Articles

Here is a series of articles that explore new research and innovation in the intersection of urban development, construction, nature and biodiversity.

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Restoring the Planet

When the reef turns white

09/06/2026

Coral restoration is expanding across the Great Barrier Reef, but scientists warn that no restoration effort can keep pace with climate change. As bleaching events become more frequent, the future of reefs depends on addressing the root causes of warming...

The return of Europe’s wild landscape architects

27/05/2026

In Romania’s Southern Carpathians, European bison are once again shaping landscapes as wild ecosystem engineers. Frans Schepers, Executive Director of Rewilding Europe, explains how rewilding aims to restore natural processes, strengthen biodiversity and build climate resilience across Europe....

The economics behind Australian big scale nature restoration

01/05/2026

The Yarra Yarra Biodiversity Corridor shows how large-scale restoration can transform degraded farmland into functioning ecosystems. What began as an environmental challenge has evolved into a model where carbon markets, biodiversity recovery, and economic value are closely connected....

Never just about wildlife

24/04/2026

After years of conflict, Gorongosa National Park is being restored through one of Africa’s most ambitious conservation efforts. What began as ecological recovery has evolved into a model where biodiversity restoration, community development, and economic growth are deeply interconnected....

Rewilding an estate and a movement

21/04/2026

Knepp Estate shows how letting nature take the lead can transform unprofitable farmland into a thriving ecosystem. What began as a financial necessity has become a leading example of rewilding—where biodiversity returns, new economic models emerge, and nature recovery proves...

Part of the Solution

Financing Nature: When a Bank’s Impact Runs Through Its Clients

16/01/2026

For banks, biodiversity impact does not stem from their own operations, but from the activities they finance. At BBVA, this understanding shapes a pragmatic approach where biodiversity is treated as a core business and risk issue rather than a separate...

Salesforce: From Net Zero Ambition to Nature Positive Leadership

06/01/2026

Salesforce is advancing a net zero, nature positive future through its Nature Positive Strategy, which treats climate and biodiversity as inseparable challenges. As Vice President for Climate Action Tim Christophersen notes, the strategy goes beyond reducing impacts to restoring ecosystems...

From Portfolios to Procurement: How Danske Bank Integrates Biodiversity Across Its Business

06/01/2026

How can a large financial institution turn biodiversity commitments into real-world action? This edition highlights how Danske Bank integrates nature and biodiversity across portfolios, credit risk assessments, investments and procurement—anchored in strategy, guided by materiality, and focused on supporting the...

Flying Tiger Copenhagen’s Journey from Plastic Legacy to Practical Change

02/12/2025

Flying Tiger Copenhagen is rethinking its approach to materials, design and nature. Once known for colourful plastic products, the company is now moving toward a more responsible and circular way of working, with biodiversity, supplier collaboration and smarter material choices...

Nourishing Nature: FrieslandCampina’s Cooperative Path to Dairy

02/12/2025

For FrieslandCampina, biodiversity is the foundation of resilient dairy farming. Rooted in 150 years of cooperative tradition, the company connects 15,000 member farmers in a shared effort to restore nature. In this “Part of the Solution” feature by Planetary Responsibility...

Carlsberg: Biodiversity Is Now Core to the Business

18/11/2025

Carlsberg is integrating biodiversity across its entire value chain — from regeneratively grown barley to water replenishment and circular packaging. With targets including 30% regenerative raw materials and net zero by 2040, the brewing group now treats biodiversity not as...

Restoring Nature, Re-shaping Industry: Holcim’s Path to a Nature-Positive Future

06/11/2025

Holcim is putting nature at the center of its global strategy, from science-based biodiversity targets to transformative quarry rehabilitation and nature-positive building solutions. With a measurable positive impact on biodiversity set for 2030, the company pairs rigorous data with local...

