Novo Nordisk disclosed a science-based nature commitment on Sept. 15: the Danish healthcare company will source wheat, corn, soy, cattle, sugar beets and wood only from locations that are "conversion-free" — land where natural habitat was not destroyed to expand production.

The pledge makes Novo Nordisk one of 14 companies that this week published targets or projects addressing nature-related concerns such as biodiversity, freshwater quality or ocean protections. Close to three dozen companies have now had some aspect of their nature strategy validated using methodologies from the Science Based Targets Network (SBTN), the body that pushes businesses to adopt and publicly disclose formal targets for protecting habitats, freshwater and oceans. All validations were independent, though not every company has published its targets.

The framework is young. SBTN introduced and piloted its guidelines three years ago with 17 companies, including GSK, Holcim and Kering, which went on to file official pledges. Revisions to the freshwater and land recommendations are pending: version 2.0 of the methodology is scheduled for announcement on Oct. 13. The ocean guidelines are newer and will not be updated in this wave.

"That was a function of the community being more advanced on the first two realms," SBTN CEO Erin Billman said. "We have been catching up in terms of foundational content."

Waitrose tests the ocean guidance

UK supermarket chain Waitrose, owned by John Lewis Partnership, sits among the first companies with ocean-related commitments. Its plans include stopping sourcing of Moroccan sardines and Atlantic mackerel from certain regions and restoring mangroves in Honduras.

Europe supplies the vast majority of early adopters. Seatopia, a small direct-to-consumer seafood retailer, is the first U.S. company to publicly commit to SBTN in the latest disclosure round. Japan entered the list for the first time with two companies: beer maker Kirin Holdings and construction and real estate firm Daiwa House Industry.

"SBTN helps us speed up decision-making and discussion," said Hiroaki Takaoka, senior executive officer for corporate strategy at Kirin. "Instead of discussions about whether or not we should care about nature, the discussion now moves on to which regions, which parts of the supply chain, and which sites are most important for our business."

Targets framed as supply security

An SBTN analysis of early adopters, published Sept. 15, found many companies won internal support for nature targets by linking them to raw material availability, rising production costs and supply chain resilience — procurement arguments, not conservation rhetoric.

H&M illustrates the pattern. The retailer used SBTN guidelines to convert broad biodiversity promises into measurable commitments on forests and land conversion, backed by a transition plan. It now prioritizes specific landscapes and materials, including cotton and wool. That shift changed conversations between H&M's sustainability team and its board.

"I am encouraged that companies are seeing it as a management tool," Billman said.

For the sourcing companies now holding validated targets, the Oct. 13 release of land and freshwater methodology version 2.0 is the next checkpoint: it will determine whether first-generation commitments hold or need reworking.