It presents the first nature-centered comprehensive framework customized for the legal profession
The International Bar Association has debuted a Nature-Intelligent Legal Services series to help lawyers, law firm leaders, and business development teams understand, evaluate, and respond to nature-related risks and opportunities resulting from the biodiversity and ecosystem crisis.
According to the IBA, the series provides the first nature-centered comprehensive framework customized for the legal profession to integrate nature considerations into legal services, strategic positioning, and client advisory work. Corporate and nature lawyer Jenni Ramos designed and co-authored the series, working with the IBA environment, health and safety law committee and the IBA law firm management committee. The IBA legal policy and research unit supported the initiative.
Biodiversity law specialists and IBA committees contributed to the series, and sustainability consultancy Nature Positive crafted the sectoral nature-exposure methodology. The series has been segmented into three parts:
- A business case guide on legal nature risk and opportunity that examines nature-related risks, opportunities and strategic and commercial benefits for legal advisers and law firms
- A nature-intelligent legal services toolkit to help law firms review client nature exposures and develop informed strategic positioning
- A nature-intelligent advisory and clause guide on incorporating nature considerations into legal advice, transactions, and contractual drafting
The IBA noted that biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse were among the biggest risks to humanity over the next decade, given that over half of global GDP was “fundamentally dependent” on nature and ecosystem services.
“All businesses, including law firms, depend on services provided by nature as sources of value, either directly or through their supply chains. Meanwhile, we know that many business activities are adversely impacting nature, for example through contributing to climate change, pollution or over-exploitation of ecosystems. These impacts and dependencies on nature create risks for organizations and their value chains,” said Wangui Kaniaru and Els Reynaers, who are on the IBA Nature-Intelligent Legal Services Series working group, in a statement.
IBA water law committee chair Kleber Zanchim noted that the series helps lawyers tackle water scarcity concerns through contract clauses that incentivize water efficiency, water recycling, and local watershed protection initiatives. IBA oil and gas law committee secretary-treasurer Marco Sella added the series would help energy lawyers to identify and address nature-related risks.
Emmanuelle Mousel, vice chair of the IBA banking and financial law committee’s banking regulation subcommittee, added that financial institutions were increasingly incorporating nature-related risks into governance and decision-making processes.
“Today, we are seeing commercial banks assess their portfolio dependencies on nature, embed biodiversity risks into lending decisions and begin to align their portfolios to priorities such as halting deforestation, minimising water pollution and restoring degraded ecosystems. We’re also seeing investors ask more questions of investee companies about their approaches to governing nature risks,” Mousel said, noting that the series included practical examples such as introducing sustainability-linked loans and adding nature risk disclosure requirements into lending agreements.
The Nature-Intelligent Legal Services series will officially be established through a global webinar entitled “Nature and biodiversity as a new frontier of risk and opportunity for lawyers: launching the Nature-Intelligent Legal Services Toolkit.” The seminar will be held on February 24.
“Lawyers have always needed commercial and financial awareness to understand their clients' business context. Nature literacy is fundamental to that professional competency, but many lawyers see it as niche or overwhelming. This series translates complex nature frameworks into practical tools, enabling lawyers from any practice area to engage confidently as strategic advisors on nature-related risks within their core work,” Ramos said.
