ESRS E4 FAQ: Biodiversity and Ecosystems Reporting Guide
Regulatory pressure on biodiversity is accelerating: CSRD, ESRS, EU Taxonomy… For many companies, ESRS E4 is becoming the essential framework to structure and demonstrate their contribution to protecting nature. When used properly, it can turn a reporting obligation into a real strategic lever. With this practical guide, you will learn how to use ESRS E4 to map your impacts, set credible targets, reassure your stakeholders and prepare robust biodiversity disclosures. And if you want to go further in ecological measurement, solutions such as Natural Solutions can help you collect and analyse high-quality field data.
Understanding ESRS E4: key concepts and scope
What is ESRS E4 in the context of ESRS and the CSRD?
ESRS E4 is the European sustainability reporting standard dedicated to biodiversity and ecosystems within the broader set of European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS). These standards spell out how companies must disclose sustainability information to comply with the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD).
In practice, ESRS E4 defines the information companies must disclose on:
their impacts on biodiversity and ecosystems (both negative and positive);
their dependencies on ecosystem services (water, pollination, climate regulation, etc.);
the risks and opportunities for the business associated with nature degradation or restoration;
their strategy, governance, policies, actions and metrics related to biodiversity.
Goal of ESRS E4: protect, restore and use nature sustainably
ESRS E4 aims to align companies with the European Union's biodiversity objectives, notably the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 and the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. It pursues three main goals:
Preventing and reducing negative impacts (habitat destruction, pollution, overexploitation of natural resources, landscape fragmentation);
Restoring degraded ecosystems (reforestation, soil renaturation, wetland restoration, ecological corridors);
Ensuring the sustainable use of resources by integrating nature into core business models and investment decisions.
The objective is for companies to show how they contribute to slowing biodiversity loss and, ultimately, to a nature-positive world.
Who is in scope and from when?
ESRS E4 applies to all companies required to publish a CSRD-compliant sustainability statement:
Large EU companies, listed and unlisted, that exceed specific thresholds (turnover, balance sheet total, number of employees),
Groups established in the EU that exceed consolidated thresholds,
Non-EU companies with significant activity in the EU that fall under the CSRD (branches or subsidiaries).
Application is phased in according to the size and type of entity, with the first reports covering financial years 2024 and 2025 for the largest companies, then extending to other companies in subsequent years.
Interactions with other ESRS (E1, E2, E3, S and G)
Biodiversity cannot be managed in isolation. ESRS E4 is closely interconnected with:
ESRS E1 (climate): climate change is a major driver of biodiversity loss and, conversely, ecosystems play a critical role in carbon storage.
ESRS E2 (pollution): pollutant emissions have direct effects on species and habitats.
ESRS E3 (water and marine resources): the quality and availability of water determine the condition of both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems.
Social (S) and governance (G) standards: rights of nature-dependent communities, rights of Indigenous Peoples, and board responsibilities and decision-making on biodiversity.
A coherent approach consists in aligning these standards within a single, integrated view of risks, strategy and indicators. Specialist digital solutions, such as those offered by Natural Solutions, can make this cross-topic integration easier.
ESRS E4 biodiversity reporting requirements: decoded
Mandatory content: policies, actions, targets, indicators
ESRS E4 sets out disclosure requirements organised around several building blocks:
Governance: role of the board and management in overseeing biodiversity;
Strategy: key impacts, dependencies, risks and opportunities related to ecosystems, and how they are integrated into overall strategy;
Policies: commitments, principles, internal charters or policies on biodiversity (zero deforestation, no conversion of critical habitats, etc.);
Actions and plans: restoration programmes, responsible sourcing, supplier requirements, certifications, conservation projects;
Targets: quantitative or qualitative objectives, time horizons, and alignment with public policies and international frameworks;
Metrics and indicators: area of habitat affected or restored, number of protected species concerned, nature-positive investments, etc.
Double materiality applied to biodiversity
Double materiality is at the core of ESRS E4. You must assess:
Impact materiality: how your activities and value chain affect biodiversity (deforestation, land take, fishing, extraction, etc.);
Financial materiality: how changes in the state of nature may affect your performance and enterprise value (physical, regulatory, market or reputational risks).