Biodiversity in the Construction Value Chain

The Living Cost of Building: Confronting Biodiversity Loss in Construction Materials

26/06/2025

Industrial PhD candidate Anna Rex Elmgreen is working to change that. Hosted by Upstream Partners and in partnership with construction giant NCC and supervised by Professor Carsten Rahbek, her research aims to map exactly where the highest impact building materials...

Indigenous inspiration for the future of construction

16/06/2025

A Project and PhD Rooted in Landscape The inspiration came from indigenous forestry practices in Indonesia, where Smit studied traditional timber systems of the Sundanese community in West Java. “They don’t just build homes. They build with nature. It’s modular,...

Building with IMPACTT: Timber Traceability

03/06/2025

Beyond Carbon: ASBP’s Broader Mission ASBP is a UK-based organisation with around 170 members across the construction value chain, from manufacturers to architects to main contractors. Their mission is “to transform construction through the use of demonstrably sustainable building products.”...

Metrics and Mindsets in Construction

27/05/2025

The answer according to Kika Brockstedt is: “No. But we can affect nature more positively than we do now.” Kika Brockstedt is the CEO of revalu – Europe’s leading construction materials library. PRF sat down with Brockstedt to explore how...

Assessing & Addressing Biodiversity risks in the Construction Value Chain

21/05/2025

Biodiversity & the Construction Value Chain Series This article series explores the negative impact on biodiversity from the construction value chain – and explores solutions from changemakers.. Learn how the built environment is impacting our natural world and get inspired...

A New Standard to Measure Biodiversity in the Construction Value Chain

13/05/2025

Why Biodiversity, and Why Now? The current system focuses on what we can see – “on-site” damage like habitat loss or soil disruption on the construction site itself. But 90% of biodiversity impacts may actually occur off-site, hidden in supply...

Putting the Planet at the Heart of the Plan

05/05/2025

Measuring Development against the Doughnut Economics Model The goal of the project is to create a real-world example of regenerative development using the Doughnut Economics model as a guide. The model overlays all nine planetary boundaries with essential social needs...

The Birds, the Bees and the Built Environment

15/04/2025

How Biodiversity serves Humanity Animals, plants and earth itself all have an inherent value. Unfortunately, this existential fact does not guarantee freedom from exploitation. The benefits to human well-being have been neatly categorised by the UN-sponsored Millennium Ecosystem Assessment into...

Nature Regulation

Construction Products – What’s next in EU nature regulation

04/04/2025

PRF spoke to a nature conservation policy representative from the European Commission to understand how the EU nature regulation pipeline will influence the construction sector. Last week’s article set the scene for the EU’s new environmental regulatory framework. It provides...

Construction Sector – What’s Next in EU Nature Regulation?

27/03/2025

The EC Competitiveness Compass In January 2025 the European Commission (EC) presented the Competitiveness Compass – 3 transformational imperatives to boost Europe’s competitiveness over the next 5 years. To help shed light on what these changes mean for stakeholders in...

Costa Rica: A Model for Sustainable Development

14/03/2025

Is it possible for the built and natural environment to work together for the sake of people, profit and planet? Having already achieved 90% of its 30 x 30 commitments, Costa Rica exemplifies how biodiversity can grow together with the...

Building within Boundaries of Nature Restoration Law

07/03/2025

The Nature Restoration Law Member states have until 2026 to develop national plans to: Restore at least 20% of EU land and sea by 2030 Restore all ecosystems that need restoration by 2050 Achieve the good condition of key habitat...

Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive & the Construction Sector

03/03/2025

This week’s explainer features the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), 2024. The directive holds very large corporations legally responsible for the protection of both human and environmental rights affected in the course of business. This article focuses exclusively...

Infrastructure Investing under the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation & EU Taxonomy

21/02/2025

This week’s Planetary Responsibility Insights provides an explainer of the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation, 2021 and the Taxonomy Regulation, 2019. The two laws stem from the European Commission’s 2018 Action Plan on sustainable finance, which aims to: “Create the conditions...

The EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive & Construction’s Global Value Chain

13/02/2025

Introduction to CSRD – Regulating for the Planet On 5 January 2023, the CSRD was passed into EU law. The directive aims to stimulate a new wave of sustainable investment by giving the public comparable and transparent information on companies’...

Nature Finance

Funding a Sustainable Future

20/05/2025

“It’s a fundamental shift in financing solutions for critical environmental issues like biodiversity loss and climate change. We must use different approaches and tools to solve the combined biodiversity and climate crises”. With over half of the global economy reliant...

Investing in Change

20/05/2025

In recent years, the concept of Impact Investing has gained traction as global awareness grows regarding the pressing need to address environmental challenges. But what exactly is Impact Investing, and why is it critical for driving sustainable development? To explore...

Redefining Nature Restoration with an Integrated Business Model

20/05/2025

Founded in 2023 and based in London, Ponterra is fast becoming a leading force in nature restoration by blending environmental regeneration with commercial sustainability. Co-founded by Celia Francis, the company collaborates with smallholder farmers through a leasing model to restore...

EU´s Leadership in the Green Transition

20/05/2025

As the world faces an urgent climate and biodiversity crisis, the European Union (EU) is poised to lead the global green transition says Sigrid Friis, newly appointed MEP and ViceCoordinator for Renew Europe in the European Parliament’s Industry, Research, and...

Reforming Harmful Subsidies to Protect Biodiversity

20/05/2025

In recent years, reports from leading organizations, including the OECD and WWF, have illuminated the staggering scale of harmful public subsidies that fuel environmental degradation. The latest updated research, launched in September by Earth Track, and supported by Business for...

The Green Tripartite Agreement

20/05/2025

Insights from Michael Svarer, chair of the expert committee on the Danish Green Tripartite Agreement The Danish Green Tripartite Agreement is a groundbreaking step toward integrating sustainability into economic policy, with a focus on agriculture, which is set to become...

Striking the Right Balance between Public and Private Finance for Nature and Climate

20/05/2025

In an exclusive interview with Dr. Joseph Bull, Associate Professor in Climate Change Biology at the University of Oxford, we explore the critical interplay between public and private investments in addressing climate change and biodiversity loss. While debates often position...

A new Era for Investing in the Earth’s ecosystems, led by the EIB

12/05/2025

Amid the escalating biodiversity crisis and climate change, natural capital finance has emerged as one of the most exciting economic approaches of our time. By using financial instruments to protect and restore ecosystems – and simultaneously scaling these efforts globally...

What on Earth?

Community-Driven Conservation & Sustainable Development with Climate Action

22/05/2025

1. KADDU KIWE SEBUNYA, CEO, AFRICAN WILDLIFE FOUNDATION A collaboration that showcases the power of partnership in conservation is the joint effort led by the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) to restore the Manyara Ranch Wildlife Corridor. This initiative represents a...

Integrating Biodiversity Conservation

22/05/2025

1. MARTIN HARPER, CEO, BIRDLIFE INTERNATIONAL We provide businesses with the accurate and very up-to-date scientific data on threats to birds and their habitats which helps them tailor their activities to minimise disruption and destruction of nature, and we provide...

9 questions for Francisco Delgado

22/05/2025

1. WHAT ARE YOUR ORGANIZATION’S SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES AND GOALS? The Osa Peninsula in Costa Rica is one of the most biologically intense places on the planet. It represents the 50% of Costa Rica´s biodiversity and 2.5% of world´s biodiversity. It...

9 questions for Martin Harper

22/05/2025

1. WHAT ARE YOUR ORGANIZATION’S SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES AND GOALS? We want to help the world live in harmony with nature. We are working through our 122 local Partners around the globe to conserve and restore species and the habitats they...

9 questions for Kaddu Kiwe Sebunya

22/05/2025

1. WHAT ARE YOUR ORGANIZATION’S SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES AND GOALS? The African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) is the largest and oldest African international conservation organization. We are based in Africa and have African leadership at every level. Our focus is on building...

