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Companies should collect supplier and product identities, sourcing locations and traceability, direct pressures on nature, ecosystem condition and extent, affected species where material, ecosystem services and beneficiaries, and evidence about management and data quality. Start with products, activities and origins that have the most significant actual or potential impacts, including material impacts beyond tier one. Use primary supplier or field evidence for those priorities where feasible; use secondary or modeled data to screen broad chains or fill gaps, labeling the method, assumptions, limitations and improvement plan.
What the data program must establish
A useful supplier biodiversity dataset connects five things: what is bought, where the activity occurs, which pressures it creates, what changes in nature may result, and who depends on affected ecosystems. It also records how reliable each data point is.
GRI 101: Biodiversity 2024 asks an organization to explain how it determined which products and services in its supply chain have the most significant actual and potential impacts on biodiversity. The standard replaced GRI 304: Biodiversity 2016. Use the current standard as the detailed disclosure structure: GRI 101: Biodiversity 2024.
Do not send every supplier an identical, exhaustive survey. A defensible program documents a screening process, concentrates detailed requests on significant impacts, and states exclusions, assumptions and next steps when full coverage is not yet possible.
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1. Supplier, product and scope identifiers
Begin with identifiers that let an analyst connect an environmental observation to a specific commercial flow. Record the legal or operational supplier name, the product or service, relevant facilities or activities, purchasing entity, reporting period and the part of the value chain covered.
- Product or service description, commodity classification and major inputs.
- Supplier facility, farm, vessel, mine, plantation, processing site or service location, rather than only a headquarters or billing address.
- Tier level and known upstream suppliers, including tier two and beyond when a material impact occurs there.
- Volume, mass, area, production quantity or spend for the period, with units and currency where spend is used for prioritization.
- Coverage boundaries: entities included, excluded sites, inaccessible tiers, assumed origins and the reason for each exclusion.
- Evidence type for every field: primary supplier report, field measurement, secondary dataset or modeled estimate.
Volume or spend can help rank requests and estimate exposure, but neither is a substitute for ecological significance. A lower-spend commodity from a highly sensitive location can warrant more attention than a larger purchase from a low-risk area.
2. Origin, location and traceability
Location is foundational because the same product can have very different consequences in different ecosystems. Capture the most precise origin available and the confidence in that origin.
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| Location field | What to record | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Administrative origin | Country, state, province or other jurisdiction for the product and activity | Supports jurisdiction-specific pressure data and reporting |
| Traceability level | Country, region, local area, named facility, farm, vessel or other specific origin | Shows how closely an impact can be linked to a site |
| Coordinates and geometry | Latitude/longitude, site point, map or polygon boundary, with capture date | Allows proximity analysis and ecosystem-condition assessment |
| Activity location | Where extraction, cultivation, harvesting, processing or service delivery occurs | Avoids mistaking a corporate address for an ecological impact location |
| Uncertainty | Known, estimated or proxy geography and the reason | Prevents a broad sourcing region from being presented as exact traceability |
Compare priority sites with areas important for biodiversity, places with high ecosystem integrity or rapid decline, high physical water risk, and areas where ecosystem services are especially important to Indigenous Peoples and local communities. Record the spatial dataset, version or date, matching method and any resolution limits. If a supplier can provide only a country or sourcing region, use that as a proxy and label it as such rather than implying farm-level knowledge.
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3. Direct pressures on biodiversity
Request pressure data that matches the supplier’s activity. The four broad categories in GRI 101 are land and sea-use change, exploitation of natural resources, pollution, and invasive alien species.
Land and sea-use change
- Area of natural ecosystem converted or degraded, in hectares or another stated unit.
- Date or period of conversion, and ecosystem type before and after the change.
- Whether conversion involved clearing, drainage, damming, seabed disturbance, coastal modification or other transformation.
- Restoration, avoidance or set-aside areas, with location and status.
Ask for the baseline year and mapping method. A supplier’s statement that an operation is “deforestation-free,” for example, is incomplete without the geographic boundary, cutoff date, ecosystem definition and evidence used.
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- Wild species harvested, caught or removed; quantities, units and reporting period.
- Species or taxonomic group, life stage where relevant, and extinction-risk classification if available.
