Introduction

In February 2026, the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) will publish its first global report on business and biodiversity in Manchester. This document, authored by 80 experts from 35 countries, will lay the groundwork for an economic assessment of the dependencies and impacts of human activities on nature. For IRICE, this announcement confirms what we already practice: a scientific, measurable, and independent approach to ecological performance.

And yet, that's where everything is decided.

The global economy depends on nature

According to IPBES, more than half of global GDP relies directly on ecosystem services. Yet, this dependence remains largely undervalued in economic decision-making. The report will establish three fundamental typologies:

• the dependence of businesses on natural resources,
• the consequences of their activities on biodiversity,
• and the measurement and action mechanisms to correct these effects.

This structure foreshadows a true global ecological accounting, where each economic actor will have to account for their footprint and net contribution to nature.

From scientific analysis to verifiable action

IRICE, as an ISO/IEC 17065 accredited certification body, has structured its Effinature® and BPS standards according to this same logic:

• Measuring ecological dependencies and pressures on the environment,
• Evaluation of functional and cohabitation dynamics,
• Production of verifiable evidence, integrated into an overall performance rating.

This scientific methodology anticipates the IPBES' call for evidence-based tools capable of informing financial, regulatory, and territorial decisions. Where many initiatives are limited to raising awareness, IRICE establishes ecological traceability with the same level of rigor as energy or carbon traceability.

A natural alignment with the international framework

The six chapters of the upcoming IPBES report find a direct echo in the Effinature® structures:

Thus, Effinature is not positioning itself as a competitor to a global framework, but as an operational instrument already aligned with its future architecture.

Environmental data, the company's new asset

The IPBES report heralds a profound transformation: biodiversity is becoming a parameter for managing economic risk. For investors, landowners, and developers, managing these dependencies will determine access to sustainable financing in the future. By making ecological performance measurable, IRICE and Effinature are creating a bridge between science, standards, and economic value. This ability to certify ecological evidence makes IRICE a key player in the convergence of finance, development, and nature.

Conclusion

IPBES 2026 will mark a historic milestone: nature will officially enter the global accounting lexicon. IRICE and Effinature already embody its concrete application. The question is no longer whether companies should integrate biodiversity into their decisions, but how they will do so.

The question remains open.

Operational translation for real estate professionals

IPBES establishes a global scientific framework. In a real estate project, this framework implies three requirements

• measure the ecological dependencies of the site, 
• assess the pressures generated by the project, 
• translate performance into comparable and verifiable indicators.

Without a structured method, biodiversity remains a matter of self-reporting. With a quantifiable and traceable assessment tool, it becomes manageable and enforceable.

This is the level at which operational transformation takes place.

From science to notation

Text :

An ecological accounting approach assumes:

• measurable indicators, 
• a transparent aggregation method, 
• an independent verification mechanism.

A structured biodiversity score makes it possible to objectify this performance at the scale of a project.

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