Sustainability
From planetary foundations to corporate action: understanding the full system.
Sustainability is a complex system of interconnected elements: science, standards, regulations, markets, and actors. Environmental, social, and governance challenges don't exist in silos. Neither should your strategy.
Seeing the whole picture is what turns complexity into opportunity.
Since 2022, the shift has accelerated: the Global Biodiversity Framework put nature on the same political footing as climate. By 2026, global disclosure standards (ISSB and TNFD) and Article 6 operationalization have moved from framework to foundational practice.
Seeing the whole picture is what turns complexity into opportunity. We help you navigate it strategically and act decisively.
Navigating Sustainability
Everything in sustainability sits on a foundation. Remove the foundation, and the layers above collapse. Our framework maps this reality.
L5: CORPORATE ACTION
Where strategy becomes reality
The decisions and actions organisations take: setting targets, developing transition plans, allocating capital, changing operations, engaging stakeholders.Environmental management systems (ISO 14001, compliance, operational controls) sit here the practical implementation of sustainability at organisational level.
This is where most organisations start. But effective corporate action requires understanding all the layers below. A target without understanding the landscape is just a number.
L4: POLICY & GOVERNANCE
The rules of the game
Mandatory: CSRD (EU), UK SDR/SRS (ISSB-aligned), national regulations
Global baseline: ISSB S1/S2 (issued 2023, effective 2024)
Voluntary (but influential): SBTi, SBTN, TNFD (final 2023), CDP, GRI
Global framework: UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Underpinning principles: Polluter Pays, Precautionary Principle, Lifecycle Thinking, Waste Hierarchy, Producer Responsibility, Best Available Technique.
The goalpost is moving fast. What was voluntary (TCFD) becomes mandatory (CSRD), and nature-risk disclosure is now moving alongside climate. Understanding where governance is heading determines whether you're ahead or behind.
L3: ECOSYSTEM SERVICES & VALUE CHAINS
How landscapes generate value for economy and society
Supporting: Foundation services (nutrient cycling, soil formation, water cycling, primary production). Enables all other services; emerging direct valuation through soil health payments and regen ag premiums.
Provisioning: Natural resources (food, freshwater, fibre, fuel). Raw materials flowing through supply chains. Coffee from farm to cup. Timber from forest to building.Circular economy principles resource efficiency, waste reduction, material reuse transform how provisioning services flow through the economy.
Regulating: Process regulation (climate, water purification & flow, pollination, flood control). Value captured through carbon credits, biodiversity credits, watershed payments, PES.
Cultural: Intangible benefits (recreation, aesthetic, spiritual, educational). Some monetized (ecotourism, heritage tourism), others provide non-financial value (sacred sites, wellbeing, identity).
Most sustainability work focuses only on provisioning (supply chains). The other three service types represent significant untapped value. Few organisations see all four.
These four ecosystem services represent natural capital in motion (one of the Five Capitals: Natural, Social, Human, Manufactured, Financial) how the stock of natural resources generates flows of value to economy and society.
L2: LANDSCAPES & JURISDICTIONS
Where planetary systems meet human activity
Specific geographies where ecosystems, communities, and economies intersect. Forests, farmland, watersheds, coastlines. The places where environmental outcomes actually happen.
Social sustainability lives here: community engagement, just transition, local livelihoods, human rights in supply chains. Environmental and social impact assessment (EIA/SIA) happens at landscape level.
Global targets mean nothing without local action. This is where MRV happens: the evidence base for everything above.
L1: PLANETARY FOUNDATIONS
The biophysical systems that underpin everything
The nine planetary boundaries define the safe operating space for humanity. This framework, developed by Johan Rockstrm and colleagues at the Stockholm Resilience Centre, maps the Earth systems that make human activity possible.
In 2022, the Global Biodiversity Framework signaled a new global commitment to protect and restore nature, elevating biodiversity to a board-level economic issue.
Crossed: Climate change, biosphere integrity, biogeochemical flows (nitrogen/phosphorus), land-system change, novel entities, freshwater change.
Within safe limits: Stratospheric ozone, ocean acidification, atmospheric aerosols.
This is not abstract environmentalism. This is the operating system of the economy.
