The inaugural Nature Lunch in Davos brought together business leaders, scientists, NGOs, investors and innovators around a shared conviction: the business case for nature is no longer in question. The challenge now is execution at scale.
Hosted by Innovate 4 Nature together with the European Biodiversity Coalition, Nature Wealth Foundation and Biodiversity Bridge, the lunch created rare space away from the Davos noise – a moment to reconnect with nature, and with each other, around one essential question:
How do we move from intent to impact fast enough?
1. We are past the ‘Why’. The question is ‘How?’
As Paul Polman put it plainly:
“We have the science. We have the data. We have the solutions. What we lack is speed and scale.”
Across the conversation, there was strong alignment that:
The gap is no longer knowledge. It is coordination, leadership, and deployment.
2. Nature is not a constraint, it is a value creation engine
André Hoffmann’s message was unequivocal: nature must be treated as productive capital, not an externality.
The dominant economic logic still rewards depletion over regeneration. Forests are more valuable when cut down than when standing; ecosystems appear nowhere on balance sheets; and risk disclosures continue to ignore nature degradation as a material threat.
Until nature is measured, valued and integrated into core business decision-making, capital will continue to flow in the wrong direction.
This is precisely where innovation matters: not incremental fixes, but new business models that regenerate natural systems while creating economic value.
3. The science is clear, and the risk is immediate
Johan Rockström reminded the room that we are no longer operating in a zone of uncertainty:
The implication for business is profound: nature risk is systemic risk. Ignoring it is no longer compatible with fiduciary duty.
However, Johan also pointed out that:
“We can solve this. We can transition back into safe operating space. And we also know that the outcomes will give us a more secure, a more stable, a more healthy, and a more prosperous, and a more equitable future for humanity. It’s the winning game.”
4. Business is ready, but cannot do this alone
CEOs from “hard-to-abate” and nature-dependent sectors, Miljan Gutovic, CEO of Holcim, and Gilles Andrier, CEO of Givaudan, made one thing clear: the transition is underway, but it is uneven and fragile.
Key enablers identified:
Examples from construction, consumer goods and fragrances showed that nature-positive solutions already exist, but scaling them requires collaboration across entire value chains.
5. Partnership is the new leadership
A recurring theme across business, NGOs and science was the shift from confrontation to collaboration.
As WWF director Kirsten Schuijt highlighted, conservation can only succeed with people, not against them – particularly indigenous communities, farmers and local stakeholders who are essential partners in regeneration.
Leadership today is not about acting alone, but about orchestrating ecosystems, connecting innovators, corporates, financiers and policymakers around shared outcomes.
6. What this means for the I4N ecosystem
For Innovate 4 Nature, the Nature Lunch reaffirmed our core mission:
The opportunity now is to move faster by:
From conversation to commitment
The inaugural Nature Lunch was not about inspiration alone. It was a working session for a community that understands the stakes and the opportunity.
The task ahead is clear: turn alignment into action, pilots into platforms, and intention into irreversible momentum.
At Innovate 4 Nature, we look forward to continuing this work: not in isolation, but together with those ready to build a regenerative economy in practice, not just in principle.
If you missed the Nature Lunch, you can view the recordings here and the photo gallery here.
READ MORE INSIGHTS
