User Stories
Brown Bear
Ursus arctos
IUCN Red List - Least Concern
Our customers' stories
Iberdrola
Iberdrola, a global leader in renewable energy, is committed to incorporating biodiversity into its business strategy to meet sustainability goals and comply with regulations like the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). Understanding biodiversity risks and opportunities is critical to their operations.
By using the Integrated Biodiversity Assessment Tool (IBAT), Iberdrola gains access to up-to-date data on protected areas, key biodiversity areas, and species threats. This data helps the company make informed decisions, ensuring environmental stewardship and regulatory compliance, while minimizing biodiversity-related risks across their value chain.
Collaborating to drive investment into landscape and biodiversity regeneration
Given the increasing focus on biodiversity in investment strategies, IBAT and Cultivo have partnered to enhance understanding of how investments can positively impact biodiversity. By integrating IBAT’s datasets into Cultivo’s advanced platform, critical conservation areas are identified and this provides a comprehensive view of how high-value regeneration projects can significantly enhance biodiversity and the ecosystem services they provide.
This approach allows investors to support projects that maximize biodiversity gains and enhance financial resilience through cost-effective, nature-based strategies. As James Clifton, Co-founder at Cultivo, explains, "Through this collaboration, Cultivo and IBAT are providing investors with biodiversity data and insights to help identify nature-based projects that have high natural capital potential, maximize biodiversity gains, and reduce financial risk."
Natcap
Natcap is a software and advisory company that helps organisations move beyond a narrow focus on climate and embed nature more broadly into their decision making. This allows companies to future-proof against nature-related risks; capture nature-related business opportunities; and meet mandatory regulatory requirements, like CSRD, with confidence.
Understanding the global distribution of natural capital assets and how these relate to conservation efforts is critical for effective business planning and compliance with relevant legislation.
Natcap uses IBAT’s biodiversity datasets in its nature intelligence platform, giving Natcap customers access to the world's most current data on protected area designations and biodiversity threats. This data is crucial for Natcap’s evaluations of nature-related risks and opportunities for businesses, and represents a significant addition to Natcap’s comprehensive data product.
Aditya Birla Group
Aditya Birla Group adopted a group-level Biodiversity Policy in April 2018 and subscribe to IBAT to meet these requirements:
UltraTech Cement Ltd., an Aditya Birla Group Company, is the world's third largest cement manufacturing company (excluding China). UltraTech has committed to No Net Loss as part of their biodiversity policy and recognise the importance of biodiversity and associated ecosystem services for the long-term sustainability of its operations. Consequently, all sites have undergone early-stage screening for potential biodiversity-related risks and opportunities through IBAT. Based on the results, UltraTech have further prioritised sites to put a comprehensive Biodiversity Management Plan in place.
Hindalco Industries Ltd, an Aditya Birla Group company, is the world's largest aluminium rolling company and among the biggest producers of primary aluminium in Asia. One of the requirements of the group biodiversity policy is to undertake biodiversity screening at all the business units and operational locations. Hindalco has used IBAT extensively for meeting this requirement. Hindalco sustainability cell has completed a biodiversity screening at all operational locations including both plants and mines. IBAT Proximity Reports were generated. Information about Protected Areas (PAs), Key Biodiversity Area (KBAs) and IUCN Red List species (Critically Endangered, Endangered and Vulnerable) within buffers of 5, 15 and 25 km was collated and potential biodiversity risk at each site classified into High, Medium or Low with the help of IBAT. Based on this information, Hindalco developed an excel based priority meter for easy access to all Hindalco staff.
Deputy General Manager at Aditya Birla Group
Allianz
Allianz Group is one of the world’s largest financial service providers offering property and casualty (P&C) insurance, life/health insurance and asset management. Integration of sustainability in our underwriting and investment activities across the above-mentioned segments has been a long-standing priority for Allianz.
Since 2012, Allianz has continuously worked on implementing processes to manage sustainability-related risks across our business. This included introducing guidelines for the management of such risks across our P&C insurance and non-listed investment (real estate, infrastructure, renewables, etc.) transactions.
When an underwriter or investment manager identifies a potential risk based on one of our sustainability guidelines, the transaction is referred for review by one of our sustainability centres of competence. These teams then use a variety of sustainability-risk data sources, including the Integrated Biodiversity Assessment Tool (IBAT), to identify, assess and, if a risk is identified, make recommendations for the avoidance or mitigation of the risk.
As the topic of biodiversity increases in importance across the financial services sector, we are also using IBAT for certain analyses of biodiversity-related risks. Allianz France, recently published the results of their biodiversity risk assessment performed on their investment portfolio in their Sustainable Investment Report 2021. The underlying data for the analysis was in part based on IBAT’s GIS data for Key Biodiversity Areas and the IUCN Red List.
