The world’s first International Standard dedicated to helping organizations take action on biodiversity launched today in Rwanda

ISO 17298: Biodiversity for organizations - Guidelines and Requirements is a new standard providing, for the first time, a practical, scalable framework to help organizations assess their biodiversity impacts, dependencies, risks and opportunities.

Biodiversity - the variety of life on Earth - is essential to the health of ecosystems, economies, and communities. As nature loss accelerates, ISO's new standard offers a vital tool to help organizations take measurable, accountable action to protect and restore biodiversity.

When biodiversity is lost, businesses face higher operating costs, disrupted supply chains, regulatory and reputational risks. Acting on biodiversity empowers organizations to strengthen operations, access nature-positive finance, build trust with customers, regulators, and society.

ISO Head of Sustainability and Partnerships, Noelia Garcia Nebra, said by integrating biodiversity into organizational strategies and operations, large-scale, systemic change can happen where it matters most.

"Many organizations see the urgency of biodiversity action, but navigating the path can be complex. Until now, there has been no globally agreed standard for organizations to integrate biodiversity into their strategies and operations," Ms Garcia Nebra said.

"This lack of a common framework has contributed to fragmented approaches and growing confusion as nature-related risks and expectations increase.

"ISO 17298 addresses this gap by offering a structured roadmap that enables organizations to assess biodiversity-related impacts and consider these effectively in their strategies.

"The standard embeds biodiversity into core governance and risk management practices - not just sustainability reporting - ensuring alignment with global expectations and organizational operations."

The new standard is designed to be interoperable with other widely used initiatives such as ISO 14001, ISO 26000, TNFD, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and contributes directly to the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, particularly Target 15 on corporate action.

ISO Director of Standardization, Marco Rossi, said that critically, ISO 17298 was scalable and inclusive, suitable for organizations of all sizes, regions and sectors.

"ISO 17298 is suitable for a wide range of users, from SMEs and large corporates to public institutions and cities. It supports the production of credible, comparable biodiversity data that can inform investment decisions, improve disclosure, and unlock access to nature-positive economy and biodiversity-linked markets," Mr Rossi said.

"By grounding biodiversity action in a globally agreed standard, ISO 17298 allows organizations to move from ambition to implementation - creating the transparency, accountability, and consistency needed to halt and reverse nature loss."

The standard was developed by ISO Technical Committee 331 on Biodiversity (ISO/TC 331), which brings together experts from over 60 countries. ISO 17298 is the committee's first published standard, with additional workstreams underway to further expand guidance in this critical area.

The Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD), a liaison organization to TC331, said biodiversity was a critical consideration for the resilience of business strategy, risk management and value creation, across sectors and geographies.

"The TNFD is pleased to have supported ISO with the development of this important standard, building from its recommendations and guidance of the TNFD LEAP (Locate, Evaluate, Assess, and Prepare) approach. ISO 17298 will help as an international standard in further harmonizing concepts, definitions and approaches, and supporting organisations to consider nature-related issues in their strategy and operations," TNFD Technical Director, Emily McKenzie said.

The new standard was launched during the ISO AM25 session 'From risk to action: why biodiversity matters to your business. ' During the event, the Minister of Environment of Rwanda also unveiled the country's National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP). The strategy marks a significant step in advancing Rwanda's commitments to protect and restore nature.

ISO 17298 marks the beginning of a broader suite of biodiversity standards. Future work includes standards on vocabulary, biodiversity net gain, and characterization of products based on native species, to name a few. These standards will build the technical foundation for credible, scalable, and transparent biodiversity action worldwide.

The AM25 is being hosted in Kigali, Rwanda, by Rwanda Standards Board, ISO's member for the country, until 10 October under the theme 'United for Impact'. Participants globally can engage online via www.iso.org/annualmeeting.