Summary: The EU Nature Restoration Law makes biodiversity restoration a regulated obligation by requiring member states to restore at least 20% of EU land and sea areas by 2030 and all degraded ecosystems by 2050. For supply chain and ESG teams, the law signals that biodiversity risk now belongs in environmental due diligence, supplier assessments, and compliance planning alongside CSRD, CSDDD, and other EU sustainability rules.
The European Union has passed a landmark Nature Restoration Law. In fact, it is the first continent-wide, legally binding framework of its kind. Specifically, the law requires member states to restore at least 20% of EU land and sea areas by 2030. It also mandates restoring all degraded ecosystems by 2050. Additionally, the European Parliament approved the law on February 27, 2024, and implementation is now underway.
Moreover, this law serves as a cornerstone of the EU Biodiversity Strategy. It signals that biodiversity risk is now a regulated compliance obligation for enterprise supply chains operating in or trading with the EU. For businesses subject to the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), or Germany’s Supply Chain Act (LkSG), the Nature Restoration Law adds another layer of environmental due diligence requirements. Consequently, businesses must embed these requirements in their supplier risk programmes.
What is the EU Nature Restoration Law?
The Nature Restoration Law establishes binding targets for the EU. Specifically, it requires the restoration of at least 20% of land and sea areas by 2030. Additionally, all ecosystems in need of restoration must recover by 2050. The law sets specific, science-based restoration targets across a broad range of habitat types and species, including:
- wetlands
- forests
- grasslands
- rivers
- lakes
- coral reefs
- pollinators
- and urban green spaces
Scientific evidence and best practices ground these targets. Furthermore, authorities will monitor, measure, and report progress against each target on a regular basis. As a result, this creates an auditable trail. In other words, that trail connects directly to corporate ESG reporting obligations under CSRD and Scope 3 supply chain disclosures.
The law also requires all EU member states to develop and implement National Restoration Plans (NRPs) by the end of 2025. Each NRP must involve consultation with relevant stakeholders and the public. Furthermore, the plans must identify priority restoration areas, actions, funding sources, and projected ecosystem benefits. The European Commission provides guidance to member states and evaluates the progress of restoration efforts every two years.
Why is it important?
The Nature Restoration Law plays a critical role in the EU’s broader climate and environmental architecture. It reinforces the Paris Agreement, the Convention on Biological Diversity, and the EU’s commitment to climate neutrality by 2050. For enterprises, its importance extends well beyond ecological concern. Notably, nature loss now carries a formal classification as a material financial and operational risk under CSRD. In addition, supply chains that degrade ecosystems face direct legal exposure under CSDDD’s due diligence obligations.
Restoring nature delivers measurable co-benefits across the ESG spectrum:
Enhancing biodiversity and resilience: Reviving nature is essential for restoring ecosystem diversity and function. It also builds resilience against climate change, pollution, invasive species, and disease. Moreover, healthy ecosystems deliver critical services that underpin human welfare and economic activity. These include food security, clean water, clean air, natural medicines, recreation, and cultural value. Notably, all of these feature in CSRD materiality assessments.
Mitigating and adapting to climate change: The EU’s 2050 carbon neutrality target depends on nature restoration. Restored wetlands, forests, and soils dramatically increase carbon sequestration. They also reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, these efforts directly support Scope 3 emissions reduction strategies. Similarly, natural buffers against flooding, drought, heat waves, and storms lower operational and supply chain climate risk. This is a key metric under CSRD’s TCFD-aligned disclosures.
Boosting the green economy and social justice: Nature restoration drives economic transition towards circular and sustainable models. It creates new employment and business opportunities, particularly in rural, agricultural, and coastal regions. Additionally, it strengthens social inclusion and community health. These are material considerations under LkSG’s social due diligence requirements and CSDDD’s human rights obligations.
How was it adopted?
The European Commission initially proposed the Nature Restoration Law in June 2022 as part of the EU Green Deal. This comprehensive programme aims to make Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050. As such, the proposal underwent extensive consultations with experts, stakeholders, civil society, and the agricultural sector.
Negotiations between the European Parliament and the Council of the EU proved challenging. Farming and land-use interests raised significant concerns about costs and operational burdens. However, after multiple rounds of discussion and compromise, the parties reached a political agreement in November 2023. The Parliament formally approved the final text in February 2024. Subsequently, the law entered into force following Council approval and publication in the Official Journal of the EU. As a result, enterprises must now navigate this law alongside CSDDD, CSRD, and LkSG.
Here’s a video on the EU Green Deal:
What are the next steps?
The Nature Restoration Law is now in its implementation phase. Binding deadlines come into force through 2025 and beyond. Most importantly, the law’s effectiveness depends on coordinated action across member states, public bodies, the private sector, and civil society. Key upcoming milestones include:
The European Commission continues to monitor implementation and publishes progress reports every two years. It will also review and update the law as needed. In particular, the Commission ensures coherence with related EU policy instruments. These include the Common Agricultural Policy, the Common Fisheries Policy, the EU Forest Strategy, and the EU Climate Law. This integration signals that nature restoration is not a standalone obligation. Instead, it forms part of a systemic regulatory architecture that will increasingly affect how enterprises manage supply chain sustainability.