9 questions for Bo Øksnebjerg

22/05/2025

1. WHAT ARE YOUR ORGANIZATION’S SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES AND GOALS? WWF works for a future, where people and nature coexists in harmony. That requires that we reserve 30 percent of all land and water for protected nature. We must also restore...

9 questions for Maria Reumert Gjerding

22/05/2025

1. WHAT ARE YOUR ORGANIZATION’S SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES AND GOALS? Overall, our stated objective is to create a sustainable society in Denmark with a beautiful and varied landscape, a rich and diverse nature, a clean and healthy environment and without negative...

9 questions for Marco Lambertini

22/05/2025

1. WHAT ARE YOUR ORGANIZATION’S SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES AND GOALS? The Nature Positive Initiative brings together all major global nature conservation organisations, sustainable business platforms and sustainability standard setting agencies alongside research and indigenous knowledge organisations to align on definitions, guidance...

9 questions for Liselotte Hohwy Stokholm

22/05/2025

1. WHAT ARE YOUR ORGANIZATION’S SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES AND GOALS? The Ocean Institute is an independent and knowledge-based think tank founded in 2021 at the initiative of the philanthropic foundation, The Velux Foundations. Our member companies, organizations, and research institutions all...

9 questions for Frans Shepers

22/05/2025

1. WHAT ARE YOUR ORGANIZATION’S SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES AND GOALS? The vision of Rewilding Europe is that wilder nature – with much more space for wildlife and natural processes – is valued and treated as crucial for a prosperous and healthy...

Community-Driven Conservation

20/05/2025

Design for decay using biomaterials

22/05/2025

Nothing in nature lasts forever, so why have we for decades tried to design and prolong life expectancy in our buildings using materials with substantial environmental impact when it infringes the laws of nature? At the BIOM Lab at the...

22/05/2025

In January 2018, the first ‘Circularity Gap Report’ was launched at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Born out of the Dutch nonprofit impact organization, Circle Economy Foundation, the report showed that only 9.1 percent of the world economy was...

22/05/2025

It almost sounds like a commanding team leader’s wrap-up before going on a rescue mission. “Leave no one or nothing behind!” Fortunately, it is a bit more peaceful, but nonetheless a challenging rescue mission. The challenges involve fighting climate change,...

22/05/2025

The report states that: “England is now one of the most nature-depleted countries on Earth” (source). Average 32% decline in species’ abundance since 1970. Average 18% decrease in the distributions of invertebrate species since 1970. Since 1970, the distributions of...

22/05/2025

It will take you about four minutes to read this Planetary Responsibility Insights article, in which Signe Fosgaard, the Director of Green Finance Institute in Denmark, provides some of her ideas on creating a sustainable business in the real estate...

22/05/2025

For centuries, the mantra “if it’s green, it’s good” has guided many developers and urban planners, serving as a social marker for positive urban development through access to green spaces like parks and gardens. While this notion remains true, it...

22/05/2025

Lise Lyngfelt Molander, Business Manager for sustainability at the Technological Institute in Denmark, sighs, before stating: “There is no such thing as sustainability in construction. The concept has ended up as a climate requirement in our legislation, but that doesn’t...

22/05/2025

The construction sector plays a central role in the global economy, being an annual consumer of 40% of global raw materials and 40% percent of the energy. This makes the construction sector one of the world’s most resource-intensive industries, with...

22/05/2025

We are well aware of it. We continue to build and live in homes that are far too big. But no one should dictate that it’s wrong because, for many, our homes are still a social marker, where bigger is...

22/05/2025

CAN TIMBER IN CONSTRUCTION HELP FIGHT CLIMATE CHANGE? The construction industry has a colossal impact on the climate, by being one of the largest producers of the greenhouse gases that cause climate change. Cement and concrete production account for 8%...