What Is the Nature-Positive Economy? Lessons from GoNaturePositive!

Nature underpins every economy, from the food we eat to the materials we build with. Yet scientists warn that seven of the nine planetary boundaries that keep Earth stable have now been crossed (Stockholm Resilience Centre, September 2025). The nature-positive economy is a response: an economy that doesn’t just slow the damage, but helps nature recover.

For the past two years, Growfish has been part of GoNaturePositive!, an EU-funded project bringing together researchers, businesses, cities and NGOs to turn that idea into practice. Here’s what the nature-positive economy is, what the project has produced, what its six pilots are testing, and how any business can start becoming nature positive.

What is the nature-positive economy?

GoNaturePositive!’s concept note defines a nature-positive economy as one where “the net result of all economic activities combined leads to an absolute increase in nature”, reaching “the point of full recovery and prosperity for all of society” (GoNaturePositive! concept note).

It connects to the wider global goal of being nature positive: halting and reversing nature loss measured from a 2020 baseline, so that nature is visibly recovering by 2030 and fully restored by 2050 (Nature Positive Initiative).

The building blocks of a nature-positive economy

The concept note sets out three types of action every part of the economy can take:

1. Reduce negative impacts on nature.
2. Increase positive actions, such as nature-based solutions.
3. Enact transformative change in how the economy works.

It also considers which actors are involved, from those with high impacts and dependencies on nature to those who shape the economy and those who hold it to account, alongside scale, sectors and social wellbeing, including equity, justice and inclusion (same source).

Shaped by 750 voices

The concept note was co-created. A draft shared between October and December 2024 received more than 750 responses from stakeholders in 50 countries, generating over 2,000 comments. Three themes stood out: trade-offs between nature-negative and nature-positive activities, accountability and safeguards, and bridging Indigenous and local knowledge (same source).

Read the concept note: Framing the Nature-Positive Economy · Key messages and executive summary · Slide deck

What is GoNaturePositive?

GoNaturePositive! is a collaborative initiative funded by the European Union (Grant Agreement No. 101135264). It brings together 20 partners across 14 countries to accelerate awareness and action towards a nature-positive economy among policymakers, investors, businesses and communities (GoNaturePositive!).

The partners

The consortium is coordinated by Trinity College Dublin and includes (GoNaturePositive!):

Growfish has helped turn complex research into stories that policymakers, businesses and communities can act on. Our work has included:

• Communications strategy: developing the Phase 2 strategy, with key messages for businesses, local communities and academics, and a two-year content calendar.
• Pilot storytelling: writing the web pages for all six pilot sectors, plus social content for the pilots in apiculture, forestry, agri-food and green buildings.
• Publications: designing and collating the Blue Economy Sectoral Brief, and interviewing the Western Development Commission.
• Social media: managing and growing the project’s LinkedIn and Instagram, including content for the IUCN World Conservation Congress, the World Biodiversity Forum, World Environment Day, World Ocean Day and Earth Day.
• Events: helping run three annual general meetings in Ireland, Milan and the Czech Republic, with printed materials, presentation templates, workshops, photography and short-form video.
• Engagement: copy for a public consultation webinar and the Nature-Positive Pioneer Programme.

The six GoNaturePositive! pilots

The project is testing the nature-positive economy in practice through six sector pilots (GoNaturePositive! pilots):

Each pilot has co-created a roadmap to a nature-positive economy in its sector. Read the combined pilot roadmaps, or the individual roadmaps for green buildings, blue economy, food systems, forestry, tourism and apiculture.

Other GoNaturePositive! resources

• What does the nature-positive economy mean to me? One-page guides for businesses, policymakers, finance and investors, nature-based enterprises, NGOs and citizens and communities.
• Sectoral briefs on agri-food, the blue economy, the built environment, forestry and tourism, and a mapping of policies towards the nature-positive economy.
• From concept to measurement, a slide deck on measuring progress.

All are free on the GoNaturePositive! resources page.

How can businesses become nature positive?

Using the concept note’s three types of action, here are practical steps any business can take:

1. Understand your impacts and dependencies. Map where your business affects nature and where it relies on it, from raw materials to water and land. The TNFD’s recommendations, published in September 2023, give a widely used framework for this (TNFD).
2. Reduce negative impacts first. Cut pollution, waste, land use and harmful sourcing in your operations and supply chain.
3. Invest in positive actions. Support or adopt nature-based solutions, such as green roofs, habitat restoration or regenerative sourcing. The green buildings and agri-food pilots show what this looks like in practice.
4. Work with nature-based enterprises. Partner with businesses whose products and services restore nature. GoNaturePositive! is evolving the Connecting Nature Enterprise Platform to help connect them.
5. Measure and report honestly. Track progress with clear indicators and avoid vague claims. From 27 September 2026, EU rules ban generic environmental claims that can’t be backed by recognised excellent environmental performance (COSLAW).
6. Push for transformative change. Use your voice with suppliers, industry bodies and policymakers to change the rules that make nature loss profitable.
7. Bring people with you. Communicate what you’re doing clearly to staff, customers and communities. Change spreads through stories people can understand and act on.

Start with your own digital footprint too: our guide to reducing your digital carbon footprint covers simple steps, from green hosting to extending device lifespans.

FAQs

What is the nature-positive economy? An economy where the combined result of all economic activity leads to an absolute increase in nature, reaching full recovery and prosperity for all of society.

What does nature positive mean? Halting and reversing nature loss, measured from a 2020 baseline, so that nature is recovering by 2030 and fully restored by 2050.

What is GoNaturePositive!? An EU-funded project of 20 partners across 14 countries working to accelerate the transition to a nature-positive economy, through research, policy work and six sector pilots.

How can a business become nature positive? Understand its impacts and dependencies on nature, reduce harm first, invest in positive actions such as nature-based solutions, measure and report honestly, and push for wider change.

What is the difference between nature positive and net zero? Net zero focuses on greenhouse gas emissions. Nature positive focuses on the health of ecosystems and biodiversity. Both are needed, and they often support each other.

Communicating the nature-positive economy

Growfish is a Bristol-based sustainable marketing studio and Communications Lead for GoNaturePositive!. We help purpose-driven organisations explain complex nature and climate work in ways people act on. If you’re working on nature-positive projects and want to tell your story clearly and credibly, we’d love to hear from you.

Get in touch with Growfish · See our GoNaturePositive! work

Sources

• GoNaturePositive!, Concept Note: Framing the Nature-Positive Economy (Zenodo record)
• GoNaturePositive!, home page
• GoNaturePositive!, About and consortium
• GoNaturePositive!, Pilots
• GoNaturePositive!, Resources
• Nature Positive Initiative
• Stockholm Resilience Centre, Seven of nine planetary boundaries now breached, 24 September 2025
• TNFD, About
• COSLAW, Environmental claims after 27 September 2026

GoNaturePositive! is funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are those of the author only.

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