From Scopes to Spheres: Advancing Climate and Nature Integration

For years, corporate climate action has been narrowly focused on efforts to reduce emissions through the scopes within companies’ direct operational boundaries. This focus on minimizing harm is crucial, but incomplete.  

Now, businesses are beginning to recognize that true durability and long-term value creation lie in extending their influence beyond the factory gate—embracing a wider sphere that includes ecosystems, communities, and policy. 

This shift from “scopes to spheres” marks a critical evolution in sustainability thinking. It represents an integrated climate-and-nature paradigm that aligns business resilience with environmental stewardship and social well‑being.

As BSR noted in 2024, companies that integrate climate and nature strategies—rather than treating them as separate priorities—are better positioned to thrive amidst mounting systemic challenges. 

The Journey 

At the start of 2025, BSR introduced a strategy to integrate climate and nature—supporting member companies to break down silos while embedding societal considerations at the core.  

This priority reflects a simple but powerful truth: tackling climate change and protecting nature are inseparable goals. Companies that act on this dual agenda are not only helping address the planet’s most urgent challenges—they are building endurance and unlocking new opportunities for agility and innovation. 

At both the biodiversity COP16 in Cali and the climate COP29 in Baku, one message rang out: climate and nature resilience are inextricably linked. As we look ahead to COP30 in Belém, we expect this recognition to deepen. Businesses that operationalize this integrated approach will be best positioned to navigate uncertainty, mitigate risks, foster healthy communities, and lead in shaping sustainable markets. 

Early Lessons from Integration 

In 2025, we launched a climate and nature integration working group to break down silos and test new approaches. While the work is ongoing, it has already produced valuable insights on how businesses can align climate, nature and social strategies into a cohesive whole. 

Putting Integration into Practice  

The first step is to take stock of what’s already in place—existing climate and nature commitments—and build from there. Integration means moving beyond parallel strategies toward unified transition plans that connect climate and nature action, human rights, and just transition frameworks. It also requires adopting systems-based thinking, recognizing interdependence, and leaning into complexity rather than retreating to simplicity. Tools like visualization and mapping can make these interconnections tangible, helping teams see linkages and opportunities that siloed approaches overlook. 

Centering People  

Integration is not only environmental—it is inherently social. Workforce well-being, Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLC) rights, and community resilience must be at the heart of any approach. IPLC are not just stakeholders; they are co-creators and stewards of natural systems. Because ecosystem services are, by definition, nature’s contributions to people, social and environmental outcomes cannot, and should not, be separated. 

Nature as a Blueprint for Resilience 

Nature itself offers the most enduring lessons in resilience. The natural world demonstrates how interdependence, cyclic processes, and local responsiveness create adaptive systems. By designing strategies informed by nature, companies can create blueprints for regenerative systems, resilient organizational design, and innovative pathways to long-term value creation. 

Adaptation as a Bridge to Greater Integration  

Adaptation is inherently integrative—it bridges the realms of climate, nature, and society through solutions that benefit ecosystems and people alike. At its best, adaptation leverages the power of natural systems—such as wetlands, forests, and mangroves—to buffer communities from climate impacts like floods and droughts, while also preserving biodiversity and supporting livelihoods. If 2025 was about acknowledging the links between climate and nature, then 2026 must be about embedding adaptation into the business. Adaptation is no longer optional—it is central to long-term viability. 

Looking Ahead to 2026 and Beyond  

As we move into the final quarter of the year toward Climate Week NYC/ UNGA Week and onto the COP30 in Belém, BSR is spotlighting how businesses can embrace broader spheres of influence . The companies that thrive in the coming years will be those that: 

• Shift from siloed to integrated action, embedding climate, nature, and societal considerations into all decision-making. 
• Invest in nature-positive solutions that simultaneously cut emissions, restore ecosystems, and protect communities. 
• Build resilience into supply chains and business models, recognizing that adaptation is both a moral responsibility and a business necessity. 
• Center equity and rights, ensuring that the transition to resilient economies is just and inclusive. 

This is the essence of the shift—from “Scopes to Spheres.” By extending our view beyond reducing emissions ("scopes") to embrace broader influence and by scaling solutions in products, procurement, advocacy, and ecosystem stewardship ("spheres"), businesses can lead resilient, systemic change. This expanded lens isn’t just a good strategy: it’s fundamental to long-term survival. Put simply, business longevity relies on climate-and‑nature resilience—and that begins when we shift from scopes to spheres. 

This article was originally published at the BSR website "Sustainability Insights" and is written by Lara Birkes, Managing Director, Giulio Berruti, Director, Eileen Gallagher, Director, Laura Donnelly, Director, Climate and Nature team at BSR.