DONATE
Search

NATURAL CAPITAL AS A SUCCESS FACTOR: insights from the SUSTAINABLE SWITZERLAND FORUM 2025

On 2 September 2025, Innovate 4 Nature (I4N) participated in the Sustainable Switzerland Forum 2025 in Bern, which brought together business leaders, academics, policymakers, and civil society to exchange ideas and solutions for building a sustainable and resilient economy.
The Forum focused on three central themes – circular economy, supply chains under pressure, and AI in energy management – reflecting the challenges and opportunities businesses face in today’s fast-changing global context.

Insights from the Forum

Throughout the sessions and keynotes, several consistent messages emerged:

  • Growing demand for high-quality sustainability data: Swiss companies are increasingly required to disclose environmental, social, and governance (ESG) information, driven by both international developments and EU regulations such as CSRD and CSDDD. Yet data collection remains a significant challenge. While 72% of purchasing managers maintain relationships with over 100 suppliers, only a minority currently request comprehensive environmental, social, or governance data. Reliable Scope 3 data in particular remains scarce.
  • SMEs under particular strain: While large companies also struggle with reporting, smaller enterprises often lack the resources to build robust data systems, making collaboration and knowledge sharing across the value chain essential.
  • A call for a mindset shift: Experts including Mathis Wackernagel and Jim Hagemann Snabe highlighted that we are at an inflection point. Incremental improvements will not suffice – companies must move from a logic of “we should” to “we want” and embrace reinvention rather than optimization of outdated models.
  • The importance of communication: Research shared by Prof. Dr. Johanna Gollnhofer underscored the role of marketing in mainstreaming sustainability. For many consumers, personal benefits are decisive. By highlighting relevance to people’s daily lives, sustainability can become the new normal rather than a niche proposition.

I4N Workshop: Natural Capital as a Success Factor

I4N was honored to host the only afternoon workshop of the Forum:
“Natural Capital as a Success Factor – Resilient Value Creation through Nature-Positive Strategies.”

The workshop began with a fundamental question posed to participants: “Imagine our ecosystems collapse: what would that mean for your company, your products, your supply chains?”

The responses were sobering and unanimous – there is no business on a dead planet. Participants highlighted a wide range of risks, from disrupted supply chains, soaring costs, and reputational damage to systemic threats such as food insecurity, geopolitical instability, and mass losses across industries. At the same time, voices in the room emphasised that such a scenario could accelerate innovation and highlight the urgent need for nature-positive action.

A keynote contribution came from Aurelia Figueroa, Chief Sustainability Officer at Breitling, who outlined the company’s journey in understanding its dependencies on nature. Breitling’s approach includes the use of leading tools and frameworks such as the TNFD LEAP process, WWF’s Biodiversity Risk Filter, WRI’s Aqueduct Risk Atlas, and the IBAT database. Her message was clear: integrating nature into business strategy is still in its early stages, but it is both feasible and necessary.

Barbara Dubach kicking off the workshop
Aurelia Figueroa sharing insights from Breitling's nature journey
I4N's Sibylle Grass introducing the Now for Nature Accelerator Programme

Workshop Outcomes

Participants then engaged in group discussions structured around the ACT-D framework (Assess, Commit, Transform, Disclose):

  • Assess: Companies face challenges in obtaining location-specific, reliable data, particularly from suppliers. Publicly available tools are useful, but data quality, comparability, and management attention remain limiting factors.
  • Commit: Interestingly, no participant volunteered to tackle the “Commit” phase, suggesting that companies still find it difficult to make explicit nature-related commitments, reflecting both fear of complexity and uncertainty about implementation.
  • Transform: Many participants emphasized the need to embed nature on the balance sheet, pilot small-scale projects, and use storytelling across the value chain to raise awareness. Transformation was understood as both a business necessity and an opportunity for leadership.
  • Disclose: While nature-related reporting is still in its infancy, many participants acknowledged that the groundwork laid through climate reporting (e.g., TCFD) can be leveraged. Despite its complexity, biodiversity also offers unique advantages, as it is tangible, local, and personally relevant – making it easier to engage stakeholders.

Looking Ahead

Our central conclusion from both the Forum and our workshop is clear: nature is not an externality – it is the foundation of resilient value creation.

Businesses that act early to integrate natural capital into their strategies will be better positioned to mitigate risks, attract customers and investors, and unlock new opportunities for innovation and collaboration. Conversely, those who ignore nature’s role risk falling behind in a rapidly shifting regulatory, market, and environmental landscape.

At Innovate 4 Nature, we are committed to supporting startups, corporates, and investors on this journey. By building bridges between sectors and fostering practical action, we aim to accelerate the shift toward a regenerative economy in which both nature and business can thrive.

We thank all participants of our workshop for their openness and contributions and look forward to continuing the dialogue and action in the months ahead.

👉 Together, let’s turn nature-positive ambition into action.

READ MORE INSIGHTS