRS E4, the EU’s new standard for reporting on biodiversity and ecosystems. It requires companies to disclose how they impact nature, where their operations intersect with critical habitats, and what they’re doing to mitigate and reverse biodiversity loss.
This is a major challenge. Unlike carbon reporting, biodiversity is complex, place-based, and often data-poor. That’s why Natural Solutions, as a European pioneer in nature tech and biodiversity intelligence, is equipping companies and consultants with cutting-edge tools, expert R&D, and open data platforms to meet and exceed ESRS E4 requirements.
What Is ESRS E4?
ESRS E4 is the biodiversity-specific reporting standard under CSRD. It mandates that companies disclose:
A biodiversity transition plan (E4-1)
Their policies and commitments (E4-2)
Actions taken and resources allocated (E4-3)
Clear targets and progress indicators (E4-4)
Measurable impact metrics on species, habitats, and ecosystems (E4-5)
The financial risks and opportunities tied to biodiversity (E4-6)
The standard introduces double materiality—meaning you must disclose not only how your company affects nature, but also how biodiversity decline can impact your business.
Why It’s So Hard to Report on Biodiversity
Complying with ESRS E4 isn’t just about adding a few new rows to your sustainability spreadsheet.
Unlike emissions, biodiversity has no universal metric. It’s local. It’s contextual. And it requires deep ecological insight.
Key challenges include:
Identifying material impacts and dependencies across complex value chains
Collecting and verifying site-specific data on land use, species, and habitats
Estimating the financial consequences of biodiversity loss
Aligning with global frameworks like SBTN, TNFD, and the EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030
For many companies and consultants, this demands tools and skills they simply don’t have—yet.
The Natural Solutions Advantage: Tech + Science + Field Data
At Natural Solutions, we’ve spent over 15 years building open, interoperable tools that connect ecological knowledge, spatial intelligence, and business needs.
Our suite of products, R&D platforms, and consulting services helps ESG consultants, sustainability teams, and public organizations navigate biodiversity disclosure with precision and credibility.
Let’s explore how we help you meet each ESRS E4 requirement.
🧭 E4-1: Transition Plans with Real Data
We support the development of biodiversity transition plans by integrating local ecological data and spatial risk intelligence.
🔹 Our Biodiversity Impact Calculator provides baseline impact scores at the site or supply chain level.
🔹 Our R&D collaborations with institutions like INRAE and European partners contribute advanced methodologies for scenario modeling, ecosystem valuation, and nature-based solutions planning.
🔹 We help align company strategies with global goals (e.g., the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, “30x30” targets).
📍 Benefit: A transparent, data-driven biodiversity transition roadmap approved at governance level.
📜 E4-2: Operationalizing Biodiversity Policy
ESRS E4 asks: “Do you have biodiversity policies? Are they measurable?”
With ecoTeka, our collaborative platform for urban biodiversity planning and nature-based solutions, clients can design and track biodiversity policies in real-world spatial contexts.
🔸 Integrate zoning rules, green infrastructure planning, or no-deforestation commitments.
🔸 Use traceable datasets and indicators across value chains (e.g., invasive species alerts, ecosystem services dependency).
🔸 Align policy with EU Taxonomy and national biodiversity action plans.
📍 Benefit: From policy declaration to measurable implementation, backed by a tech platform.
🛠️ E4-3: Monitoring Biodiversity Actions & Resources
Companies need to show what they’re doing—restoration, mitigation, partnerships—and how much they’re investing.
We help document and track actions via:
🔹 GeoNature, our open-source tool used by public agencies and private actors to collect, centralize, and validate biodiversity observations.
🔹 In-house apps and plug-ins for field data collection, species monitoring, and offset tracking.
🔹 Use of remote sensing, AI and drone-based observation, including R&D prototypes like BIOSENTINELLE (biodiversity monitoring by UAVs).
📍 Benefit: A living record of your biodiversity footprint—and how you’re improving it.
🎯 E4-4: Setting and Tracking Targets
Using our calculators and spatial databases, we support the creation of science-based targets:
“No net loss” or “net gain” biodiversity targets by 2030
Habitat or species-specific restoration goals
KPI dashboards with continuous monitoring
Our platforms support benchmarking against IUCN Red List species, ecosystem typologies (EUNIS, Corine), and SBTN-aligned targets.
📍 Benefit: Robust, evidence-based targets that stand up to auditor and stakeholder scrutiny.
📏 E4-5: Measuring Impacts on Biodiversity
ESRS E4 requires real metrics: hectares, species, trends, conditions.
Our Biodiversity Impact Calculator delivers:
Land use change over time
Overlap with protected areas or key biodiversity areas
Species presence and sensitivity (via our connected databases)
Functional ecosystem indicators (connectivity, degradation scores)
Our R&D team integrates AI image recognition, LiDAR, and Earth observation data to fill gaps where primary data are lacking.
📍 Benefit: Complete, auditable, and spatially resolved biodiversity metrics ready for reporting.
💸 E4-6: Connecting Biodiversity to Business Risk
Beyond impact, companies must show how nature affects them financially.
We use geospatial modeling and ecosystem service valuation to assess:
Exposure to pollination or water provisioning loss
Legal/regulatory risk from operating in sensitive areas
Costs or opportunities tied to nature-positive practices
As part of our consulting offering, we deliver tailored risk heatmaps, cost scenarios, and opportunity analyses to embed in your sustainability reporting.
📍 Benefit: Translate biodiversity into boardroom language—and strategic planning.
A Research-Driven Partner in Biodiversity Innovation
Natural Solutions isn’t just a tech provider—we’re an active R&D actor.
We're currently engaged in multiple EU and nationally funded research programs addressing:
Biodiversity monitoring automation
AI and knowledge graphs for ecological networks
Urban greening performance assessment
Nature-based solutions effectiveness
We also maintain a deep network of ecological experts, developers, and data scientists who co-develop open standards and tools (like the GeoNature and ecoTeka communities).
📍 Benefit: Future-ready tools and methods, always aligned with the evolving ESRS landscape.
Trusted by Cities, Businesses, and Nature Experts
Natural Solutions tools and services are already used by:
Environmental departments of cities like Marseille, Bordeaux, Lyon
Infrastructure firms working on ecological offset programs
Researchers and field biologists seeking decision-support systems
ESG consultants preparing disclosures under CSRD, TNFD, and SBTN
Whether you are managing 5 sites or 500, in Europe or globally, our modular tools scale with your needs.
Ready to Turn Biodiversity Compliance Into Opportunity?
With ESRS E4, biodiversity is not just a reporting requirement—it’s a chance to rethink your relationship with nature, strengthen your strategy, and build long-term resilience.
🔹 Want to try our Biodiversity Impact Calculator?
🔹 Need support mapping your value chain exposure to biodiversity risks?
🔹 Looking for turnkey tools to track restoration, impacts, and progress?
Natural Solutions is your strategic partner.
👉 Book a free consultation or demo now at www.natural-solutions.eu
👉 Or email us: commercial@natural-solutions.eu
Let’s make biodiversity count—together.