What Moves Through the System
The five layers are horizontal strata. But value and information also flow vertically through the system:
FINANCE FLOW
Capital moving through the system
- IN: Green bonds, sustainability-linked loans, ESG funds, blended finance
- THROUGH: Premiums for sustainable sourcing, supply chain investments
- OUT: Carbon credit revenue, biodiversity credits, PES payments
Finance isn't a layer; it's a flow that connects everything.
DATA FLOW
Evidence moving up through the system
- From landscapes: MRV data, satellite monitoring, ground-truth verification
- Through chains: Traceability, chain of custody, impact measurement
- To governance: Disclosure data, audit trails, assurance evidence
Data types: Quantitative (numbers) & Qualitative (descriptive); Absolute (totals) & Normalised (per unit, e.g., emissions per product).
Every claim at L4-L5 depends on data from L1-L3.
Cross-Cutting Enablers
Beyond the layers and flows, there are systems that span everything enabling the whole framework to function.
Enabling Systems
The connective tissue: science & academia, standards & methods, certification bodies, actor coordination.
Systems that don't sit at any single layer – they connect producers, corporates, investors, and regulators.
Explore →Social Sustainability
Human rights, just transition, labour standards, community engagement, indigenous rights.
The 'S' in ESG spans all layers – from landscape-level community work to corporate governance.
Explore →AI in Sustainability
How AI transforms measurement, reporting, and action across the sustainability domain.
Applications, maturity levels, key players, and ethical considerations at every layer.
Explore →Actors Across Layers
Different actors operate at different layers. Understanding where you sit, and who else operates around you, is the first step to effective strategy.
Roles show where value moves. Actor buckets show who makes the system work: Producers Value Creators; Markets Connectors + Enablers; Buyers Demand Side.
Demand Side
CORPORATE
Demand-side actors
Brands, retailers, manufacturers, service companies, shipping lines, logistics operators, transport firms, miners & commodity producers
Layers: L3-L5
Do you understand your full exposureo
INVESTOR
Capital providers
DFIs, impact funds, ESG funds, commercial banks, family offices
Layers: L4-L5
Where is your capital creating impacto
ASSET OWNER
Long-term capital allocators
Pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, endowments, large family offices
Layers: L4-L5
How does your allocation strategy reflect nature and climate risko
INSURER & REINSURER
Risk pricing & underwriting
Commercial insurers, reinsurers, brokers, catastrophe modelers
Layers: L4-L5
How do you price and reduce nature-related risko
PHILANTHROPY & FOUNDATIONS
Catalytic capital
Foundations, donor collaboratives, grant-makers, mission funds
Layers: L4-L5
Where can catalytic funding unlock private capitalo
PUBLIC GRANT & STATUTORY FUNDING
Government and multilateral funding
EU Horizon, NORAD, DFID/FCDO, USAID, statutory allocations, national research councils
Layers: L4-L5
How do grant programs unlock impact and crowd in private financeo
Enablers
CONSULTANCY
Commercial advisory
ERM, Anthesis, Carbon Trust, shipping risk consultants, freight hedging advisors
Layers: L4-L5
Where do you add most valueo
LEGAL & TRANSACTION ADVISORY
Structuring deals & compliance
Law firms, transaction advisors, investment banks, SPV structuring
Layers: L4-L5
How do you structure finance that balances risk, impact, and complianceo
STANDARD SETTER
Defining frameworks
Verra, SBTi, SBTN, Gold Standard, GRI, ISSB
Layers: L4
How does your standard connect to outcomeso
CERTIFIER & VERIFIER
Validating claims
Soil Association, SGS, Bureau Veritas, audit firms
Layers: L3-L4
What trust do you enableo
INDUSTRY BODY
Professional networks
ISEP, IEMA, UKSIF, NFU, trade associations
Layers: L4-L5
How do you shape sector practiceo
Connectors
TECHNOLOGY & DATA
MRV & platforms
Sylvera, Pachama, registry platforms, MRV tech, satellite providers
Layers: L2-L4
What gaps do you fill in the data chaino
RATINGS & INDEX PROVIDERS
Benchmarks & risk analytics
MSCI, Sustainalytics, S&P, Moody's, FTSE Russell
Layers: L4-L5
How do you make sustainability data decision-gradeo
MARKET INFRASTRUCTURE
Exchanges, registries & clearing
Stock exchanges, bond markets, registries, clearing houses
Layers: L3-L5
How do you ensure integrity and liquidityo
INTERMEDIARY
Market facilitators
