This use case develops an assessment tool for evaluating trade-offs between economic activities and ecosystem services. By integrating remote sensing, AI-based models, and socioeconomic data, NECST enables evidence-based policy recommendations for sustainable land and resource use.
Use case description
The Nature and Ecosystem Services Trade-offs (NECST) use case project aims to pilot the integration of the Green Deal Data Space (GDDS) with a Nature and Ecosystem Services Trade-offs (NECST) assessment tool, demonstrating how a centralized, interoperable data infrastructure can significantly enhance environmental analysis for biodiversity and natural capital assessments.
The general objective of this use case is to test and validate the interoperability and accessibility model of the GDDS-NECST framework, enabling seamless integration and sharing of environmental, biodiversity, and geospatial data across stakeholders.
The specific goals of the trial are:
- Identify and integrate multiple data sources of varying structure associated to biodiversity and nature assessments into the GDDS.
- Capture the required data from the GDDS into the NECST tool, facilitating the environmental assessment with reliable and traceable data from the GDDS.
End users and stakeholders
In Use Case Nature and Ecosystem Services Trade-offs (NECST), we identify two distinct end users that benefit from the integration of the NECST tool with the Green Deal Data Space (GDDS):
- NTT DATA – As the developer and operator of the NECST tool, NTT DATA, particularly its Green Transition team, acts as a key intermediary. The connection to the GDDS enables NTT DATA to access high-quality, standardized, and up-to-date environmental data directly from this trusted European infrastructure. This integration significantly enhances the functionality of NECST, allowing NTT DATA to deliver more accurate, efficient, and policy-aligned sustainability assessments to its clients.
- Corporate clients – These are companies from various sectors that engage NTT DATA to evaluate their relationship with natural capital. By using the NECST tool, powered by GDDS data, clients can better understand their environmental dependencies, risks, and opportunities. This supports more informed decision-making and helps align their strategies with sustainability goals and regulatory requirements. This dual-user structure demonstrates how the NECST-GDDS integration creates value both for the consultancy (NTT DATA) and the final beneficiaries (the client companies), reinforcing the tool’s role as a bridge between complex environmental data and actionable business insights.
Objectives/Benefits
·For NTT DATA (Consultancy & NECST developer):
- High-value, differentiated services: End-to-end nature-aligned offering (diagnosis, action planning, monitoring, verification) that strengthens positioning in natural capital and NbS consultancy.
- Harmonised, traceable data: Access to unified, standardised biodiversity and nature data through the Green Deal Data Space, enabling robust and scalable assessments.
- Flexible and scalable solution: Interoperable across sectors and scalable from site to portfolio level, supporting deployment across countries and business units.
- Policy and market alignment: Supports corporate sustainability strategies and compliance with frameworks such as CSRD and the EU Taxonomy.
- Innovation and leadership: Future-proof methodology aligned with evolving standards, reinforcing NTT DATA’s role as a trusted, innovative partner.
· For End Users (Corporate Clients)
- Data-driven decision-making: Reliable, science-based insights on biodiversity, climate and ecosystem services, integrated with internal business data to assess risks, dependencies and opportunities.
- Nature-positive action planning: Tailored management plans based on mitigation hierarchy and resilience principles, adaptable across sectors and geographies.
- Standards-aligned reporting: Quantifiable indicators aligned with TNFD, CSRD, SBTN and GBF, supporting credible ESG reporting and compliance.
- Reputation and stakeholder trust: Demonstrates measurable commitment to nature, strengthening engagement with investors, communities and regulators.
Partners/Participants
| Partner | Logo | Country |
|---|---|---|
| NTT DATA SPAIN, SL |  | ES |
| CENTRO DEINVESTIGACIONECOLOGICA Y APLICACIONES FORESTALES |  | ES |
NTT DATA is the 5th leading IT Service Company in the world. It has over +190,000 professionals, operates in more than +50 countries, and generated 30 billion USD in 2023. NTT DATA offers customized services and solutions to clients that add greater value to their projects. We are committed to helping customers achieve their results and objectives, providing them with competitive business solutions and innovative strategies through the efficient, effective, and rational use of Information Technologies. Within this commitment, NTT DATA aims to contribute to social and economic development. This is part of our parent company’s commitment to building a sustainable society on a global scale.
Expected outcomes/impact
The expected results following the trial implementation of connecting the NECST assessment tool to the Green Deal Data Space (GDDS) under two different sector-specific scenarios are detailed below:
1. Validate the NECST-GDDS framework
The trial is expected to serve as a proof of concept for validating the interoperability and functional robustness of the integration framework, enabling enriched biodiversity assessments and supporting evidence-based decision-making aligned with corporate sustainability objectives (End-users).
2. Improve Environmental Data Quality, Accessibility and Consistency:
Seamless access to a wide range of harmonized and standardized datasets (e.g., Copernicus, Eurostat, IUCN) through a centralized data space and established metadata protocols. Through this outcome, environmental assessments at NECST platform become more reliable and data-driven, increasing the reliability and comparability of ecosystem and biodiversity assessments across sectors.
3. Strengthen Interoperability and Automation:
Automated data ingestion and processing pipelines enabled by the GDDS connector will streamline workflows, reducing human error, and supporting scalable deployment across sectors.
4. Enhance Integration with Internal Systems:
The NECST platform connects with SAP, P&L reports, and sustainability dashboards to pull real-time, company-specific data, which through the platform can be combined with the data obtained from the GDDS connection. Thus, the integrated framework reduces manual data handling, improves analysis precision, and supports automated reporting.
5. End-user Data-driven decision making and improved compliance and transparency:
Ultimately, the framework tested in this trial allows end-users a more accurate and data-based modelling of environmental scenarios based on material risks and dependencies. The tool supports proactive planning and prioritization of cost-effective, nature-aligned actions.
Also, the traceable data obtained through the GDDS connection allows to build trust among stakeholders and supports regulatory reporting and ESG disclosures, avoiding legal and compliance risks due to unclear data provenance or licensing.
Contact
NTT Data
Miguel Segur– miguel.segur@emeal.nttdata.com
