Piloting LEAP: Assessing infrastructure’s nature-related dependencies and impacts
The World Economic Forum has identified biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse as one of the top five risks facing the world. As a society heavily reliant on the natural environment, our survival depends on how well we take care of the ecosystems that provide us with food, water, shelter and all other necessities to live.
Many businesses and organizations are now becoming more aware of their impact on nature and how this may affect operations and financial performance. Understanding the relationship between nature and business, and risks and opportunities this presents, will guide corporations, leaders and investors in making decisions where conservation and business performance are prioritized.
A way to assess infrastructure’s relationship with nature
The Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) was established to help organizations and businesses better assess their relationship with nature. This framework, which was released towards the end of 2023 and examined by us previously, provides a consistent approach for organizations to assess, report and act on their dependencies and impacts a on nature.
AECOM took part in Global Canopy’s TNFD piloting program prior to the launch of the TNFD’s Final Recommendations in September 2023. Supported by Global Canopy and Nature-Based Insights (NbI), we piloted the TNFD’s LEAP (Locate, Evaluate, Assess, Prepare) approach to identify and assess our nature-related issues and explore how our infrastructure projects can better account for nature-related risks and dependencies. The pilot involved a high-level assessment for a portfolio of projects across Asia. These included urban developments, shoreline restoration, power transmission lines, and cross-border rail connections, which are in contact with a range of biomes such as tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, savannah and shrublands, inland wetlands and mangroves.
Unlike traditional environmental assessments, which often focus on immediate, site-specific impacts, the LEAP approach takes a broader view. Across four phases, it considers the landscape as a whole, looking at factors like biodiversity, water stress and physical risks such as flooding or drought.
Putting the LEAP approach into practice
Our pilot study evaluated 87 projects in Asia based on nature variables or datasets grouped under eight categories — biodiversity importance, ecological integrity, ecosystem extent, ecosystem change, physical risk, water stress, reputational risk, and dependencies and impacts on nature. Our technical partner, NbI, developed a scoring system that allowed us to compare projects and identify the extent of their nature-related dependencies, impacts, risks and opportunities. For example, projects in areas with high water stress were flagged for their reliance on scarce water resources. On the other hand, infrastructure builds may be less dependent on water but may amplify environmental challenges — such as water depletion or habitat loss — while also being vulnerable to external risks like flooding or coastal erosion.
Identifying and analyzing complex variables necessitated the use of digital tools and data sets. We used Aqueduct to identify water risks and project vulnerabilities to water and the Integrated Biodiversity Assessment Tool (IBAT) to evaluate biodiversity importance and ecological integrity. These tools where helpful in scoring projects under the eight categories based on the available nature variables and datasets. We then used ENCORE, a free, online tool that helps organizations explore their exposure to nature-related risk and take the first steps to understand their dependencies and impacts on nature, to map our supply chain activities and see the potential impacts and dependencies on nature from materials used and upstream production processes. These gave us a wider understanding of what ecosystem services and natural capital assets we’re most vulnerable to, and how we can mitigate this. It also provided an opportunity to discuss with our supply chain partners potential solutions to reduce their nature-related impacts and risks.
A new chapter for environmental assessments
One of the broader implications of this study is that it demonstrates how the TNFD framework could enhance traditional Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs). Typically, an EIA is undertaken once a site is already selected and usually assesses the environment at a granular level, and very rarely looks at landscape scale issues in a holistic way. At the same time, EIAs tend to stay at the operational level, whereas LEAP brings nature-related issues to the strategic and governance level of an organization. Understanding dependencies and impacts with a bird’s-eye view could benefit organizations in the long run, allowing them to potentially see and avoid costly mistakes and hurdles that may appear at a later stage.
By incorporating a wider range of nature-related considerations, EIAs can evolve to address emerging challenges like biodiversity loss and water scarcity more effectively. This approach doesn’t just mitigate risks — it creates opportunities for positive outcomes, such as biodiversity net gain or improved ecosystem services.
For example, a project near an area with a high presence of invasive species may spread and exacerbate the problem. However, it may also present an opportunity to reintroduce native species and aid nature recovery.
The framework will also prove useful in developing some of our current projects, particularly those in the design stage, such as our work in the Northern Metropolis in Hong Kong, where we are balancing development needs with nature conservation through a people first and nature positive approach.
Enhancing nature-positive infrastructure planning
Applying elements of the TNFD LEAP process allowed us to see the wider nature-related risks of our projects and the construction sector’s critical dependencies on nature. It also presented opportunities to consider incorporating green and blue infrastructure and nature-based solutions at a project design.
The pilot study identified that providing this project level nature-related risks and dependencies analysis at the ‘alternatives evaluation’ phases of infrastructure investment planning may also improve decision-making at the siting and design stages of projects, which in turn will reduce cost and nature risk at the infrastructure design stage.
Additionally, collaboration with supply chain partners on reducing the impacts of their operations on nature will help shift the whole sector towards meeting globally biodiversity and climate goals.
The pilot study gave us valuable insights on TNFD’s LEAP approach and its potential to shape how EIAs are conducted in the future. If adopted and executed properly, it could create a ripple effect in the industry and its supply chain, encouraging a more holistic approach to nature assessments and nature-positive development.
Read the full case study on our pilot. For more insights, visit the Global Canopy and Nature-Based Insights . Global Canopy is a founding partner of the TNFD, and was an official piloting partner for the TNFD prior to the launch of the TNFD Final Recommendations in September 2023. It continues to provide technical expertise to the TNFD, and to build capacity among companies and financial institutions, preparing them to get started with adopting the TNFD recommendations.