If a topic is material from either perspective, you must cover it in your ESRS E4 disclosures. This materiality assessment must be documented, explained and updated regularly.
Qualitative and quantitative information with precise location data
ESRS E4 disclosures combine:
Qualitative information: description of main sites, habitat types, issues by region or value chain segment, policies and processes;
Quantitative data: areas of affected habitats, quantities of biological resources extracted, number of sites with high ecological value, investment volumes for restoration.
A crucial aspect is the geographical dimension: you must specify the relevant locations or geographic areas, particularly for sites located in or near:
protected areas,
critical habitats,
sensitive ecosystems.
The scope covers the upstream and downstream value chain where significant impacts or dependencies occur outside your own operations (e.g. agricultural or forest raw materials).
Alignment with the CSRD, EU Taxonomy and other frameworks
ESRS E4 fits into a dense regulatory landscape:
CSRD: ESRS E4 is the operational biodiversity standard under the CSRD;
EU Taxonomy: several environmental objectives (protection and restoration of biodiversity and ecosystems) overlap with ESRS E4 requirements;
Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework: ESRS E4 supports alignment with global targets to halt and reverse biodiversity loss;
Other voluntary frameworks: TNFD, CDP, GRI biodiversity, etc., which ESRS E4 encourages companies to align so that data remains coherent across frameworks.
Digital biodiversity solutions such as Natural Solutions products can help you generate robust metrics that are compatible with these different frameworks.
How to prepare an ESRS E4 biodiversity report step by step
1. Define the project scope and governance
To prepare your first ESRS E4 report, start by:
Identifying the entities and activities covered by the CSRD and ESRS E4;
Setting up internal governance: an executive sponsor, a biodiversity lead, and a steering committee (finance, legal, sustainability, operations, procurement, risk);
Establishing a timeline: milestones for impact mapping, data collection, internal validation and drafting.
2. Conduct an ESRS-aligned biodiversity materiality assessment
The materiality assessment is the backbone of your ESRS E4 report:
Map your activities and sites (production, extraction, infrastructure, key sourcing regions);
Identify sensitive areas: protected areas, primary forests, wetlands, coral reefs, habitats of threatened species;
Analyse impacts (land use and land-use change, fragmentation, pollution, biological resource extraction) and dependencies (water, pollination, climate regulation, protection against natural hazards);
Assess risks and opportunities: physical risks (ecosystem degradation, extreme events), regulatory, market and reputational risks;
Prioritise material issues with high impact and/or financial materiality.
This exercise becomes more reliable when backed by field and remote-sensing data. Specialist tools from the Natural Solutions range can, for example, track habitat changes, ecological connectivity or ecosystem quality over time.
3. Collect data and define metrics and targets
Once you have identified the material issues:
Inventory existing data: impact assessments, environmental audits, certifications, geographic information system (GIS) data, flora and fauna inventories;
Select your key metrics, for example:
area of natural habitats affected, by ecosystem type;
area restored or renatured;
number of sites in or near protected areas;
species indicators (presence of protected or indicator species);
annual budget dedicated to restoration or conservation.
Set targets: reduced habitat conversion, restoration of X hectares by 2030, zero deforestation in the supply chain by a defined date.
4. Engage stakeholders and draft the report
To ensure the credibility of your report:
Engage stakeholders: internal operational teams, suppliers, local communities, NGOs, scientists;
Document assumptions, limitations and uncertainties in the data;
Structure the report in line with the ESRS building blocks (governance, strategy, management of impacts/risks/opportunities, metrics and targets);
Ensure consistency with other ESRS sections (climate, pollution, water, social topics).
Digital tools, ecological databases and reporting platforms can greatly simplify data collection, aggregation and visualisation for ESRS E4.
Common ESRS E4 reporting challenges and solutions
Recurring challenges: data, sites, value chain
Companies often face the following hurdles:
Data gaps: no ecological mapping of sites, incomplete inventories, lack of historical data;
Insufficient granularity: aggregated country- or group-level data with no precise localisation of impacts;
Complex value chains: numerous suppliers, raw materials from high-risk regions, limited upstream transparency;
Lack of internal expertise in ecology and biodiversity metrics.
