A Guide to TNFD:

What Is TNFD?

The Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures is a global voluntary framework that helps organisations identify, assess, manage, and disclose their dependencies and impacts on nature. It was formally launched at the New York Stock Exchange in September 2023, following a multi-year development process involving pilot projects with leading financial institutions and corporations across multiple sectors and geographies.

The business case is clear. An estimated half of global GDP is moderately or highly dependent on nature, yet nature-related exposure is rarely visible in traditional financial analysis. TNFD addresses that gap by giving organisations a structured, credible way to measure and communicate their relationship with natural systems.

The framework follows four disclosure pillars, which will feel familiar to anyone with experience of either ISSB or TCFD: Governance, Strategy, Risk and Impact Management, and Metrics and Targets. The core methodology for conducting the underlying assessment is the LEAP approach, set out below.

Frontierra is a member of both the TNFD Forum and the TNFD Data Catalyst. We contributed to TNFD pilot projects during the framework's development and were present at the NYSE launch in 2023. That experience shapes how we deliver TNFD-aligned assessments for clients today.

Who Does TNFD Apply To?

TNFD reporting is currently voluntary, though regulatory integration is accelerating globally. The organisations most actively engaging with the framework include:

• Financial institutions, including banks, asset managers, insurers, and development finance institutions with lending or investment exposure to nature-dependent sectors

• Corporates with operations or supply chains in agriculture, forestry, mining, or other land- or water-intensive industries

• Organisations with CSRD reporting obligations, which now require disclosure on biodiversity and ecosystems under ESRS E4

• Businesses responding to investor or stakeholder pressure to demonstrate credible nature risk management

TNFD is not yet legally mandated in most jurisdictions, but the direction of travel is clear. The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, agreed by over 190 countries in 2022, includes a commitment to require large businesses and financial institutions to assess and disclose their nature-related dependencies, impacts, risks, and opportunities by 2030, with disclosure expectations widely anticipated to align with TNFD. With CSRD already in force and nature disclosure requirements tightening across multiple jurisdictions, the window to build a credible, audit-ready approach ahead of mandatory obligations is narrowing. Organisations that act now will be significantly better placed than those that wait. Get in touch with our team to find out where to start.

The TNFD LEAP Approach: Step by Step

TNFD uses a structured methodology called LEAP to guide the assessment process. LEAP stands for Locate, Evaluate, Assess, and Prepare. Each stage builds on the last, and together they provide a rigorous, location-grounded basis for nature-related financial disclosure.

Critically, before LEAP begins, a Scoping phase establishes the foundation. This is where many organisations make their first mistake; assuming they need to assess their entire portfolio or supply chain from the outset. They don't. The Scoping phase is about identifying where nature-related risk is most likely to be material: which geographies, sectors, asset types, or value chain nodes warrant priority attention. Starting with a focused, well-defined scope allows you to develop and test the methodology, build internal capability, and generate credible early outputs. You can then roll the approach out across the remainder of your portfolio. A phased approach is not a shortcut; it is how robust, scalable TNFD assessment is built in practice.

Locate Where Your Business Interfaces with Nature

The first step is to map which of your assets, operations, and value chains interface with natural systems, and where those interfaces are potentially material. Nature risk is highly location-specific: a site adjacent to a protected area or biodiversity hotspot carries very different exposure to one in a low-sensitivity landscape. Meaningful assessment depends on knowing the precise footprint of each asset.

Frontierra uses GIS software and satellite data to map business footprints against a comprehensive set of state-of-nature datasets. GIS is not optional at this stage; it is the only methodology capable of conducting location-based analysis at the scale and precision required to robustly assess nature-related risks and opportunities across large portfolios or complex value chains. Key datasets include protected areas, indigenous territories, biodiversity hotspots, critical habitat, intact forest landscapes, deforestation data, and water stress indicators.

Evaluate Dependencies and Impacts

Once locations are mapped, the Evaluate phase examines two distinct but related questions: what does your organisation depend on from nature, and what impacts does it have on natural systems?

The answer is never just about location. Two assets in the same place can have vastly different interactions with nature depending on what they do. A solar farm in a water-stressed region has a fundamentally different dependency and impact profile to an agricultural operation in the same location — one has limited water dependency, the other relies on it entirely. Industry type and operational activity are therefore just as material to the assessment as geography.

This requires granular, location-specific nature indicators including water stress, habitat connectivity, land use and land use change, forest integrity, and proximity to Indigenous territories. Access to dynamic, satellite-derived data is essential at this stage, not optional.

Frontierra synthesises 13 individual data layers into two proprietary categorisations — the ENRI Categorisation (Exposure to Nature-Related Issues) and the ONPP Categorisation (Opportunity for Nature-Positive Practices). Together they provide a clear, evidence-based basis for evaluating and comparing site locations.

Assess Material Risks and Opportunities

Building on the ENRI and ONPP Categorisations established during the Evaluate stage, this phase translates the analysis into material financial, regulatory, and reputational risks, and identifies genuine opportunities for nature-positive action.

Risks can include regulatory exposure from operations near protected areas, reputational risk from supply chain links to deforestation or biodiversity loss, and stranded asset risk from shifting policy. Opportunities include visibility of degraded land where value creation initiatives can be deployed, improved access to capital through credible nature-positive commitments, and competitive advantage from early disclosure.

Where the material risks are identified, Frontierra provides targeted analysis alongside clear, actionable recommendations - so you know exactly which assets require attention and what steps to take next.

Prepare to Build Disclosures and Define Actions

The final stage involves translating the assessment into TNFD-aligned disclosures, metrics, targets, and action plans across the four disclosure pillars. Credible reporting does not require perfection from day one. It requires a clear methodology, honest acknowledgement of current gaps, and a demonstrable commitment to improvement over time.

The findings of the assessment also allow organisations to develop targeted actions that address actual, identified issues at company locations; rather than relying on general nature policies and processes designed to manage sector-level risks alone. This is the difference between a nature strategy grounded in evidence and one built on assumption.

How to Get Started with TNFD

For most organisations, the practical starting point is understanding which sites and supply chain locations have the most significant interface with nature allows you to prioritise where deeper assessment is needed and where regulatory or reputational risk is highest. A phased approach, screening first, then assessing in detail where risk is flagged, typically works well.

The most common barrier is data. Many organisations have asset lists but lack the location precision, spatial analysis, and nature indicator coverage to conduct credible TNFD assessments at scale. That is the problem Frontierra's Mapping Value Chains service is built to solve.