- Water withdrawal and consumption by source, including seasonal or basin context where material.
- Extraction of timber, minerals, biomass or other resources, with method and production volume.
Species names should be as specific as the evidence allows. If a supplier reports only a broad group, retain that limitation instead of inferring a species-level result.
Pollution
- Pollutant type, quantity, medium and release pathway for air, water and soil.
- Nutrients, pesticides, hazardous substances, plastics, sediment, thermal discharges or other pollutants relevant to the operation.
- Treatment technology, monitoring frequency, detection limits and receiving environment.
Include the method and assumptions behind quantities. A modeled emission estimate should not be presented as a measured discharge.
Invasive alien species
- Non-native species present or introduced, where known.
- Introduction or spread pathway, such as ballast water, live-trade movement, seed contamination or equipment transfer.
- Prevention, inspection, containment and eradication controls.
Report relevant pressure information by country or jurisdiction and explain the calculation method. Not every pressure applies to every supplier; the questionnaire should allow “not applicable” with a reason.
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4. Ecosystem extent, condition and species outcomes
Pressure data describes what an activity does. Outcome data describes the state of nature that may be affected. For each potentially affected ecosystem, collect:
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- Condition at the baseline and in the current reporting period.
- Condition indicators and classification method, such as habitat structure, hydrology, vegetation integrity or an accepted ecological index.
- Measured change versus modeled or inferred change.
- Relevant species, population size or a suitable proxy, habitat extent and habitat change where material.
- Monitoring organization, sampling design, frequency, uncertainty and quality controls.
Keep causation precise. A decline observed near a supplier may reflect cumulative effects from several companies, public infrastructure, climate conditions or other actors. The dataset can show association, contribution or modeled exposure without claiming that one buyer caused all observed change.
State whether a condition score is measured on the supplier’s site, extrapolated from a nearby reference area or produced by a model. Preserve the baseline year: a current score without a comparable baseline cannot show direction or magnitude of change.
5. Ecosystem services and affected people
Nature impacts matter to people through ecosystem services. Ask suppliers to identify services affected or potentially affected and the beneficiaries.
| Service type | Examples of supplier-related effects | Beneficiaries to identify |
|---|---|---|
| Provisioning | Food, fresh water, timber, fibers, medicines or wild species | Households, workers, Indigenous Peoples and local communities |
| Regulating | Flood control, water purification, pollination, erosion control, carbon storage or climate moderation | Downstream communities, farms, municipalities and other organizations |
| Cultural | Spiritual, ceremonial, recreational, educational or heritage values | Rights holders, community institutions and cultural organizations |
Describe the mechanism and direction of effect: for example, reduced wetland area may lower flood protection, or water withdrawal during a dry season may reduce availability for downstream users. Record consultation methods, affected stakeholder groups, concerns raised and how the supplier responded. Do not treat a generic community program or certification logo as evidence that impacts on rights holders have been addressed.
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6. Management, certification and data quality
Collect management information alongside impact data so readers can distinguish exposure from response.
- Policies, targets, mitigation hierarchy and restoration commitments relevant to the site.
- Operational controls, responsible person, implementation status and review date.
- Traceability improvement plan, including the next tier or geography to be mapped and a deadline.
- Certification scheme, certificate scope, covered sites, standard version, audit date and non-conformities.
- Engagement with Indigenous Peoples, local communities, regulators and other affected stakeholders.
- Data source, collection date, geography, method, assumptions, confidence level, limitations and planned improvement.
Certification can support evidence, but it is not a substitute for explaining which criteria it covers, which sites and products are in scope, and what remains unverified. Keep an auditable link between each claim and its source document, dataset or observation.
How to prioritize suppliers before sending detailed requests
- Build the screening universe. List product lines, supplier activities, commodities, sourcing regions and known upstream tiers. Note missing origins instead of silently excluding them.
- Screen dependencies and pressures. Use recognized screening resources such as ENCORE, the SBTN Materiality Screening Tool and the SBTN High Impact Commodity List to identify likely nature interfaces. Treat these as screening aids, not site-level proof.
- Overlay ecological sensitivity. Check threatened species, ecosystem integrity, rapid ecosystem decline, water risk and ecosystem-service importance for Indigenous Peoples and local communities.
