Just nature: Building a just and inclusive future

In the race to net zero and a healthy planet, nature has too often been the silent partner — essential to sustaining life yet consistently undervalued in policy and investment decisions. While climate change rightly dominates headlines and boardroom agendas, the parallel crisis of nature loss has unfolded more quietly, despite its profound implications for people and the planet.

Today, there is growing recognition that companies will need a strategy for managing nature risks and impacts, similar to their plans for addressing climate change. At the same time, there is recognition that nature-based solutions are not just helpful but essential to achieving net zero.

Yet what remains underexplored is how these solutions are implemented, and for whom. If we fail to consider who benefits, who bears the costs, and how communities are engaged, we risk repeating patterns of environmental injustice. Embedding equity, inclusion, and social value into the way we restore and protect nature is not optional — it is fundamental.

The cost of ignoring nature

Nature is not just a backdrop to human activity — it is the foundation of our economies, health, and well-being. Ecosystems provide essential services like pollination, water purification, carbon sequestration, and flood protection, all of which underpin global economic productivity. Yet these services are being eroded at an alarming rate.

According to the World Economic Forum, over half of global GDP — around $44trn — is moderately or highly dependent on nature. The World Bank warns that the collapse of ecosystem services could cost the global economy $2.7trn in GDP annually by 2030, a 2.3% decline each year. When nature suffers, so does the economy, but the impacts are not felt equally.

The financial system has historically failed to account for the true value of nature. This oversight has led to capital being allocated in ways that degrade ecosystems, through deforestation, overfishing, pollution, and unsustainable land use. These environmental costs often translate into social costs, particularly for the billions of people, especially in low- and middle-income countries, who rely directly on nature for their livelihoods.

From smallholder farmers and fishers to indigenous communities and informal workers, many are employed in sectors that are both nature-dependent and highly vulnerable to ecological decline. When nature is degraded, these communities face job losses, food insecurity, displacement, and reduced resilience to climate shocks.

The result is a compounding of physical, economic, and social risks with profound implications for long-term development and financial stability. For investors, this means recognising that nature loss is not just an environmental issue, but a driver of inequality and systemic risk.

What does ‘just nature’ mean?

‘Just nature’ is more than a slogan — it’s a framework for considering how justice, nature, and sustainability intersect. Fundamentally, it is about ensuring that conservation and restoration efforts are not only environmentally sustainable but also socially inclusive and supports local communities, indigenous peoples, and workers.

This approach aligns with the broader goals of a just transition — ensuring that environmental policies do not disproportionately impact vulnerable communities and that the benefits of a greener economy are widely shared.

Building on early thinking

The concept of ‘just nature; is not entirely new. Pioneering work by the Grantham Institute highlighted the systemic risks posed by biodiversity loss and the need for investors to consider social justice and human rights when thinking about nature and the climate transition. Similarly, the EU’s JUSTNature project has been instrumental in exploring how nature-based solutions can be implemented in urban environments in a socially inclusive way.

What is new — and critical — is an investment lens that recognises the interconnected risks and opportunities of nature and social equity. Investors are realising that biodiversity loss is not just an environmental issue — it’s a socio-economic risk. Sectors like agriculture, pharmaceuticals, mining, manufacturing, and construction face growing exposure to ecosystem collapse, supply chain disruption, and shifting capital flows. But beyond risk, there’s a growing understanding that a nature-positive economy must also be a just one — where benefits are equitably shared, communities are involved in decision-making, and restoration efforts do not come at the expense of social inclusion and human rights.

What investors can do

For investors, this is not just about doing good, it is about building resilient, future-fit portfolios that reflect the full spectrum of environmental and social value. I am proud that Royal London Asset Management is the first investor to focus on ‘just nature’ from a stewardship and investment perspective. Building on the work we’ve done on the just transition, we are looking at how our investments are environmentally responsible, socially inclusive, and economically resilient.

There are clear steps investors can take to embed just nature into their work.

First, integrate social inclusion into nature and biodiversity research—metrics like community engagement, land rights, and fair labour practices are as relevant to green investments as to brown ones.

Second, prioritise nature-based solutions that deliver co-benefits for local communities, and ensure they are co-designed with those most affected, including workers and Indigenous peoples.

Third, apply just nature principles when assessing company plans to ensure nature action is also fair.

Finally, bring a social lens to stewardship: ask companies how they assess social impacts, whether they uphold free, prior and informed consent, and how they plan to embed fairness and justice into their biodiversity strategies.

Conclusion

‘Just nature’ is a strategic imperative for aligning environmental goals with social and economic resilience. Addressing nature loss demands coordinated action across investors, policymakers, businesses, and civil society.

For investors, this means embedding social inclusion into both investment decisions and stewardship practices. Companies must engage meaningfully with those most affected — indigenous peoples, local communities, and nature-dependent workers — whose perspectives are essential to designing fair and effective solutions. Policymakers, in turn, must ensure that environmental goals are pursued in ways that reinforce, rather than compromise, social equity.

As the connections between nature, climate, and social outcomes become increasingly evident, integrating justice into environmental strategies is not just responsible; it is essential for building resilient portfolios and sustainable economies.