Why Most Companies Will Struggle with ESRS E4 (And How to Get Ahead)

Biodiversity is the new frontier of ESG reporting. Here's why it's hard, and how nature tech can help you lead instead of lag.

Introduction

The EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) has brought a seismic shift in how companies must disclose their environmental and social impacts. At the heart of this change lies ESRS E4, the new European Sustainability Reporting Standard focused on biodiversity and ecosystems. While many businesses have started to get their heads around carbon accounting, biodiversity reporting is a completely different beast.

And the truth? Most companies aren’t ready.

In this article, we’ll explore why ESRS E4 is so challenging, where businesses are likely to fall short, and how nature tech tools like those developed by Natural Solutions can provide a strategic advantage in a rapidly evolving compliance landscape.

The ESRS E4 Challenge in a Nutshell

ESRS E4 requires companies to disclose:

• Their transition plans for aligning with EU biodiversity goals

• Policies addressing biodiversity impacts across operations and supply chains

• Actions and resources deployed for biodiversity protection

• Science-based targets and performance tracking

• Quantitative impact metrics on ecosystems, species, and land use

• The financial effects of biodiversity-related risks and opportunities

This is not optional. Nor is it a one-off disclosure. It requires ongoing, data-rich, location-specific insight into how your business intersects with the natural world.

Why Most Businesses Will Struggle

1. There’s No Carbon-Equivalent for Biodiversity
   Carbon has CO2e. Biodiversity doesn’t. It’s multi-dimensional, site-specific, and deeply ecological. Most companies are still in the early stages of understanding how to even measure their nature impacts.

2. Data Is Fragmented or Nonexistent
   You can’t manage what you don’t measure—but most companies lack primary data on species, habitats, or ecosystem conditions near their facilities or supply chains. Site-level surveys are rare, and even ESG teams often lack access to geographic biodiversity data.

3. Value Chains Are a Blind Spot
   ESRS E4 covers upstream and downstream biodiversity impacts. That means businesses must look beyond their own operations—to land-use change from suppliers, sourcing in protected areas, or downstream ecosystem effects. Without digital tools, this is near impossible to track.

4. Financial Teams Aren’t Trained to Think About Nature
   How do you quantify the financial risk of losing a pollination service? Or of a water crisis tied to local deforestation? For many CFOs, biodiversity risk is an unknown territory. And yet, under E4-6, these estimates are mandatory.

5. Framework Confusion Is Real
   Companies are navigating SBTN, TNFD, the EU Taxonomy, the Global Biodiversity Framework, and now ESRS. Understanding where these frameworks align—and how to report consistently—is complex and requires expert support.

How Natural Solutions Helps You Get Ahead

At Natural Solutions, we’re not just nature tech providers—we’re biodiversity specialists with over 15 years of R&D in ecological data, spatial analytics, and sustainability consulting.

Here’s how we help companies and ESG consultants bridge the ESRS E4 gap:

• Biodiversity Impact Calculator: Quantifies species, habitat and ecosystem impacts using primary data, GIS, and AI models—even where your own data is missing.

• ecoTeka: Open-source platform for nature-based planning, urban biodiversity, and biodiversity policy implementation.

• GeoNature: Field-ready data platform for collecting, validating, and visualizing species observations and habitat metrics across your operations.

• Remote Sensing & AI: We integrate satellite, UAV and LiDAR data to detect ecosystem change, assess land use, and spot biodiversity risks.

• Expert Guidance: From transition plan design to supply chain screening, we provide advisory services and strategic support tailored to ESRS E4.

The Bottom Line

Most companies are unprepared for ESRS E4—not because they lack ambition, but because they lack the data infrastructure, ecological insight, and nature-specific tools needed to deliver credible biodiversity reporting.

Those who act now will gain a decisive edge—not only in compliance, but in building nature-positive business models that are resilient, transparent, and aligned with emerging global expectations.

Want to stop guessing and start reporting? 👉 Book a free demo with Natural Solutions and future-proof your biodiversity strategy today.