Opportunities and challenges in using life cycle assessment for organisational-level biodiversity impacts: a case study on the National Trust, UK

Correa-Cano, Maria Eugenia; Hails, Rosemary S.; Yan, Xiaoyu

Opportunities and challenges in using life cycle assessment for organisational-level biodiversity impacts: a case study on the National Trust, UK

Resource type

Journal article

Creator (person)

Correa-Cano, Maria Eugenia

ORCID

Hails, Rosemary S.

ORCID

Yan, Xiaoyu

Date published

March 2026

Abstract

Global biodiversity loss is accelerating, threatening ecosystems and our society. Because biodiversity underpins all economic activities, organisations need robust methods to understand both their impacts and dependencies on nature. We applied a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) framework to conduct a screening-level analysis of biodiversity impacts associated with the operations of the National Trust, the largest conservation charity in Europe. The organisation's carbon account data were integrated into the Life Cycle Inventory (LCI), distinguishing between economic and non-economic components. Biodiversity impacts were quantified using ReCiPe2016 endpoint indicators, expressed as the 'potentially disappeared fraction of species'. Land use dominates the Trust's biodiversity footprint, accounting for 68-69% of total impacts across the 2020-2022. This was followed by global warming impacts on terrestrial ecosystems (15-16%) and terrestrial acidification (8-9%). Tenant agricultural activities were the principal driver, contributing approximately 84% of total biodiversity impacts in the reference year (2022), largely associated with livestock grazing and feed production. Construction-related activities within purchased goods and services also represent a substantial upstream contribution. Our findings demonstrate the value of applying LCA at organisation scale to identifying biodiversity hotspots and inform targeted mitigation strategies. We discuss methodological constrains, including data availability, spatial resolution, and the treatment of positive biodiversity outcomes. Despite these limitations, organisational LCA provides a transparent and practical starting point for organisations seeking to assess and reduce their nature-related impacts on their journey to becoming nature positive.