As the insurance and investment worlds are increasing our digitization efforts, we also see opportunities for further integration of IBAT data into our insurance, reinsurance, and investment GIS systems.
Nico Ahn
Senior Manager, Global Sustainability at Allianz
Anglo American
At Anglo American, we apply ecosystem-thinking in our management approach to address the interconnectivity of nature, our environment and the ecosystems in which we operate to deliver positive outcomes. We remain committed to the global objective of delivering positive biodiversity outcomes to ensure that the integrity of all ecosystems is enhanced, the rate of extinctions is reduced, and genetic diversity of species is maintained in line with the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework goals. This approach includes applying appropriate due diligence and assessment to identify, evaluate and report on our biodiversity-related impact, dependencies as well as opportunities. IBAT provides an excellent pre-screening desktop resource to be used in these assessments focusing on species, habitats and legally protected and or internationally recognised areas of biodiversity importance. More recently we have been using STAR to conduct site-specific assessments to identify actions that we can implement to deliver positive outcomes for identified threatened species. This is helping us develop and test site-based targets and indicators to support our Net Positive Impact journey and reporting on progress.
Warwick Mostert, Principal Biodiversity - Anglo American
BeZero Carbon
BeZero Carbon is a ratings agency for the voluntary carbon market. Combining expertise across climate science, finance and policy, it provides ratings, risk and data tools that improve information accessibility and decision-making. Its aim is to build markets for environmental impact.
Knowing where in the world is designated and managed for conservation, and how this relates to the distribution of carbon finance, is important for assessing risk in the voluntary carbon market.
"IBAT provides up-to-date information on protected area designations and threats to habitat and biodiversity. These data inform the BeZero Carbon Rating, an assessment of the likelihood that a carbon credit delivers on its promise to achieve a tonne of CO2e avoided or removed."
Map layers provided by IBAT are displayed on BeZero Carbon Markets, the world’s largest platform for carbon project ratings and research.
Phil Platts
Director, Geospatial and Earth Observation, BeZero Carbon
Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership
The Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) uses IBAT data to inform their Biodiversity Impact Metric. The metric assesses how a business’s supply chains affect nature and was developed in collaboration with companies from CISL’s Natural Capital Impact Group, leading NGOs and academics. As part of the development process, the range rarity layer was created, allowing a simple way to assess the relative importance of biodiversity in different sourcing locations.
The metric is an ideal entry-level approach that allows a company to undertake a rapid risk-screening of its sourcing in order to identify where the greatest impacts are likely to occur, thereby helping to prioritise further investigations and interventions and reduce company exposure to biodiversity impacts.
Evonik
"IBAT has been an essential tool to help Evonik understand our biodiversity risks and opportunities on-site"
Denis Sepoetro, Evonik.
Evonik is one of the world’s leading specialty chemicals companies. The chemical sector plays a key role in a sustainable future. Biodiversity has been included in our materiality analysis since 2017. We are aware that our business operations involve both opportunities and risks for biodiversity. Based on data from IBAT, we are able to examine and mitigate the potential impact of our global sites on areas significant for biodiversity – and have reported on this in our last two sustainability reports.
Finnfund
"Our investments are required to comply with the IFC (International Finance Corporation) Performance Standard 6 and as a European DFI, we are committed to ensuring biodiversity protection and conservation. In this regard, IBAT has become a crucial tool during our screening phase on biodiversity. Our team of Environmental and Social Advisers have utilised the tool to screen projects in different sectors and regions with various levels of risks and impacts. I work with forestry and renewable energy projects, and the tool gives me a quick visual overview of the potential risks and probable red flags in terms of biodiversity and ecosystem services. IBAT also allows me to integrate my analysis with other GIS tools, which increases the depth of my scrutiny. We are looking forward to utilising the new STAR functionality!"
Harold Gordillo
Senior Environmental and Social Adviser, Finnfund
FMO
IBAT is applied at an early stage of FMO’s investment process, during its first selection of clients. The tool provides the development bank guidance to inform its decision and is used as basic risk screening on biodiversity to provide a first overview on IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, Protected Areas, and Key Biodiversity Areas.
When it is found, for instance, that a project site encroaches an area that is home to a diverse and unique range of species and ecosystems………FMO may decide not to proceed with the evaluation of the opportunity, in line with FMO’s exclusion list and applicable ESG requirements outlined in its public Sustainability policy.