- Score significance. Assess severity and likelihood. For severity, document scale, scope and irremediable character, as described by GRI. Explain the scoring rules and evidence.
- Request primary evidence for the highest priorities. Ask for coordinates, activity-specific pressures, ecosystem condition and stakeholder information from the suppliers and origins that drive the highest significance scores.
- Document gaps and sequence the next wave. If the chain is too broad to map immediately, publish the covered scope, exclusions, assumptions and next data-improvement steps. Do not describe partial mapping as comprehensive.
When primary, secondary and modeled data are appropriate
Primary evidence includes supplier records, field surveys and satellite-derived observations tied to a known location and period. It is most valuable for priority suppliers because it can reflect local management and actual conditions. Require documentation of collection methods and quality controls.
Secondary geospatial layers, life-cycle assessment databases, multi-regional input-output models and trade datasets can estimate exposure when supplier measurements are unavailable. Pair a modeled pressure estimate with supplier product volume or spend where relevant, identify the dataset and version, and state assumptions. Estimates may be less accurate and may not capture management actions taken at a particular site.
| Method | Best use | Key checks |
|---|---|---|
| Supplier survey or records | Activity-specific data and management evidence | Completeness, consistent units, supporting documents and tier coverage |
| Field survey | Local ecosystem condition, species and stakeholder observations | Sampling design, season, taxonomic expertise and repeatability |
| Satellite or remote sensing | Land-cover change, habitat extent and site screening | Spatial resolution, cloud gaps, classification accuracy and date |
| Secondary geospatial layer | Regional sensitivity and proximity screening | Geographic resolution, update date, definitions and proxy limits |
| Life-cycle, input-output or trade model | Broad-chain scoping and gap filling | Allocation rules, commodity assumptions, uncertainty and inability to see site management |
Choose tools by spatial resolution, supplier and commodity coverage, ability to separate primary from modeled values, local ecological relevance, traceability depth, update frequency, transparent assumptions, interoperability and operational cost. No single method is universally best.
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Designing a practical supplier questionnaire
Use conditional questions so a supplier answers only what applies to its activity, while preserving a common data dictionary. Require units, reporting period and evidence attachment for every numeric response.
- Identity: supplier, site, product, tier, activity and reporting period.
- Origin: jurisdiction, traceability level, coordinates or polygon, and uncertainty.
- Pressures: conversion, resource use, pollution and invasive-species pathways relevant to the activity.
- State: ecosystem type, baseline extent, current condition, species and habitat indicators.
- People: services affected, beneficiaries, consultation and grievance outcomes.
- Management: controls, targets, restoration, certification scope and corrective actions.
- Provenance: source, date, method, assumptions, confidence, limitations and improvement plan.
Provide controlled response options for “measured,” “supplier-reported,” “secondary,” “modeled,” “not applicable” and “unknown.” An “unknown” response is useful only when it triggers a documented follow-up owner and date.
Reporting and framework context
GRI 101 provides the clearest detailed structure for supplier biodiversity impact disclosures in the guidance considered here. The Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) also addresses dependencies, impacts, risks and opportunities across upstream and downstream value chains. Its Guidance on value chains is version 1.0 and was last updated in March 2026; it discusses when full traceability is appropriate and when secondary data may be acceptable.
ESRS E4 is relevant for European reporting and covers material upstream and downstream value-chain matters. Which requirements apply to a particular company depends on jurisdiction, reporting scope, materiality assessment and current rules. Map the collected fields to each applicable framework after the impact-prioritization process, rather than collecting data solely because a template contains a field.
A minimum defensible dataset
A company can start with a compact record for each prioritized product-origin combination:
- Supplier, product or service, tier and period.
- Activity location, traceability level, coordinates or best available geography, and uncertainty.
- Relevant pressure categories and quantified values with units, method and assumptions.
- Ecosystem type, baseline extent and current condition, with measured or modeled status.
- Material species or habitat information where relevant.
- Ecosystem services, beneficiaries and stakeholder engagement.
- Management actions, certification scope and corrective actions.
- Source, date, confidence, limitations and a dated plan to improve the record.
This structure gives procurement, sustainability and assurance teams a common evidence trail while allowing more detailed fields for high-severity locations.
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