From Framework to Action: Advancing Nature Positive Mining

In recent years, the Nature Positive Landscapes Initiative (NPLI) has made significant headway in transforming how the mining sector engages with nature on a much broader scale. Our mission is simple but ambitious: achieve genuine ecological recovery, not just on paper, but on the ground.

This article explores the milestones that have defined our journey. We’ve built strategic partnerships with leading organisations — the Wildlife Conservation Society, Capitals Coalition, Accounting for Nature, The Biodiversity Consultancy, IUCN, and the Landbanking Group. Together, we’ve tackled the hard questions:  What does “enough” actually mean when it comes to biodiversity action? How do we embed capitals accounting into core business strategy rather than treating it as an add-on?

In 2026, we’ll launch a pioneering Community of Practice, creating a space for shared learning and collective problem -solving across the sector. What ties these efforts together is a decisive shift from talking about nature positive concepts to truly putting them into action. We are moving from dialogue and into delivery.

The Nature Positive Mining Model: Four Spheres, One Ambition

At the heart of what we do is the Nature Positive Mining Model. It’s a fresh approach—one that reimagines the sector’s role in society and responsibility to nature. This hands-on framework gives mining companies a practical roadmap to align with the Global Nature Positive Goal and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF). Now that we’re shifting from designing frameworks to rolling them out, it’s important to understand how this model works across four interconnected spheres:

· Operational Footprint: Companies implement the mitigation hierarchy to achieve no net loss or net gain on biodiversity outcomes through rigorous management of operational impacts, applying best-practice frameworks grounded in environmental stewardship.

· Landscape Planning: Mining operations collaborate with regional stakeholders—land managers, communities, and conservation actors—to plan and deliver landscape-scale conservation initiatives that address priority regional conservation challenges aligned to the GBF and Nature Positive outcomes. This recognizes that ecosystem health extends far beyond project boundaries.

· Supply Chain Transformation: Just as companies address Scope 3 emissions, the model aligns supply-chain actors to work collaboratively in delivering Nature Positive outcomes across all stages of the value chain, influencing upstream and downstream partners to drive positive nature outcomes.

· Systems Transformation: Companies advocate for transforming the financial and economic systems that shape private-sector decision-making, helping to remove barriers and strengthen enablers for the widespread adoption of Nature Positive practices.

This framework is not just a pathway for mining companies, but a solid foundation for wider change. As more organisations embrace these spheres, the real-world advantages of Nature Positive mining become clearer every day.

Why Nature Positive Mining Makes Strategic Sense

Weaving Nature Positive principles into mining isn’t just the right thing to do—it’s a smart move, too. The World Economic Forum’s 2026 Global Risk Report highlighted that half of the top ten strategic risks for the next decade are environmental, with climate change and biodiversity loss at the very top. Given that, more companies are realising that treating nature as a strategic asset brings real, tangible benefits:

· Business resilience: Resilient ecosystems are fundamental to stable operations and supply chains, underpinning long-term prosperity in an era of accelerating environmental change and increasing nature-related risk.

· Market opportunity: Commodities essential for the climate transition are increasingly expected to be both Net Zero and Nature Positive, creating competitive advantage for early movers who can demonstrate credible contribution to both goals.

· Social and cultural value: Strong local partnerships that respect traditional knowledge and deliver shared benefits build trust and long-term community support, reducing operational risk and strengthening social license.

· Regulatory readiness: As public expectations rise and standards evolve, demonstrating measurable Nature Positive outcomes becomes central to maintaining legitimacy, meeting emerging policy requirements, and avoiding operational disruption.

To see how these strategic benefits play out in the real world, we only have to look at demonstration projects which show what’s possible when people work together and bring fresh ideas to the table.

Demonstration Projects: Bringing Nature Positive Principles to Life

Demonstration projects are at the heart of what the Nature Positive Leadership Initiative (NPLI) is all about, and they’re set to ramp up even more in 2026. Right now, mining companies across Australia, North America, and South America are rolling up their sleeves and getting stuck into hands-on projects that really demonstrate what a Nature Positive approach looks like in practice.

These projects aren’t just about ticking boxes—they’re our testing grounds, where we learn what works and what doesn’t, and use those lessons to shape how the whole sector moves forward. What’s exciting is seeing the shift from isolated experiments to genuine teamwork, and that’s where the Nature Positive Mining Community of Practice (CoP) comes in.

The Community of Practice: Driving Sector-Wide Change

This year marks a pivotal moment – the launch of our Community of Practice for mining. Drawing on the insights from our demonstration projects, this platform will bring together mining companies, conservation groups, Indigenous communities, academics, and policymakers around a shared purpose – exchanging knowledge, challenging assumptions and co-creating solutions.

The power lies in collaboration. By pooling data and insights, we can develop approaches that meet local needs whilst elevating nature positive standards globally. As the Nature Positive Mining Model scales, the Community of Practice ensures proven innovations don't remain siloed—they’re picked up, adapted, and take root where they’re needed most. This collaborative approach embodies the NPLI’s core belief: real transformative change requires collective learning and coordinated action. The challenges we face are too complex, too interconnected for any single entity to solve alone.

Shaping a Nature Positive Future—Together

Looking ahead, the message is crystal clear: it’s time to turn vision into action. Mining that makes material contributions to the global Nature Positive goal isn’t just possible—it’s better for business, communities, and the planet. By joining the Nature Positive Mining Community of Practice, you can help drive positive change and be part of the movement that’s making mining a force for ecological recovery. Together, we can deliver measurable nature-positive outcomes build a brighter, more sustainable future for everyone.