Mapping the Path to a Nature-Positive Economy: Key Insights from Policy Webinar
15th July, 2025
What does it take to shift Europe's economy onto a nature-positive path?
On 26 June 2025, Ecologic Institute, together with Oxford University, ICLEI Europe, and Trinity College Dublin, hosted a GoNaturePositive! webinar to explore this question.
The online event, titled “Mapping Policies and Private Sector Initiatives for a Nature-Positive Economy”, offered a first look at some of the project's outputs. The session was moderated by McKenna Davis (Ecologic Institute) and featured presentations by a series of experts. Siobhan McQuaid (Trinity College Dublin) introduced the GoNaturePositive! project and outlined opportunities for engagement, Niak Sian Koh (University of Oxford) presented the concept of a nature-positive economy, and Benjamin Kupilas (Ecologic Institute) shared insights from an extensive mapping exercise assessing the alignment of EU and global policy instruments—as well as cooperative initiatives—with nature-positive principles.
Defining the Nature-Positive Economy
Niak Sian Koh from Oxford University's Nature Positive Hub outlined the project's knowledge co-production journey. Following a global consultation that gathered over 750 responses from more than 50 countries, along with stakeholder workshops at COP16 and COP29, the project has developed five key messages framing the nature-positive economy.
What is a Nature-Positive Economy?
An economy where the net result of all economic activities combined leads to an absolute increase in nature towards full recovery. This aligns with the Global Biodiversity Framework's goal of more nature in 2030 than in 2020, progressing towards full recovery by 2050.
The framework operates through five essential elements: actors taking action across multiple scales and sectors to improve social well-being and equity. All actors in society—from businesses and governments to citizens and indigenous communities—have distinct roles to play.
The Five Key Messages
Message 1: Clear Definition Needed
The nature-positive economy prioritises increased prosperity, restored ecological conditions, and enhanced value pluralism of nature in decision-making processes.
Message 2: Operationalisation Through Multiple Dimensions
Three types of action are needed: reducing nature-negative impacts (assessing biodiversity footprints, avoiding pollution), increasing nature-positive activities (supporting restoration through nature-based solutions), and enacting transformative change (increasing transparency, divesting from nature-degrading assets).
Message 3: Alignment with Other Economic Concepts
The nature-positive economy closely aligns with bioeconomy, circular economy, green economy, and net-zero economy concepts, but focuses specifically on biophysical limits, nature recovery, and social well-being.
Message 4: Opportunities Within Planetary Boundaries
Economic growth may occur in sectors well-aligned with planetary boundaries. Nature-based solutions could create up to 32 million new jobs by 2030, spanning agroecology, green buildings, regenerative ocean farming, sustainable tourism, and forestry.
Message 5: Measuring Progress is Essential
A comprehensive measurement approach combining nature, social, and economic metrics is needed, moving beyond biodiversity-only indicators to reflect drivers of nature loss and measure progress on social wellbeing.
Speakers from the online ‘Mapping Policies’ Webinar
Mapping policy and private sector landscapes: The research approach
Benjamin Kupilas from Ecologic Institute presented findings from an extensive baseline assessment following a three-stage approach:
Stage 1: Mapping - Creating a longlist of over 60 policy instruments, shortlisted to 20 core policies, alongside 20 global and EU cooperative initiatives.
Stage 2: Assessment - Evaluating how these policies align with nature-positive principles to reduce harmful activities, create additional nature, increase knowledge, and support transformative change.
Stage 3: Synthesis - Identifying current gaps and opportunities for sectoral and systemic change.
The research culminated in a main report and five sectoral briefs covering forestry, agri-food systems, built environment, blue economy, and tourism. It also considered recent policy developments beyond the scope of the initial analysis—such as the European Competitiveness Compass, the Omnibus simplification package, and updates from the Convention on Biological Diversity in early 2025—which signal a shifting policy landscape that the synthesis aims to remain responsive to.
Understanding the EU policy landscape: Where are we now?