Carbon brokers, freight brokers, shipbrokers, FFA brokers, commodity derivatives brokers, aggregators
Layers: L2-L3
How do you connect supply to demando
PUBLIC FINANCE
Budget owners & development finance
Treasuries, ministries of finance, municipal authorities, development banks, sovereign issuers, export credit agencies
Layers: L3-L5
How do public budgets and guarantees unlock private capitalo
REGULATOR
Mandatory requirements
EU Commission, FCA, Defra, EPA, national governments
Layers: L1-L4
How do you drive real outcomeso
RESEARCH & ACADEMIA
Knowledge generators
Universities, UNEP-WCMC, Stockholm Resilience Centre, think tanks
Layers: L1-L4
How does your research reach practiceo
Value Creators
NGO
Non-profit advocacy
FFI, WWF, Conservation International, local trusts
Layers: L1-L3
How do you translate mission to actiono
GUARDIANS, CUSTODIANS & PRODUCERS
Stewards of land, water, resources & traditional knowledge
Indigenous communities, traditional land managers, farmers, foresters, fishers, cooperatives
Layers: L1-L3
Are you capturing value from all service typeso
Professional Networks & Practice Areas
As an ISEP affiliate member and UKSIF member, we maintain active engagement with both sustainability practitioners and the sustainable finance community. If you work within ISEP's (Institute for Sustainability & Environmental Practitioners) seven policy and practice networks, this shows where each area fits in the system.
Biodiversity & Natural Capital
Foundation of the entire system. Natural capital stocks generate ecosystem service flows that underpin economy and society.
Framework location: L1 (Planetary Foundations), L2 (Landscapes), L3 (Ecosystem Services)
Climate Change Mitigation & Adaptation
Spans biophysical boundaries (L1), regulatory frameworks (L4: TCFD, CSRD), and corporate targets & transition plans (L5).
Framework location: L1 (Climate boundary), L4 (Policy), L5 (Corporate targets)
Circular Economy
Transforms how provisioning services (L3) flow through value chains and how organisations manage resource efficiency (L5).
Framework location: L3 (Provisioning services), L5 (Operational implementation)
Sustainable Finance
Capital flows moving vertically through the system: green bonds, ESG funds, carbon credits, biodiversity credits, PES payments.
Framework location: Finance Flow (vertical), L4-L5 (Investor & corporate action)
Environmental Management
Practical implementation at organisational level: ISO 14001, compliance, operational controls, management systems.
Framework location: L5 (Corporate Action operational implementation)
Impact Assessment
Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (EIA/SIA) happens at landscape level where outcomes occur.
Framework location: L2 (Landscapes & Jurisdictions where assessment happens)
Social Sustainability
Spans all layers: community engagement, just transition, labour standards, human rights in supply chains.
Framework location: Cross-cutting enabler + L2 (Landscape-level community work)
Why this matters: If you're a sustainability practitioner working in one of these networks, this framework shows how your area connects to the wider system. Understanding these connections helps you see opportunities for integration, identify leverage points, and communicate strategy more effectively.
Why Sustainability Is Hard to Navigate
Every organisation entering sustainability faces the same problem: where do you starto
The terrain is overwhelming:
- Dozens of frameworks: CSRD, TNFD, SBTi, SBTN, CDP, GRI, ISSB...
- Competing priorities: climate vs nature vs social vs governance
- Multiple stakeholders: investors want one thing, regulators another, customers another
- Rapidly evolving: what was voluntary becomes mandatory; what was best practice becomes baseline
Most sustainability advice focuses on individual frameworks or compliance requirements. But compliance isn't strategy. Ticking boxes doesn't create value.
To act strategically, you need to see the whole system and have the capability to act on it.
Navigate + Build
Understanding the system is essential, but it's only the beginning. We use this framework in everything we do: to navigate where you are, advise on strategy, and build the systems you need to act effectively.
Not sure where to starto Book a discovery session. No commitment, no pitch.
Everything we do is grounded in Layer 1. Protecting and restoring the natural systems that underpin everything else isn't just good ethics it's the foundation of a functioning economy.