How to build expertise and work with partners
To overcome these obstacles:
Train internal teams (sustainability, procurement, operations, risk) on biodiversity fundamentals;
Collaborate with experts: ecologists, NGOs, universities, consultancies;
Use specialised digital solutions for ecological data collection and analysis. For example, Natural Solutions products can help track ecosystem condition, model impacts and feed ESRS E4 reporting with robust data.
Managing uncertainty, estimates and proxies
ESRS E4 allows the use of estimates and proxies where data are not yet available, provided that you:
clearly describe the estimation methodology;
explain the limitations and uncertainty ranges;
present a data improvement plan over several reporting cycles;
avoid any misleading presentation or overstatement of precision.
What matters is demonstrating continuous improvement in data quality and coverage across sites and along the value chain.
Examples of sector responses
A few sector examples:
Food and agriculture: mapping sourcing basins, zero-deforestation commitments, regenerative agriculture programmes and habitat monitoring through satellite data.
Construction and infrastructure: applying the avoid–reduce–offset hierarchy, designing ecological corridors, monitoring sensitive species on construction sites.
Energy: assessing impacts on terrestrial and marine ecosystems, restoring sites after operations, monitoring impacts on birds and bats.
Financial services: integrating biodiversity criteria into portfolio analysis, engaging investee companies to strengthen their ESRS E4 action plans.
Aligning ESRS E4 reporting with strategy and stakeholders
Embedding biodiversity in corporate strategy and risk management
ESRS E4 reporting is more than a compliance exercise: it should reflect a strategic positioning. Key levers include:
integrating nature-related risks and opportunities into the overall risk register;
revisiting sourcing strategy (regions, suppliers, certifications) in light of biodiversity issues;
identifying new products and services opportunities aligned with ecosystem restoration;
implementing internal incentives (management performance indicators) linked to biodiversity outcomes.
Meeting expectations of investors, lenders and regulators
Financial stakeholders and regulators expect clear information on:
the company’s exposure to nature-related risks;
the quality of its strategy and the credibility of its targets;
its ability to align investments with European and global biodiversity objectives.
Robust ESRS E4 reporting can improve risk perception, strengthen investor confidence and facilitate access to sustainable finance.
Synergies with TNFD, CDP Forests and other biodiversity frameworks
ESRS E4 is compatible with other leading frameworks:
TNFD: the LEAP approach (Locate, Evaluate, Assess, Prepare) can structure the biodiversity materiality assessment;
CDP Forests and biodiversity: data collected for these questionnaires can feed into ESRS E4 disclosures, and vice versa;
Sector frameworks (for example for agriculture, finance, extractives): they can be used to refine metrics and action plans.
Credibility, sustainable finance and long-term value creation
Transparent, accurate ESRS E4 reporting:
enhances credibility with regulators, investors, customers and NGOs;
opens access to green and nature-linked financial instruments (bonds, loans, funds focused on nature);
supports long-term resilience to risks linked to ecosystem degradation.
By combining an ambitious strategy with powerful measurement tools — such as those offered by Natural Solutions — you can turn ESRS E4 into a competitive advantage rather than a mere regulatory requirement.
ESRS E4 checklist and next steps
ESRS E4 compliance checklist
Use this checklist to structure your approach:
Governance:
Are board and management roles and responsibilities clearly defined?
Are oversight and monitoring mechanisms for biodiversity in place?
Strategy and materiality:
Has a biodiversity double materiality assessment been conducted and documented?
Have key impacts, dependencies, risks and opportunities been identified and prioritised?
Policies and actions:
Are policies formalised (zero deforestation, no conversion, restoration)?
Are concrete action plans and programmes deployed across sites and the value chain?
Metrics and targets:
Have relevant metrics been defined, with clear geographic coverage?
Are targets quantitative and time-bound, and aligned with EU and global objectives?
