ISEAL Alliance
ISEAL
ISEAL supports ambitious sustainability systems and their partners to tackle the world’s most pressing challenges.
ID: 701696191604-14
Lobbying Activity
Response to Roadmap towards Nature Credits
29 Sept 2025
ISEAL welcomes the objectives of the EU Nature Credits Roadmap: namely to restore nature, halt and reverse biodiversity loss, ensure the long-term provision of ecosystem services, and strengthen Europes natural capital. We recognise the importance of this initiative in mobilising private finance to support nature restoration and in ensuring that investments are channelled towards measurable and transparent outcomes. As the global membership organisation of nearly 50 credible sustainability systems, ISEAL Community Members brings together standard-setting bodies, certification schemes, and their partners operating in different sectors and across 100 countries. Our credibility is rooted in two decades of work defining, strengthening, and operationalizing the ISEAL Credibility Tools. These internationally recognised frameworks are already referenced in EU legislation, including the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) (ESRS Annex 1). They provide a strong foundation for ensuring that voluntary and market-based instruments deliver genuine and lasting benefits for nature. Certification criteria grounded in credibility: For nature credits to achieve their bjectives, certification criteria must be based on credibility principles, as defined by the ISEAL Credibility Principles and already implemented by robust certification schemes worldwide. Indeed, credible certification requires transparency, stakeholder involvement, and demonstrated sustainability impacts. Without this, there is a significant risk of greenwashing, double counting, and misuse, which could undermine the EU Nature Credits Roadmap. Inclusive and transparent governance: ISEAL welcomes the EU emphasis on the need for strong governance within this roadmap. ISEALs experience shows that multi-stakeholder governance, transparency, and accountability are essential to ensuring legitimacy and trust. Any EU framework for nature credits should embed inclusive governance that reflects the diversity of stakeholders, safeguards against conflicts of interest, and ensures broad participation. Accessibility for SMEs and smallholders: It is also essential that nature credit systems are designed to be accessible to SMEs and smallholders, who are closest to the ecosystems that need restoration. Accessibility requires proportional requirements, fair access to finance, and capacity-building mechanisms. Without this, markets risk excluding key actors and limiting the scale of impact. Recognition of credibility tools: ISEAL strongly encourages the Commission to recognise the existing ISEAL credibility tools as benchmarks for certification and assurance in the nature credits framework. The ISEAL Credibility Principles define the core values of credible and effective sustainability systems and provide the foundations for delivering greater impact. The ISEAL Code of Good Practice is a globally recognised framework that defines practices for credible and effective sustainability systems. It equips systems to respond to evolving stakeholder expectations and drives improvements on the issues that matter. Together, these tools provide tested and widely adopted guidance to ensure that certification systems are credible, comparable, and effective in delivering environmental and social outcomes. ISEAL believes that the success of the EU Nature Credits initiative depends on a smart mix of voluntary and mandatory measures. Voluntary sustainability systems and market-based instruments can deliver innovation and stakeholder engagement, while mandatory requirements provide consistency and enforcement. Together, they create a complementary framework that ensures credibility, prevents misuse, and maximises sustainability impact. ISEAL stands ready to contribute its expertise and convening power to support the Commission in shaping a nature credits framework that is credible, inclusive, and effective in restoring nature.
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