Why Should Kazakhstan’s Companies Disclose Nature-Related Data?

Nature-related disclosure is becoming a new standard of sustainable business. For companies in Kazakhstan, this is not merely about reputation or alignment with global trends. It is a key tool for risk management, investment attraction, and maintaining long-term competitiveness. In the face of climate and environmental challenges, integrating natural capital into decision-making directly affects sector resilience, financial stability and long-term security.

As climate change is unfolding faster than countries can adapt, nature is increasingly emerging as a critical economic factor. Sustainability is no longer just part of the global agenda - it is shaping the strategies of governments and businesses alike.

In this context, global frameworks and sustainability reporting standards are gaining importance. They support the assessment and disclosure of risks, impacts, and opportunities related to natural capital. Integrating these factors strengthens economic resilience, expands access to green finance, and contributes to more predictable economic policy.

Natural capital is the stock of renewable and non‑renewable natural resources, such as plants, animals, air, water, soils, and minerals, that together provide a flow of benefits to people. For organizations, assessing dependencies on natural capital and impacts on it provides the foundation for integrating nature-related considerations into strategic, investment, and financial planning. For example, saxaul forests help prevent desertification in several regions of Kazakhstan, reducing future land restoration costs. However, such ecosystem services are rarely reflected in financial models, investment appraisals, or risk management practices, leading to a systematic underestimation of their economic value.

As recognition of the economic significance of natural capital, and the risks and dependencies associated with it, continues to grow, the disclosure of nature-related impacts by businesses and financial institutions has been institutionally anchored at the global level.

The Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, adopted under the Convention on Biological Diversity, includes Target 15, which calls on governments to ensure that large companies and financial institutions assess, disclose, and reduce their dependencies, impacts, risks, and opportunities related to biodiversity across their value chains. The inclusion of this target reflects the recognition that biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation represent not only environmental challenges but also systemic economic and financial risks.

Against this backdrop,  UNDP’s Global Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN) conducted a readiness assessment in Kazakhstan in 2024 to evaluate the country’s capacity for nature-related disclosure. The assessment formed part of a global BIOFIN analysis covering 15 countries, such as Botswana, Zambia, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Colombia, Costa Rica, Madagascar, Mexico, Nepal, Peru, Rwanda, the Philippines, South Africa, and Ecuador.

The national assessment in Kazakhstan examined institutional, legal, and organizational aspects related to the introduction of a system for nature-related disclosure and identified both barriers and opportunities for advancing this reporting practice. More than 90 representatives from the business community, the financial sector, and government institutions participated in the study. The findings indicate strong interest and significant potential; however, a transition to systematic disclosure is not possible without a clear legal framework, harmonized approaches, sound methodologies, and transparent coordination.

Currently in Kazakhstan, issues related to natural capital and biodiversity are primarily reported by businesses through non-financial reporting—such as integrated annual reports or sustainability reports. However, companies tend to focus more on climate-related risks, while the influence of nature on investments, infrastructure, risk management, and competitiveness remains insufficiently reflected.

At the same time, water scarcity, land degradation, climate change, and declining ecosystem productivity are already impacting on the infrastructure, industry, agriculture, and the energy sector. The lack of data on natural capital is poorly reflected in corporate and financial reporting, creating a “blind spot” - risks to the economy that are not accounted for, yet can affect asset values and project returns.

Unrecognized natural risks:

• Reduce the resilience of business models in the medium and long term;
• Increase financial and investment risks;
• Make the economy more unpredictable;
• Pose threats to food, water, and climate security.

Global sustainability frameworks and standards include a wide range of international tools. Among the most widely used today are TNFD, ISSB, and GRI, which help companies assess and disclose risks, impacts, and opportunities related to natural capital, for example:

• TNFD – a framework for assessing nature-related risks, impacts, dependencies, and opportunities;
• ISSB – establishes unified international sustainability disclosure requirements;
• GRI – helps disclose business impacts on resources and ecosystems.

For Kazakhstan, adopting these practices opens opportunities to strengthen economic resilience, improve access to green finance, and build more predictable and sustainable economic policies.