However, if risks and impacts can be managed in line with FMO’s ESG risk appetite, IBAT results are taken along during the next stage if the investment process………FMO’s ESG specialists would then continue to use IBAT as a monitoring tool throughout the lifetime of the investment to ensure that biodiversity risks are continuously and correctly categorized, assessed, and mitigated.
Published in PBAF 2022
GSK
GSK is a science-led healthcare company with a special purpose to improve the quality of human life. "We believe that global efforts are needed to stop activities that drive biodiversity loss, to reduce the exploitation of high biodiversity regions, to conserve protected areas and to mitigate climate impact.
IBAT provides essential screening on threatened species and endangered habitats that helps us assess risks, focus accompanying investigations, and prioritise restoration activities at our operating sites globally."
Marguerite Murray, Biodiversity Lead - GSK
Heidelberg Cement
HeidelbergCement is one of the world’s largest integrated manufacturers of building materials and solutions. At the centre of actions lies the responsibility for the environment. Together with customers and partners, HeidelbergCement drives innovation and crafts material for the future in a sustainable way.
HeidelbergCement regularly subscribes to IBAT to support the implementation of our company biodiversity-related commitments. With the support of BirdLife International, data within IBAT is used to run a proximity study enabling us to understand which of our sites are located in more biodiversity sensitive areas and therefore require biodiversity management plans. Given the dynamism around the designation of high biodiversity value areas, particularly in light of the upcoming post-2020 biodiversity framework, the availability of up to date information through IBAT is highly appreciated. The data also enables our country-based colleagues to understand more about the biodiversity in and around their sites, which is particularly important when starting new or extending existing extraction areas, and to help shape site-based projects with local NGO partners. As the restoration of habitats is a particularly important topic for us, post-extraction, we are excited to start integrating the STAR metric into our regular usage of IBAT.
Dr Carolyn Jewell
Global Biodiversity Senior Manager, HeidelbergCement
International Olympic Committee
Sustainability has a central place in the work of the IOC and it is one of the three pillars of Olympic Agenda 2020 – the strategic roadmap for the future of the Olympic Movement. As a result, sustainability principles are embedded throughout the lifecycle of the Olympic Games: from the early dialogue and candidature phases; through to the legacy that the Games create.
IBAT is one of the strategic tools used by the IOC during the early phases of the Olympic Games. “IBAT enables us to make sure that nature conservation is addressed at the very early stages of the cities’ Olympic journey”, says Michelle Lemaitre, Head of Sustainability at the IOC. “Based on data available through IBAT, if necessary, cities can modify their plans for the siting of Olympic facilities so as to avoid impacting areas of high biodiversity value. They can also go a step further by looking into ways in which hosting the Olympic Games can contribute to biodiversity conservation in the area.”
The use of IBAT has been facilitated by IUCN's Business and Biodiversity Programme, through the IUCN/IOC partnership. The partnership was established in 2016 to support the IOC in the delivery of its Sustainability Strategy, specifically in relation to nature conservation.
Norway Council on Ethics
"IBAT is an important tool to help us assess the risk of serious biodiversity loss associated with the fund's investments."
The Council on Ethics is an independent advisor to Norges Bank, Norway’s central bank, which manages the Norwegian Government Pension Fund Global. The Council assesses whether investments in specific companies are inconsistent with the fund’s ethical guidelines. Companies may be excluded from the fund if they contribute to or are themselves responsible for serious violations of norms, including severe environmental damage. IBAT is an essential source of information when assessing whether companies' activities may threaten important protected areas and Key Biodiversity Areas.
Hilde Jervan
Chief Advisor
Oil Spill Response Limited (OSRL)
At OSRL we use IBAT data to produce oil spill sensitivity maps for preparedness and response activities. These maps can be needed at short notice and for anywhere in the world. It is helpful and reassuring for us to know we have easy access to an authoritative source of environmental data.
Oil Spill Response Limited (OSRL) is the largest international industry-funded cooperative which exists to respond to oil spills wherever in the world they may occur, by providing preparedness, response and intervention services. We are wholly owned by most of the environmentally responsible oil and gas companies, and our membership represents the majority of global oil production.
Simon Blaen,
Geomatics Supervisor,
Oil Spill Response Limited
Olam
"Regularly updated, geographically specific information on biodiversity is key to help us assess risks, and prioritise actions"
Olam International is a leading food and agri-business supplying food, ingredients, feed and fibre to 19,800 customers worldwide. Olam’s value chain spans over 60 countries and includes farming, processing and distribution operations, as well as a sourcing network of an estimated 4.8 million farmers. Through their purpose to ‘Re-imagine Global Agriculture and Food Systems’, Olam aims to address the many challenges involved in meeting the needs of a growing global population, while achieving positive impact for farming communities, our planet and all Olam’s stakeholders. Regeneration of the Living World is a priority in Olam’s sustainability framework and IBAT data is used to screen for biodiversity risks in supply chains.
