Track B
Value Chain Impact Track
This track is designed for companies whose biodiversity impacts occur indirectly—through sourcing and procurement—rather than direct land use. It supports businesses in assessing and managing biodiversity risks and opportunities across complex supply chains, especially where spatial control is limited.
Is this the right track for your organisation?
This track is for organisations such as:
Companies sourcing commodities (e.g. coffee, palm oil, minerals) with biodiversity impacts at production or extraction sites
Businesses combining direct operational footprints with indirect impacts from upstream inputs (e.g. energy, raw materials)
Firms with limited visibility or control over spatial planning decisions in their value chains
Challenges and strategic responses
Identifying site-based biodiversity impacts is difficult when value chains are long or opaque. To address this, companies are encouraged to:
Improve traceability with suppliers to the finest possible spatial level
Embed biodiversity disclosure and management requirements into procurement policies
Support certification bodies in integrating biodiversity metrics (e.g. STAR) into their standards
Methodological guidance
The IUCN RHINO approach follows the Nature Positive Initiative’s value chain framework, emphasising:
Chain-of-custody linkages across intermediaries
Use of STAR metrics combined with extent × condition footprint analysis to estimate global biodiversity impact
Three tracks based on sourcing precision
1. Precise sourcing information (site-Level)
Companies with detailed sourcing data can apply the Direct Impact Track for each site
2. Jurisdiction-level sourcing (e.g. municipality, country)
Steps include:
Identify geography-commodity combinations with significant biodiversity impacts
Estimate commodity-related impacts in those geographies
Weight impacts by the company’s share of commodity sourcing
Prioritise geographies with highest threat reduction potential
Collaborate with producers and landscape-level partners
Apply Direct Impact Track steps A2–A6 to calibrate and deliver outcomes
3. No spatially explicit sourcing
For companies with limited sourcing data:
Identify top producing countries or companies
Use the 80th percentile of estimated START scores from high-impact countries
Set extinction risk reduction targets in ecologically relevant landscapes
Prioritise geographies with highest threat reduction potential
Partner with local actors to implement conservation actions using Direct Impact Track steps A3–A6
Next steps and piloting
This track is undergoing further testing with:
Commodity consolidators
Consumer product companies
Retailers and wholesalers in biodiversity-intensive sectors
Lessons generated from the NPI State of Nature Metrics Piloting and TNFD metrics assessments will be included in this refinement.
The goal is to refine the IUCN RHINO methodology for broader application across global supply chains.
Pilot with us
Help shape the Value Chain Track by collaborating with us.
