Corporate Nature Strategy in Healthcare

Apart from facing pressure to deliver high-quality patient care, the UK healthcare system is also experiencing scrutiny on its measurable progress on environmental sustainability. While carbon reduction has dominated much of the conversation, biodiversity loss is rapidly emerging as a parallel crisis that threatens both public health and operational resilience. The World Economic Forum ranks biodiversity loss among the top three global risks for the next decade, alongside climate change and pandemics. This is not an abstract issue for pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers. The supply chains in these sectors depend directly on healthy ecosystems, encompassing everything from medicinal plants and clean water to rare earth minerals essential for diagnostic equipment. This is one of the many reasons why embedding a corporate nature strategy in healthcare is becoming a strategic imperative. It goes beyond compliance, aligning the sector with NHS expectations, UK policy and global frameworks like the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD). More importantly, it positions healthcare businesses to lead in the transition towards nature-positive healthcare. 

Healthcare’s Dependencies on Nature 

Healthcare depends on biodiversity in multiple ways that are rarely acknowledged: 

• Medicinal resources: Pharmaceuticals are derived from or inspired by natural compounds. Over-harvesting or habitat loss directly threatens future drug development. 

• Medical supply chain security: The medical supply chain relies on natural resources ranging from sterile water to rare earth minerals used in imaging equipment. Disruptions caused by biodiversity loss or ecosystem degradation can cascade across global production lines. 

• Public health linkages: Biodiversity loss increases the risk of zoonotic diseases, reduces air and water quality and limits access to green spaces that support mental health. NHS England recognises these connections in its long-term planning. 

Business Imperative for a Nature Positive Healthcare Industry 

NHS England: Greening the Business Case 

NHS England’s Greening the Business Case guidance stresses that suppliers must integrate environmental considerations into procurement and business models. Nature is highlighted alongside carbon, with an emphasis on long-term value creation rather than short-term cost savings. For suppliers of pharmaceuticals and medical devices, demonstrating biodiversity safeguards is increasingly necessary to remain competitive in NHS contracts. 

Natural England’s Strategic Direction 2025–2030 

Natural England’s Recovering Nature for Growth, Health and Security sets out the national agenda for reversing biodiversity loss. It explicitly connects ecosystem resilience with healthcare outcomes, arguing that a degraded natural environment undermines both physical and mental health. Healthcare suppliers are expected to play a role in supporting this strategic shift, making biodiversity protection a public health issue as well as a corporate responsibility. 

According to NatCap Research’s State of the Corporate Nature Landscape 2025, over 50% of global investors now expect companies to disclose nature-related risks alongside climate. For healthcare, this means aligning with the TNFD healthcare sector recommendations, which encourage disclosure of both dependencies and impacts on nature across the value chain. Failure to act carries financial as well as reputational risks. 

As the It’s Now for Nature Handbook points out, businesses slow to engage on biodiversity face reduced access to capital, restricted market access, and erosion of brand trust. 

Corporate Nature Strategy in Healthcare 

A strong corporate nature strategy in healthcare should be built around five pillars: 

1. Assessment of Dependencies and Risks
   1. Map dependencies on nature across the value chain.
   2. Apply TNFD-aligned frameworks to evaluate risks, including supply scarcity and regulatory change
2. Integration with UK Policy and NHS Priorities
   1. Align biodiversity reporting with NHS procurement requirements.
   2. Ensure strategies reflect Natural England’s vision of restoring ecosystems for health and growth.
3. Embedding Nature into Operations and R&D
   1. Reduce reliance on vulnerable natural inputs by exploring synthetic or lab-based alternatives.
   2. Incorporate biodiversity net gain into site-level projects.
4. Supply Chain Collaboration
   1. Work with upstream suppliers to adopt their own corporate nature’s strategy.
   2. Incorporate biodiversity requirements into procurement contracts.
5. Transparent Reporting and Disclosure
   1. Implement TNFD-aligned disclosures to communicate progress.
   2. Frame biodiversity action as part of a broader nature positive business model. 

Opportunities Beyond Compliance 

Embedding biodiversity into business strategy offers advantages that extend far beyond compliance: 

• Investor appeal: Companies with credible biodiversity strategies are more likely to attract sustainable finance. 

• Resilience: Reduced reliance on vulnerable resources improves supply chain stability. 

• Innovation: Incorporating corporate nature strategy in healthcare operations, specifically during research and development fosters breakthrough solutions in biotechnology and regenerative medicine. 

• Reputation: Demonstrating leadership in nature positive business strengthens patient and stakeholder trust. 

Biodiversity Footprinting in the Medical and Pharmaceutical Supply Chain 

Tunley Environmental’s latest white paper “The Implementation of Biodiversity Footprinting: Examining Supply Chains” discusses Supply Chain Biodiversity Footprinting (SCBF), a science-based, spatially explicit method rooted in Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA), to quantify, disclose, and mitigate nature-related risks across supply chains in alignment with nature-related financial disclosures. It focuses on the assessment of Bespak’s, a leading manufacturer of drug delivery systems, operation. 

Written by Tunley’s Senior Scientist and Biodiversity Lead Dr Tara Garraty and Head of ESG at Bespak Benedicta Bakpa this white paper uses Bespak as a case study, highlighting practical methods for healthcare companies to quantify their impacts.  Biodiversity footprinting enables organisations to: 

• Identify high-risk materials and inputs in the medical supply chain. 

• Prioritise interventions where impacts are most severe. 

• Engage suppliers with evidence-based requirements. 

• Track progress towards nature positive healthcare outcomes. 

Read the Full White Paper: Implementation of Biodiversity Footprinting - Examining Supply Chains 

The Bottom Line 

The resilience of the UK healthcare system depends on the resilience of nature. Pharmaceutical sector sustainability and medical device manufacturers face rising risks linked to biodiversity loss, but also unprecedented opportunities to lead in the transition to nature-positive healthcare. Embedding a corporate nature strategy in healthcare can enable organisations to manage biodiversity risks, strengthen the medical supply chain and meet rising investor and regulatory expectations. More importantly, they can demonstrate that safeguarding ecosystems is closely intertwined with safeguarding patient health.