LONDON — On the banks of the River Thames, conversations this week are stretching far beyond infrastructure and finance. At Sustainability LIVE London 2025, leaders from across government, industry, and civil society are making the case that nature itself must become central to the fight against climate change. The focus: nature-based solutions (NBSs), approaches that restore and harness ecosystems to confront crises ranging from flooding to food insecurity.
The World Bank Group frames NBSs as measures to “protect, sustainably manage or restore ecosystems that address societal challenges such as climate change, human health, food and water security, and disaster risk reduction effectively.” Increasingly, these measures are being positioned as indispensable for reaching global net zero by 2050, complementing technological decarbonisation strategies.
The economics of resilience
For governments and investors, the most compelling argument is the cost savings. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) estimates that mangrove forests avert US$57 billion in flood damage each year in countries including China, India, Mexico, the United States, and Vietnam. Few engineered defenses deliver comparable resilience at scale.
This logic is shaping projects across Europe. Engineering consultancy Arcadis is embedding NBSs into the Lower Thames Crossing outside London, where habitat creation is being evaluated for carbon offsetting. The company is also advancing business cases for utilities to invest in woodland creation, seagrass planting, and peatland restoration—natural assets that deliver both biodiversity and measurable carbon sequestration.
Water stewardship and industry adaptation
The private sector is also embracing NBSs as a pathway to resource security. Chivas Brothers, a leading Scotch whisky producer, has launched a series of projects with three River Trusts aimed at restoring floodplains, stabilizing riverbanks, and mitigating rising water temperatures. Simple interventions—such as planting trees along rivers—cool waterways, strengthen biodiversity, and ensure a more stable supply for production.
These measures are part of a broader water stewardship strategy that also includes water-cooling technology to reduce consumption during distillation. For industries heavily dependent on natural resources, safeguarding ecosystems is no longer corporate responsibility—it is operational necessity.
Materials innovation from nature
Beyond water and forests, NBSs are reshaping how industries approach materials. Chestnut Biopolymers is drawing inspiration from the chestnut tree’s carbon absorption capacity to design plant-based polymers. Its biodegradable formulations match the durability of fossil-derived plastics yet break down safely without releasing microplastics or nanoplastics.
By providing “drop-in” replacements for conventional plastics like polypropylene and polystyrene, Chestnut lowers the barrier for manufacturers across multiple sectors. This is nature-based thinking applied not to conservation alone, but to the circular economy—turning biological principles into scalable, low-carbon industrial design.
Data and energy demands
As the digital economy expands, energy-intensive sectors are also exploring how to pair renewables with efficiency. Virtus Data Centres has run entirely on renewable power since 2012, avoiding more than 210 million kilograms of CO₂ emissions in 2024 alone. Its facilities integrate sustainability into design and operations, from innovative cooling systems to heat capture. By targeting net zero across all reportable activities by 2030, Virtus is illustrating how NBSs and renewable strategies can be embedded even in industries often seen as detached from nature.
What leaders should take away
For policymakers and diplomats preparing for COP30 in Brazil and the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development, the rise of NBSs carries clear implications. The evidence suggests these approaches can simultaneously reduce climate risk, generate fiscal savings, and deliver co-benefits for biodiversity and health.
Yet scaling them will require deliberate choices: public and private finance must be bridged, methodologies standardized, and NBSs integrated into national development and net zero strategies. What is at stake is not only the future of ecosystems but also the resilience of economies and societies.
As the debates in London highlight, nature-based solutions are no longer peripheral. They are moving to the center of global sustainability planning, a recognition that the path to resilience and net zero cannot be paved by technology alone—it must also be rooted in the systems of nature itself.
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