Data quality:
Have reliable data sources (studies, geospatial databases, monitoring tools) been identified?
Is there a continuous improvement plan to close data gaps and reduce uncertainties?
Internal roadmap for a first ESRS E4 report
A simplified timeline for first-time reporters could be:
T0 – 3 months: diagnostic and gap analysis versus ESRS E4 requirements;
3 – 6 months: materiality assessment, mapping of sites and value chains, definition of governance;
6 – 9 months: data collection, definition of metrics, targets, policies and action plans;
9 – 12 months: drafting, internal validation, integration into the sustainability statement, preparation for external assurance.
Tools, data and key roles
To ensure ESRS E4 reporting is robust and sustainable over time:
Tools: environmental information systems, GIS tools, CSRD reporting platforms, biodiversity-specific solutions;
Data: ecological inventories, management plans, official data on protected areas, satellite and remote-sensing data;
Roles: biodiversity lead, site managers, sustainability team, finance, procurement, risk, IT and internal audit.
Anticipating changes to ESRS, CSRD and biodiversity regulation
Regulatory and scientific frameworks are evolving quickly. To stay up to date:
monitor updates from the European Commission and EFRAG;
participate in sector working groups and professional associations;
set up ongoing regulatory and scientific watch activities;
regularly adapt your metrics, materiality analysis and policies in line with scientific and regulatory developments.
ESRS E4 FAQ – Biodiversity and ecosystems
What is ESRS E4 and how does it relate to biodiversity reporting?
ESRS E4 is the EU sustainability reporting standard that governs biodiversity and ecosystem disclosures under the CSRD. It defines what companies must publish about their impacts and dependencies on nature, as well as related risks, opportunities, governance, strategy and biodiversity indicators.
What are the main ESRS E4 disclosure requirements under the CSRD?
The key ESRS E4 disclosure requirements focus on:
Governance of biodiversity (role of the board and management);
Strategy, based on a double materiality assessment (impacts and risks/opportunities);
Policies and actions for protecting, restoring and using nature sustainably;
Targets (quantitative and/or qualitative) and metrics (area of habitats affected or restored, sensitive sites, investments, etc.);
Transparency on data, assumptions and uncertainties, including along the value chain.
How do I prepare my first ESRS E4 biodiversity report step by step?
To prepare a first ESRS E4 report:
define the scope and governance of the project;
carry out a double materiality assessment by identifying sites, impacts, dependencies, risks and opportunities;
map and collect data on affected ecosystems and existing actions;
select metrics and targets aligned with your material issues;
engage internal and external stakeholders;
draft and validate your ESRS E4 disclosures, ensuring consistency with other ESRS standards.
How does ESRS E4 apply to non-European companies reporting under the CSRD?
Non-EU companies with a significant presence in the EU that fall within the scope of the CSRD must apply the ESRS, including ESRS E4. They must therefore:
assess their biodiversity impacts and risks for activities linked to the EU market;
adapt global reporting systems to integrate ESRS requirements;
ensure consistency between their international reporting (using other frameworks) and the specific requirements of ESRS E4.
What data and tools do I need to comply with ESRS E4 on biodiversity and ecosystems?
You will need:
Geospatial data (precise location of sites, protected areas, sensitive habitats);
Ecological inventories (species, habitats, ecosystem condition);
data on impacts and pressures (land use, resource extraction, pollution, infrastructure);
GIS tools, reporting platforms and ideally biodiversity-specific solutions to structure, visualise and analyse your data.
Providers such as Natural Solutions offer dedicated tools for measuring and monitoring ecosystems, which can help you feed and strengthen your ESRS E4 reporting.
Conclusion – Move from compliance to action
ESRS E4 makes biodiversity a strategic priority for businesses. Beyond compliance, it is an opportunity to strengthen resilience, access sustainable finance and contribute tangibly to protecting nature. Specialist partners and tools such as Natural Solutions can accelerate capability building and improve the quality of your biodiversity data.
Start strengthening your ESRS E4 biodiversity reporting today: map your impacts, close data gaps, and build a clear, compliant disclosure roadmap that supports both nature and your long‑term business value.
