How refinq Helps Build Nature Risk Resilience Amid Evolving Regulatory Demands
As nature-related risks rise up on the agenda for businesses and investors alike, many are discovering that available tools haven’t kept pace with frameworks now guiding disclosure. The Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) sets out what to report, but translating the framework into actionable insights is a considerable hurdle.
This is where nature intelligence platforms like refinq are stepping in. In a recent session with the Nature Tech Collective, refinq shared how organizations can move beyond check-box compliance and start building scenario-based resilience into their decision-making.
Why nature-related risk isn’t like climate risk
Nature-related risks aren’t just a climate story. They have their own distinct dynamics. While climate risk can often be modeled at global or regional scales, nature risk is inherently local and spatial, tied to the health of specific ecosystems.
What complicates things further is the range of interacting drivers: land-use change, pollution, biodiversity loss, and more. These factors don’t follow predictable patterns and rarely act in isolation. This makes traditional ESG frameworks, often designed for broader and more linear risks, less equipped to handle the complexity of nature risk.
Regulators are starting to catch up to this: TNFD guidance encourages companies to examine how their operations both depend on and impact nature, and how those links can manifest as financial risks over time. With new mandates like the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) embedding TNFD-aligned expectations into regulation, understanding nature risk isn’t just best practice, it’s fast becoming a compliance imperative.
A platform for dynamic and modular nature risk workflows
refinq’s nature intelligence platform is purpose-built to help organizations navigate this complexity. It supports everything from early-stage screening to deep-dive assessments and forward-looking planning, built around three core capabilities:
Spatial screening & risk mapping
Organizations can scan assets and project sites using curated environmental datasets that highlight key risk indicators such as freshwater stress, ecosystem conversion pressure, or proximity to protected areas and Indigenous territories. This helps flag potential issues early in the planning or investment cycle.
Modular risk assessments
Assessments are designed to be tailored by sector, geography, or supply chain footprint. refinq’s framework draws on TNFD’s LEAP process (Locate, Evaluate, Assess, Prepare) to structure the workflow. Each step balances quantitative indicators, like ecosystem service degradation, with contextual inputs, such as governance or land tenure risk, to create a more complete picture of nature-related exposure.
Scenario-based planning
This is where refinq’s capabilities deepen. The platform enables users to simulate how risks may shift under different future climate scenarios, such as land use, or ecosystem condition. These simulations allow stakeholders to test strategic responses and explore alternative outcomes, helping shift from reactive disclosure to proactive resilience building by taking nature actions to mitigate climate risks.
Building decision-relevance into nature risk data
Data without context can quickly become noise. A central challenge in nature tech is ensuring that data-driven insights are accessible and useful for decision-makers, whether they are financial analysts, sustainability teams, or on-the-ground planners.
refinq is designed to integrate into existing ESG and risk systems. This enables users to carry nature-related data into decision-making pipelines without duplicating processes. Use cases include comparing potential project locations, integrating nature metrics into procurement workflows, or adding risk flags to due diligence screening tools.
Rather than offering a fixed risk score, the platform supports a flexible, layered approach. This means that stakeholders across different roles can access the level of depth they need and tailor assessments to fit their context.
From data to action: The pathway to resilience
One of the recurring challenges in nature risk work is the gap between identifying a risk and acting on it. Often, uncertainty around data, methodology, or trade-offs gets in the way.
refinq’s scenario engine helps address this by allowing users to simulate interventions and test "what if" strategies. For example, a company might examine how restoring upstream ecosystems could reduce water stress at a manufacturing site, or how increased conservation in a landscape could affect agricultural land use.
This type of analysis helps build confidence in nature-positive approaches. It also surfaces co-benefits such as regulatory alignment, community engagement, or improved climate resilience.
Case study: Assessing Nordzucker’s nature-related risk with refinq
Nordzucker, one of Europe’s largest sugar producers and the second biggest in Australia, is deeply embedded in global food systems. Sugar is found in nearly all processed foods, meaning its production has far-reaching environmental impacts. Understanding these risks is essential for any company committed to sustainability.
Assessing risks across geographies
Nordzucker operates on both sugar beet farms in Europe and sugar cane farms in Australia. Using a robust risk assessment tool, the company tracks its exposure to nature-related risks at both a portfolio and individual asset level. This includes factors like soil erosion, water stress, and biodiversity impacts. By classifying risks based on severity, Nordzucker gains a clear understanding of where its operations are most vulnerable to environmental challenges.
The specifics: High risk in Australia
At a sugar cane farm in northeastern Australia, the farm faces high exposure to nature-related risks, particularly in areas like water stress and soil health. The farm’s success heavily depends on the surrounding ecosystem, making it sensitive to environmental changes. For example, measuring soil organic carbon shows the farm’s resilience to droughts and floods, a crucial factor in maintaining productivity during extreme weather events.
Trust and transparency in data
Nordzucker prioritizes trust in its sustainability efforts, offering transparent, data-driven insights. The company uses verified data sources and processes it for accuracy, ensuring that the information can be used to make informed decisions. This focus on transparency helps prevent greenwashing, allowing Nordzucker to build a resilient business grounded in real environmental risks rather than just public relations.
A framework for resilience
By applying the LEAP framework, Nordzucker can better understand its nature-related dependencies and the broader ecosystem. Metrics like pollination and biodiversity intactness allow the company to assess how its operations impact the environment. These insights are crucial for making decisions that safeguard both the business and the natural systems on which it depends.
Nordzucker’s approach exemplifies how companies can use data to address environmental risks and build long-term sustainability, ensuring their operations thrive while protecting vital ecosystems.
What this means for nature tech
refinq offers a pragmatic and flexible approach to managing nature-related risk. The modular structure of their platform allows for assessments to be customized, while its scenario capabilities make it easier to explore responses and not just diagnose exposure.
As nature continues to climb the regulatory and strategic agenda, tools that support spatial, contextual, and forward-looking analysis will be essential. The ability to link frameworks like TNFD to real operational decisions may well define the next chapter for nature tech.
Watch the playback of this session:
In a recent session hosted by the Nature Tech Collective, refinq’s Franziska Walde and Stuart Auld offered a behind-the-scenes look at how their platform supports nature-related risk assessments, and why localized, dynamic intelligence is key to moving from static reports to resilient strategies.