Rainforest Trust
"Rainforest Trust relies on IBAT as a central repository of information to support our mission to purchase and protect the world’s most threatened tropical rainforests. The spatial data that IBAT makes available are the foundation of our decision-making as an organization.
"For example, we use the IUCN range map data provided by IBAT to identify high priority sites for increasing threatened species representation within our global protected area network, and to evaluate the potential impact of projects proposed by our conservation partners. In combination with the WDPA and KBA datasets that IBAT provides, these metrics also help us identify areas in the tropics that will likely benefit threatened species and are currently unprotected."
Erin McCreless
Conservation Science and Monitoring Specialist at Rainforest Trust
The Biodiversity Consultancy
"We view IBAT as an essential tool for developments to screen for biodiversity risks."
Senior Principal Consultant, Dr Edward Pollard.
Founded in 2006, The Biodiversity Consultancy (TBC) has become a key player in the world of business and biodiversity. They work globally across sectors towards an ecologically sustainable future by tackling complex biodiversity challenges and delivering positive outcomes for business and nature. TBC’s clients include Shell, Rio Tinto, Olam, UNDP, IUCN, World Bank and IFC. High quality biodiversity data is an essential aspect of TBC’s work and IBAT is used by TBC for high-level and early stage risk screening for their clients. TBC use the new Pay As You Go functionality to access biodiversity data on behalf of their clients.
US Army
The US Army's contingency bases allow for a rapid response in a joint area of operations. However, they they inevitably have an impact on the surrounding built, natural and social environments. It is therefore critical that the Army's contractors, the Engineering Site Identification for the Tactical Environment (ENSITE), have a way to integrate and visualise environmental data to avoid knock-on effects or logistical burdens.
Military planners have now incorporated the World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA), one of the main datasets within IBAT, as a core component of their ENSITE hub software. Planners can now explore how potential contingency bases might affect the natural environment and early stage decisions to avoid potential impacts.
World Bank
At the World Bank, we use IBAT to help us screen the conservation and biodiversity value of the areas where we finance projects. We find the tool very effective and user-friendly, as we can quickly identify biodiversity information on threatened species and critical habitat, which can be used to prevent and minimize impacts of project development on biodiversity. World Bank users of IBAT have screened more than 350 project locations around the world.
Ruth Tiffer-Sotomayor
Senior Environmental Specialist at The World Bank
Using IBAT in the Financial Sector
IBAT is an increasingly relevant tool across the financial sector to help understand biodiversity risk. User testimonials from PwC Germany, UK Export Finance and an independent ESG expert demonstrate how IBAT can underpin risk screening for sustainable investments.
Key Benefits for Your Organisation
Better decision making
Good biodiversity management within government, NGOs, or private sector needs high quality data to make better decisions
Align with international best practice
Use IBAT to screen against World Bank, IFC, OECD, and other finance sector standards
Securing a license to operate
Companies can use IBAT to align with environmental regulations early in the project cycle
Increase market access
Good biodiversity management can help companies secure place in the market and help gain competitive advantage
Better analyses & models
IBAT data underpins key global analyses undertaken by research institutions, NGOs and governments
Reduce risk & uncertainty
Use IBAT to screen for potential biodiversity impacts and opportunities early in any project
Key Features
The Integrated Biodiversity Assessment Tool (IBAT) is an Alliance between BirdLife International, United Nations Environment Programme - World Conservation Monitoring Centre, The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and Conservation International.
IBAT is a biodiversity data provider licencing commercial access to global biodiversity datasets and derived data layers including the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™, the World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) and the World Database of Key Biodiversity Areas (WDKBA).
IBAT offers rapid visual screening for critical biodiversity
IBAT also provides access to biodiversity reports that offer fast, easy and web-based methods of querying these global datasets to gain site-specific insights on biodiversity risk and opportunities.
IBAT Reports include:
- Disclosure Preparation Report
- Proximity Analysis
- IFC & World Bank PS6/ESS6 Report on Critical Habitat
- Freshwater Report
- Multi-site Analysis
- Species Threat Abatement
- Restoration Metric Report.
Examples of all the reports and an extract of GIS data can be downloaded here or requested on demand.
Access and download services
Access to IBAT Datasets and Reports is arranged through a subscription or Pay As You Go download, which automatically includes a licence to use the data for commercial purposes:
i.e. (a) any use by, on behalf of, or to inform or assist the activities of, a commercial entity (an entity that operates ‘for profit’) or (b) use by any individual or non-profit entity for the purposes of revenue generation.