Benjamin Kupilas flagged that the policy assessment revealed a mixed picture in the potential of policies to facilitate an NPE transition in practice, with both encouraging progress and concerning gaps:
Positive Developments
Nature-positive elements: Many EU policies already include nature-positive elements
Knowledge progress: Advancement in knowledge generation, setting of restoration goals, and transparency
Growing recognition: Increasing awareness of nature's role in climate resilience and long-term (economic) prosperity
Critical Challenges
Bindingness: Heavy reliance on voluntary action and non-binding targets
Funding: Persistent harmful subsidies and insufficient funding for nature weaken positive policy impacts
Trade-offs: Weak application of 'Do No Significant Harm' principles and growing emphasis on competitiveness
Private Sector: Risk of undermining transparency gains through simplification trends
Governance: Inclusive governance is key to transformative change, but further progress is needed
Strengthening the EU policy landscape: Eight priority areas for action
The research identified eight critical interventions:
Embed nature in the competitiveness agenda: Recognise nature loss as economic and financial risks, integrate biodiversity into core economic strategies, and recognise resilience as a factor of competitiveness. Promote nature-based solutions and nature-based enterprises as drivers of innovation, resilience, sustainable growth and, ultimately, Europe’s long-term competitiveness.
Mobilise business leadership: Nature-positive policies require strong implementation and business support. Simplification efforts such as those proposed in the Omnibus package must not dilute ambition – constructive private sector engagement and strong business voices advocating for long-term sustainability are key to successful joint pursuits of sustainability and competitiveness.
Redirect harmful subsidies and scale up investment in nature: Phase out harmful subsidies and redirect investment towards nature positive economic activities in the post-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework. Close the finance gap for nature restoration, stimulate innovation and job creation in the nature-positive economy, measure the economic impact of investment in nature including the reduction of risks associated with climate change disasters and biodiversity loss.
Seize windows of opportunity for systemic change: Use upcoming policy cycles and budget negotiations to institutionalise nature-positive objectives across EU frameworks.
Integrate nature and biodiversity in climate and land-use policies: Mainstream nature-based solutions – particularly nature restoration – as critical climate mitigation and adaptation solutions across sectors. Ensure policies address potential trade-offs with short-term economic growth and reinforce synergies between climate and biodiversity goals.
Enhance policy coherence: Align sectoral strategies with nature-positive objectives to avoid fragmentation and ensure economic, environmental and social goals are met together.
Promote inclusive and equitable governance: Ensure policies recognise and incorporate social equity considerations, including marginalised groups and diverse knowledge systems, in decision-making processes.
Clearer legal obligations and safeguard enforcement: Simplify regulations and co-create solutions which involve closing loopholes, ensuring a fair and level playing field for all organisations, tighten compliance, and enforce restoration and conservation targets underpinned by adequate investment. Strong environmental safeguards for all must be the norm, not the exception, and must be underpinned by clear transition timeframes.
The role of cooperative initiatives
The research examined 20 cooperative initiatives and found they hold potential to advance the transition but structural limitations constrain their impact. Key opportunities include:
Strengthen transparency and accountability
Lead in knowledge creation and sector-specific guidance
Support a shift from voluntary to mandatory requirements
Complement – do not replace – ambitious public policy
Adopt inclusive, transformative governance
Five key takeaways for action
1. A Nature-positive economy is possible, but not automatic
Systemic shift needed in how policy, finance, and business interact.
2. Integration and equity matter
Embed nature across competitiveness, climate, and land-use strategies whilst ensuring fair and inclusive processes.
3. Policy and business must cooperate
Cooperative initiatives play a supporting role but cannot deliver alone. Strong public-private collaboration is essential.
4. Investment and accountability are crucial
Scale up funding for nature-positive action and phase out harmful incentives, whilst ensuring corporate accountability.
5. The time to act is now
Utilise EU policy cycles, budget reviews, and private sector momentum to embed long-term, nature-positive commitments.
“A nature-positive economy demands more than ambition—it requires embedding nature at the heart of public policy, business strategy, and financial systems, not as a trade-off, but as a foundation for long-term resilience and economic security. ”
Looking Forward: From Mapping to Action
This mapping exercise represents crucial groundwork for the transition ahead. The GoNaturePositive! project continues developing practical tools and frameworks, working with pilot partners across five key sectors.
The final products—the main report and five sectoral briefs—are now available for download, providing detailed guidance for practitioners across different sectors.
Your Role in the Transformation
The webinar concluded with a clear call to action. The research demonstrates that whilst frameworks and knowledge exist to drive change, what's needed now is the political will, financial commitment, and collective action to implement them at the necessary scale and speed.
The mapping phase is complete. The path forward is clear. The question now is whether we'll act with the urgency and ambition that the moment demands.
The full research outputs and webinar materials are available at www.gonaturepositive.eu/resources.
If you missed the live session or would like to revisit the discussion, you can watch the full recording of the webinar here.