Member states had to transpose the law into national legislation and adopt their National Restoration Plans by the end of 2025. They must allocate adequate financial and human resources. Furthermore, they must engage relevant stakeholders and submit biennial progress reports to the Commission. For enterprises with EU-based operations or suppliers, these national plans create jurisdiction-specific compliance requirements. Consequently, businesses must track these requirements at the supplier level.
What does this mean for enterprise-level businesses?
The Nature Restoration Law creates significant compliance obligations and strategic opportunities for enterprise-level businesses. This applies to companies operating in the EU as well as those that source from or trade with EU-based suppliers. For example, CSDDD requires companies to identify and address adverse environmental impacts across their supply chains. Meanwhile, CSRD mandates disclosure of nature-related risks and dependencies. The Nature Restoration Law adds a concrete regulatory baseline against which regulators will measure corporate supply chain performance.
Key business implications include:
Compliance: Businesses must ensure their supply chain operations and sourcing activities do not degrade protected ecosystems. This requires documenting restoration-relevant activities and outcomes across supplier tiers. In other words, it directly extends existing CSDDD and LkSG due diligence obligations. Non-compliance risks include regulatory fines, procurement exclusions, and reputational damage from investor or customer scrutiny.
Innovation: Companies that proactively invest in nature-positive supply chain practices gain a competitive edge. These practices include regenerative agriculture, sustainable forestry sourcing, water stewardship, and biodiversity offsetting. Moreover, the restoration agenda opens new revenue streams in ecosystem services, green infrastructure, and nature-based solutions. EU Green Deal financing mechanisms increasingly fund these categories.
Reputation: Institutional investors now apply TNFD (Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures) frameworks alongside TCFD. Enterprises that demonstrate quantified contributions to nature restoration will earn better ESG ratings. They will also strengthen their investor relations and customer procurement positioning. Transparency about supply chain nature impacts is rapidly shifting from voluntary best practice to a stakeholder expectation. In fact, CSRD now makes it a regulatory requirement in many cases.
How can Certainty Software help?
Certainty Software is an enterprise-grade audit, inspection, and compliance management platform. It helps organisations collect, manage, and report on sustainability data across their entire supply chain. This includes the nature-related metrics now required under the EU Nature Restoration Law, CSDDD, CSRD, and LkSG. By deploying Certainty Software, businesses can:
- Collect accurate, consistent, and comparable restoration and biodiversity data across business units, locations, and supplier tiers — using easy-to-use digital forms both online and offline, eliminating manual data silos.
- Report on restoration actions and environmental outcomes in real-time using customizable dashboards and reports, providing the evidence and transparency required by EU regulators, investors, and customers under CSRD and CSDDD.
- Manage non-conformances, risks, and corrective actions related to nature restoration and supplier environmental compliance — creating and delegating actions, then tracking their resolution to closure.
- Analyze and benchmark restoration and sustainability performance using powerful data analytics, identifying underperforming suppliers and highest-priority improvement opportunities across the value chain.
Hundreds of thousands of users globally trust Certainty Software across safety, quality, supply chain, and ESG functions. The platform enables organisations to execute millions of accurate audits and inspections annually. Whether you manage CSDDD due diligence requirements, LkSG supplier assessments, or CSRD nature-related disclosures, Certainty provides the infrastructure to turn regulatory complexity into operational clarity.
If you want to learn more about how Certainty Software can support your operations, book a demo today.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Does the EU Nature Restoration Law affect supply chain compliance obligations?
Yes. Enterprises subject to CSDDD must identify and address adverse environmental impacts across their supply chains, including activities that degrade habitats covered by the Nature Restoration Law. CSRD also requires disclosure of nature-related risks and dependencies. Companies sourcing from land- or sea-based suppliers in the EU should assess whether their procurement activities are consistent with national restoration plans.
When do member states need to submit their National Restoration Plans?
EU member states were required to adopt their National Restoration Plans (NRPs) by the end of 2025. These plans identify priority areas, restoration actions, funding sources, and expected outcomes. Once published, NRPs will define the specific biodiversity obligations applicable to suppliers operating in each member state.
How does the Nature Restoration Law relate to CSRD reporting?
Under CSRD’s European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS), companies must disclose material nature-related impacts, risks, and opportunities — including biodiversity and ecosystem degradation. The Nature Restoration Law provides the regulatory framework against which ESRS E4 (Biodiversity and Ecosystems) disclosures will increasingly be assessed by investors, auditors, and regulators.
What is the restoration target under the EU Nature Restoration Law?
The EU Nature Restoration Law sets a target to restore at least 20% of EU land and sea areas by 2030, and all ecosystems in need of restoration by 2050. Specific binding targets apply to wetlands, forests, grasslands, rivers, lakes, coral reefs, pollinators, and urban green spaces.
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