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With businesses and investors increasingly prioritizing sustainability, two major frameworks, TCFD and TNFD, have helped shape the way organizations understand and disclose their environmental impacts. The Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) provide structured guidelines for assessing and reporting environmental risks and opportunities.
While the TCFD has already disbanded after years of influencing climate-related reporting, its legacy continues to impact sustainability reporting standards worldwide. TNFD, following a similar approach, addresses nature-based risks. Understanding the differences and evolution of these frameworks can help organizations adopt comprehensive, responsible practices.
What is TCFD?
The TCFD was established in 2015 by the Financial Stability Board (FSB) [1] to provide a consistent framework for companies to disclose the financial risks of climate change. Its recommendations helped companies understand, measure, and disclose the risks and opportunities associated with climate change, and it set a foundation for integrating climate considerations into business strategies.
TCFD’s Focus Areas:
- Climate Risk and Opportunity: TCFD centered on climate-specific disclosures, addressing both risks and opportunities from climate change.
- Financial Materiality: It prioritized financial materiality, meaning disclosures were tailored for investors and financial stakeholders.
- Four Core Elements: TCFD recommendations were organized around Governance, Strategy, Risk Management, and Metrics and Targets, promoting a structured approach to climate risk.
Despite its disbanding, TCFD’s legacy continues through regulations worldwide, including frameworks like the SEC’s proposed climate-related disclosure rules in the U.S. [2] and the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) in the European Union, which have drawn from TCFD’s principles. Importantly, the IFRS Foundation created the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) to develop and maintain global sustainability disclosure standards, effectively inheriting TCFD’s role in climate-related reporting [3].
What is TNFD?
Founded in 2021, TNFD was built on the groundwork laid by TCFD but focuses on nature-based financial disclosures. The aim is to provide businesses with a structured approach to assess and disclose nature-related risks, such as biodiversity loss, land degradation, and water scarcity, which are becoming increasingly relevant to business resilience.
TNFD’s Focus Areas:
- Nature-related Risk and Opportunity: TNFD broadens the scope to consider nature-related risks and dependencies, aiming to help businesses assess their environmental impacts and dependencies on ecosystems.
- Double Materiality: Unlike TCFD’s investor-focused materiality, TNFD adopts a double materiality perspective, where companies evaluate both how nature impacts the business and how the business impacts nature.
- Four LEAP Phases: TNFD’s approach involves the LEAP framework (Locate, Evaluate, Assess, Prepare), guiding businesses in identifying, assessing, and preparing for nature-related risks and opportunities.
While TNFD is still evolving, it has gained traction in both the public and private sectors as businesses begin to recognize that biodiversity and nature play critical roles in financial performance and operational resilience.
TCFD vs. TNFD: Key Differences
|
Aspect |
TCFD |
TNFD |
|---|---|---|
|
Status |
Disbanded but influential |
Actively developing |
|
Focus Area |
Climate-related risks and opportunities |
Nature-related risks, including biodiversity, land, and water |
|
Primary Objective |
Disclose climate-related financial risks |
Disclose nature-related financial and ecological risks |
|
Materiality |
Financial materiality |
Double materiality: financial and ecological |
|
Core Framework |
Governance, Strategy, Risk Management, Metrics and Targets |
LEAP: Locate, Evaluate, Assess, Prepare |
|
Audience |
Primarily financial stakeholders |
Broader stakeholders, including ecological and community interests |
Why Both TCFD and TNFD Matter
The TCFD was instrumental in helping organizations worldwide understand and disclose climate-related risks. While it is no longer active, the principles it established remain highly relevant, influencing ongoing regulatory frameworks. TCFD paved the way for many businesses to integrate climate risks into strategic planning, ultimately promoting transparency and resilience.
The IFRS Foundation’s ISSB has now taken up the mantle of developing climate-related disclosure standards, incorporating TCFD principles to ensure organizations continue to report on climate risks effectively. This transition ensures that businesses have a robust framework for climate-related disclosures while aligning with global standards.
On the other hand, TNFD focuses on nature-related impacts and dependencies, reflecting the growing recognition that nature loss and ecosystem degradation pose significant risks to business continuity. By adopting TNFD’s double materiality approach, businesses consider not only how nature-related risks impact them but also how their activities affect the natural world, which is critical for aligning with global biodiversity goals.
Together, these frameworks support a comprehensive approach to environmental risks. Climate-focused TCFD principles remain valuable through the ISSB, while TNFD offers a next step by considering the broader environmental impacts that include both direct business dependencies and ecosystem effects.
Choosing the Right Framework (or Both)
For organizations striving to build sustainable strategies, considering both TCFD’s climate-centric principles (now integrated into IFRS) and TNFD’s broader environmental scope can be valuable. Here’s how to prioritize and integrate them:
- Draw on TCFD Principles if your company is primarily focused on climate-related risks and you are implementing regulatory climate-disclosure requirements.
- Incorporate TNFD to address additional nature-related dependencies and risks, especially if your industry has substantial environmental impacts.
- Adopt both TCFD and TNFD if a holistic environmental approach aligns with your sustainability goals, keeping your organization prepared for evolving stakeholder expectations.
Conclusion
While TCFD has officially disbanded, its influence endures, and its principles remain integral to climate risk reporting worldwide. TNFD builds on this foundation, addressing the urgent need for businesses to consider nature-related risks. By understanding the unique focuses of TCFD and TNFD, organizations can better align their sustainability efforts, balancing climate resilience with nature preservation.
As sustainability priorities evolve, integrating insights from both frameworks will position organizations to address comprehensive environmental risks and contribute to a more sustainable future.
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