Tomoo Machiba, Vice Chair of the GRI GSSB, with Astrid Schomaker, UN Convention on Biological Diversity Executive Secretary, in Kumamoto Japan.

GRI and its GSSB back ‘Kumamoto Declaration’ and the call for urgent, coordinated action to meet global biodiversity targets

GRI has joined 85 signatories in endorsing the Kumamoto Declaration, a global call to accelerate action towards a nature-positive future, at the conclusion of the Global Nature Positive Summit in Kumamoto, Japan.

The declaration recognizes the critical need to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030, the central ambition of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF). With only four years remaining to deliver the KMGBF mission, and with implementation lagging, the declaration emphasizes that transitioning to a nature-positive economy must be viewed as an opportunity. Protecting and restoring nature can support sustainable growth, strengthen resilience, drive innovation and create long-term value.

Delivering this transition requires organizations, governments and financial institutions to work from a common understanding of how business activities affect nature. Consistent reporting on impacts, as enabled by GRI, is the foundation for generating information that supports corporate action, public accountability and informed decision-making.

The location of the signing is significant, given that Japan has long championed the position that economic resilience depends on healthy ecosystems and sustainable resource management. This is reflected in well-established disclosure practices: companies representing 65% of Japanese market capitalization report using the GRI Standards.

Tomoo Machiba, Vice Chair of the GRI Global Sustainability Standards Board (and Managing Director, Zeroboard Research Institute), said:

“Sustainable land management as historically practiced in rural Japan reminds us that prosperity depends on healthy relationships between people, nature, and local economies. Resilient landscapes don’t happen by chance – they were shaped through stewardship and collaboration among diverse players who share the watershed, and a long-term perspective. 

The same principle applies to organizations. Building resilience requires understanding not only financial performance, but also impacts and dependencies on people and nature. The GRI 101 Biodiversity Standard offers companies the global best practice to generate these insights. This understanding is crucial to securing a nature-positive future.”

Harold Pauwels, GRI Director of Standards, added:

“Reversing nature loss requires much more than ambition alone. It requires companies to take responsibility and be transparent about how their actions avoid, reduce and reverse negative impacts on biodiversity, and take responsibility for managing their impacts in a credible and comparable way. 

“No organization can achieve this transition alone. GRI is working with partners across the reporting ecosystem to improve alignment, strengthen disclosure and raise the bar for accountability on nature. The Kumamoto Declaration sends a timely message: corporate action is central to achieving nature-positive ambitions.”

The Kumamoto Declaration reinforces the call for coordinated action through a whole-of-society approach. Governments, businesses, civil society, financial institutions, Indigenous Peoples and local communities all have a role in turning global commitments into meaningful outcomes.

It also signals that mobilizing the private sector is an essential part of this effort. Achieving this requires practical insights into organizations’ impacts and dependencies on nature, with the declaration calling for a globally consistent, standards-based approaches to reporting, assessment, target-setting, and transition planning.

The Global Nature Positive Summit on 14-15 July brought together leaders from across sectors to build momentum for coordinated action ahead of COP17. The GSSB’s Tomoo Machiba participated in a plenary panel, alongside key partners, on advancing interoperability between standards and frameworks in support of nature-positive outcomes.

GRI 101: Biodiversity 2024 enables organizations to publicly report their most significant biodiversity impacts, and how they manage them. It responds to growing expectations for reporting that extends beyond financial risks to explain how business activities affect ecosystems, species and the people who depend on them.

The State of Sustainability Reporting 2025 confirmed that GRI is the world’s most widely used sustainability reporting standard, referenced in reports by companies headquartered in 107 jurisdictions, and representing 62% of global market capitalization (65% in Japan).

Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is the independent nonprofit organization that is the architect of the common global language to assess and report on environmental, social and economic impacts. GRI provides standards, tools and training that empower organizations of all sizes to create sustainable, long-term value and unlock positive change in the world.

The Global Sustainability Standards Board (GSSB) is the governance body operating under the oversight of the of the GRI Supervisory Board, with sole responsibility for setting the GRI Standards.

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