In recent years, Kazakhstan has developed an institutional framework for integrating environmental and natural considerations into the economy and financial sector. Together, these tools create the foundation for more systematic disclosure of information on impacts on nature.

For example, green taxonomy considers areas related to biodiversity conservation and ecotourism development. At the same time, ESG disclosure approaches are evolving, current methodological guidelines are aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals and climate agenda and are gradually being brought into line with international standards. In risk management, updated requirements for environmental and social aspects now cover not only climate but also nature-related risks. This system is complemented by advances in environmental statistics: since 2019, Kazakhstan has maintained SEEA accounts, and official biodiversity statistics are published by the Bureau of National Statistics.

The BIOFIN study covered key sectors both dependent on and impacting nature: finance, agriculture, food industry, resource extraction, construction, infrastructure, energy, and transport. The study identified systemic limitations in the development of natural risk and impact disclosure in Kazakhstan, related not only to corporate practice but also to the regulatory environment.

Firstly, dependence on nature is recognized but not formally required in reporting.
Companies and financial institutions understand that their operations rely on ecosystems and natural resources, yet current legislation and regulatory requirements do not mandate disclosure of these dependencies and impacts. As a result, this information is rarely reflected in reporting and financial planning.

Secondly, ESG reporting is developing, but the natural component remains limited.
Among organizations surveyed, 29% publish integrated reports, and 26% publish sustainability reports. However, disclosure of indicators related to water, soil, and biodiversity remains limited and unsystematic.

Thirdly, the absence of established methodologies and standards for disclosing natural aspects remains a key barrier.

In practice, ESG disclosure in Kazakhstan focuses largely on climate risks and follows TCFD recommendations, as well as emerging ISSB requirements. Standardized approaches to reporting nature-related risks and impacts have not yet been integrated into national requirements or reporting practice.

Fourthly, the market expects clearer coordination from the government.
The lack of a unified system for collecting, coordinating, and managing natural capital data remains a key limitation. Fifty-five percent of respondents believe that the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources should coordinate natural capital data. Other agencies mentioned include the Ministry of National Economy, the Ministry of Finance, and the Agency for Regulation and Development of the financial market.

According to the BIOFIN study, 43 percent of respondents believe that capacity-building and training for key stakeholders could significantly support the development of natural capital disclosure practices. Another 38 percent point to the importance of national methodologies, guidelines, and instructions developed by authorized public bodies. Other measures highlighted by respondents include:

• digitalization of natural resource use statistics, as well as traceability of product origin and supply chains;
• the availability of standards and ratings for disclosure related to natural capital use;
• the establishment of a comprehensive regulatory and methodological framework;
• financial incentives for companies that demonstrate strong performance in non-financial disclosure;
• the introduction of mandatory sustainability disclosure requirements at the legislative level;
• the use of data collection technologies, such as artificial intelligence and satellite data.

 Based on the BIOFIN assessment, several key priorities were identified for introducing a natural capital disclosure system in Kazakhstan:

• improving the regulatory framework;
• strengthening data quality and institutional capacity for natural capital disclosure;
• creating incentives for natural capital disclosure;
• building the capacity and competencies of market participants.

A detailed analysis, along with practical recommendations and entry points for improving natural capital–related disclosure practices in the country, is presented in the BIOFIN Brief.

 When natural capital data become an integral part of managerial and financial decision-making, they strengthen economic resilience and generate tangible benefits for key stakeholders.

For businesses

A systematic assessment of dependencies on nature and impacts across the entire value chain enables companies to identify material risks and opportunities, enhance operational resilience, and make more informed investment decisions in the medium and long term.

For financial institutions

Disclosure of nature-related risks and dependencies improves the quality of credit and investment portfolio assessments, reduces the risk of asset impairment, and provides a foundation for the development of sustainable and green financial instruments.

For the country

Integrating nature-related data into economic and financial planning helps reduce systemic risks, enhance investment attractiveness, and shift from reactive responses to environmental crises toward proactive management of sustainable development.

 Natural capital disclosure is becoming part of a new economic logic, where resilience, investment attractiveness, and nature conservation mutually reinforce one another.