Companies’ impact on biodiversity and ecosystems would become an integral part of sustainability reporting under new plans that aim to create a more complete assessment of how businesses harm the environment. Corporations should explain to investors how they are managing resources sustainably, according to reporting rules proposed Wednesday by the International Sustainability Standards Board, an arm of the International Financial Reporting Standards Foundation, an accounting-standards body. The trial could act as a beacon for such reporting and make other companies more comfortable with the idea of reporting their biodiversity impact voluntarily, Ms. Saint-Laurent said. Overcoming reporting challengesGathering data on biodiversity still poses a challenge for corporations and can often involve expensive teams of dozens of experts. “We’re not quite at the point where we’re able to have one single number,” she said, adding, “it’s multiple numbers that show performance.” Unlike carbon-emissions reporting, biodiversity assessment can be complicated and expensive.

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