Biodiversity as a project lever
As biodiversity credit markets seek to organize themselves around common principles, the White Paper published in May 2025 by the World Economic Forum sets out an ambitious framework: 21 High-Level Principles (HLP) to guarantee the quality, integrity and legitimacy of these instruments. But who is capable of implementing them in practice? Effinature certification, operated by IRICE, is already the answer. It anticipates them. And often exceeds them.
I. Verifiable positive results for nature (HLP 1 to 10)
| HLP | Principle | Effinature |
| HLP 1 | Defined biodiversity targets | Effinature guidelines define contextualized and audited objectives (e.g. green grid, target species, plant palette). |
| HLP 2 | Mitigation hierarchy | No Effinature credits issued without demonstration of impact avoidance. No off-site compensation. |
| HLP 3 | Credit traceability | Each certificate is linked to a project, a site, an audit, with no fungibility or secondary market. |
| HLP 4 | Ex-ante / Ex-post | Only verified post-project results give rise to certification. No credits are based on forecasts. |
| HLP 5 | Additionality | No certified project is "business as usual": the ecological impact must be demonstrated and measured. |
| HLP 6 | Base lines | The initial state must be documented by an ecological diagnosis prior to intervention. |
| HLP 7 | Durability | Projects must demonstrate a biodiversity management plan and include long-term support. |
| HLP 8 | Leakage | The local scale of the project and the absence of compensation reduce the risk of impact displacement. |
| HLP 9 | MRV | Full audit, measured indicators, public traceability, involvement of local players. |
| HLP 10 | Third-party audits | Certification operated by IRICE, an ISO/IEC 17065 accredited organization. |
II. Equity and justice for people (HLP 11 to 17)
| HLP | Principle | Effinature |
| HLP 11 | Land rights | Effinature requires verification of usage rights, in accordance with local law and stakeholders. |
| HLP 12 | Human rights | The audit grid includes social impact analysis and the integration of human use in cohabitation with living things. |
| HLP 13 | Informed consent | All Effinature projects require the explicit support of project owners and operators. |
| HLP 14 | Inclusive governance | The guidelines were drawn up in conjunction with project managers, ecologists, developers, local authorities and urban planners. |
| HLP 15 | No damage | An Effinature project cannot degrade other natural or social compartments in order to obtain a score. |
| HLP 16 | Profit sharing | Enhancing the value of land, regulations and ESG directly benefits local project developers. |
| HLP 17 | Recourse mechanism | Any disagreement can be brought before IRICE; the certification process is documented and enforceable. |
III. Governance with integrity and transparency (HLP 18 to 21)
| HLP | Principle | Effinature |
| HLP 18 | Transparent governance | Clear structure: public standards, accredited certifier, independent scientific committee (BSC). |
| HLP 19 | Data sovereignty | Sensitive data (wildlife, land use, ecology) are protected, and results anonymized if necessary. |
| HLP 20 | Alignment with international frameworks | Effinature is structured to be compatible with the Green Taxonomy, GBF, ESMA, ISO and SFDR. |
| HLP 21 | Transferability regulation | No secondary market. The certificate is nominative, non-fungible and cannot be used for carbon offsetting. |
🎯 Conclusion: Effinature embodies HLP, and goes further
The World Economic Forum's 21 HLPs are indispensable for structuring a credible market, but still theoretical for most players. Today, Effinature is the only operational method that enables them to be applied in a consistent, traceable and certified way.
Where others promise, Effinature proves. Where others speculate, Effinature measures. Where others standardize, Effinature contextualizes.
📍 For investors, project owners and local authorities, it's a strategic assurance: a project's biodiversity performance can be certified today to tomorrow's international standards.