IRICE aligns its standards with the new ISO 17620:2025 and ISO 17298:2025 standards

Two key standards for biodiversity performance

ISO 17620:2025 – Biodiversity: Design and implementation process for net biodiversity gain in development projects. This standard defines, for the first time, a global framework for planning, measuring, and monitoring net biodiversity gain. It formalizes the ERC hierarchy (avoid, reduce, compensate) and specifies the requirements for transparency, traceability, and sustainability of ecological measures. The objective: to ensure that every development project contributes to a measurable and positive outcome for ecosystems.

ISO 17298:2025 – Biodiversity: Integrating biodiversity into organizational strategy and operations. Complementary to the previous standard, this standard aims to integrate biodiversity into the strategies of businesses and institutions. It establishes the requirements for linking environmental indicators to governance, ESG reporting, CSRD (Corporate Social Responsibility and Development), and the EU taxonomy . The goal: to make biodiversity a fully-fledged management criterion, on par with carbon or energy.

Methodological convergence and international recognition

The frameworks developed by IRICE are already based on the rigor of ISO 17029 (assessment) and ISO 17065 (certification). The integration of the requirements of the new ISO 17620:2025 and ISO 17298:2025 strengthens the scientific robustness and international legitimacy of the Effinature (real estate and development projects) and BPS (organizational assessment) certifications.

• Effinature structures the ecological assessment of projects around six fundamental requirements: functionality, pressures, dynamics, coexistence, proof and sustainable finance.
• BPS (Biodiversity Performance Score) translates these same principles into the strategy of organizations, in connection with ESG indicators, environmental management plans and reporting obligations.

This alignment ensures perfect continuity between the operational design of the net biodiversity gain and its strategic valuation in governance and sustainable finance.

A step towards the global standardization of net biodiversity gain

With this update, IRICE reinforces the recognition of Effinature as the international standard for net biodiversity gain, and of the BPS as an independent reporting tool for environmental performance. This convergence aligns with the momentum of the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) and the CSRD Directive, which require a standardized measurement of nature-related impacts and dependencies.

By integrating these new ISO standards from 2025 onwards, IRICE is consolidating its role as a key player in the global standardization of applied biodiversity and in building a common language between ecology, engineering, and sustainable finance. This development will be part of version 2025.05.1 of the Effinature and BPS standards, to be published in the first quarter of 2026.

FAQ – Biodiversity, ISO standards and IRICE frameworks

1. What do ISO 17620:2025 and ISO 17298:2025 change for real estate projects? They introduce a common framework for integrating biodiversity from the project design stage. ISO 17620:2025 addresses the net biodiversity gain, while ISO 17298:2025 mandates the consideration of biodiversity in organizational strategy. Together, they ensure consistency, traceability, and comparability of environmental outcomes.

2. How do the Effinature and BPS frameworks comply with this? IRICE's frameworks were designed according to the principles of transparency, measurement and evidence from ISO 17029 and 17065 standards. Their 2025 update incorporates the specific requirements of the new ISO 17620 and 17298 standards, guaranteeing full compatibility between project evaluation (Effinature) and organizational management (BPS).

3. What are the benefits of this alignment for industry stakeholders? Project owners, investors, and local authorities now have access to internationally consistent certification tools. These tools facilitate regulatory recognition, the valuation of real estate assets, and the quantified demonstration of sustainable environmental gains, in line with ESG, CSRD, and TNFD obligations.