Biodiversity: why should business care?
COP15 - the Biodiversity-focused version of the recent COP27 on climate change - is currently underway in Canada, but for many companies biodiversity loss is still a poorly-understood issue that sits fairly low down their priority list. How does it connect to business, and how can companies better understand and take action on it?
Whatever line of business you’re in, it is highly likely that your company will have started to make and/or implement plans to reduce your carbon and other GHG emissions. You may well also have strategies and policies in place on issues like gender equity and modern slavery. But what about biodiversity? Is it really that important if some obscure species most of us have never heard of goes extinct? Surely it wouldn’t impact our business, right…?
To quote a recent UN article: “We are facing a triple planetary crisis of climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss. All these issues are interlinked, as are their solutions. Land and marine ecosystems – forests, peat bogs, the ocean – absorb more than 50 per cent of man-made carbon emissions, and are vital to meeting the Paris Agreement goals. Biodiversity also plays a huge role in climate change adaptation. Nature-based solutions such as coral reefs and mangrove forests can protect coastal communities from storms, flooding and erosion.”
Biodiversity loss is often regarded by companies as a less important or urgent issue than carbon / GHG reduction, but in reality it is deeply interconnected to climate change as well as many other sustainability issues. Understanding those connections, however, can be tricky. The effects of change in an ecosystem can take many years - often decades - to be seen and understood, so considering the potential impact on business and what pre-emptive or remedial action to take now requires an ability (and willingness) to look beyond short-term risks and activities and take a much longer and more holistic view.
How does protecting biodiversity benefit businesses?
Depending on the type of business you’re in, protecting and restoring biodiversity could have all or any combination of these benefits:
“Future-proof” business
Stable sources of raw materials, such as plant fibres, medicinal substances, and oils
Resilient supply chains that are less prone to disruption by extreme weather
Potential to discover new valuable materials / substances
Source of innovation, for example through the study of biomimicry
Healthier crops & communities
Less pollution due to reduced need for artificial fertilizers / pesticides on farms
More pollinators to enable crops to grow
Protect livelihoods and create jobs in new areas of work
Attract tourists to enjoy beautiful landscapes and wildlife
Happy customers
Avoid reputational damage that comes if you’re found to be harming biodiversity
Attract new customers that care about the impact of products/services they use
Happy investors
Improved ESG ratings attract new / continued investment
Reduced risk by getting ahead of regulatory changes
COP15 agenda & ambition
As we speak, global political and business leaders are gathered in Montreal in Canada for COP15, where they will be negotiating details of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework. This framework aims to provide “a strategic vision and global roadmap for the conservation, protection, restoration and sustainable management of biodiversity and ecosystems for the next decade”. Private sector involvement in the form of multi-stakeholder partnerships and initiatives across sectors, industries and regions will be crucial to the successful implementation of this framework - as with all sustainability issues, the challenges are too vast and complex for one company, industry or country to solve alone.
So what can you do to get started?
Visualise
Map out your value chain to understand the impact relationship between your company’s actions and the flora and fauna of the various environments you operate in - from both a practical and an ESG reporting standpoint, transparency is essential
Focus
Conduct a materiality assessment (if you haven’t already) and consult biodiversity experts to identify key risks and opportunities, then set targets with clear metrics that can be monitored and reported on
Educate
Build awareness of how biodiversity relates to your business and that of your key stakeholders, and develop the capability of your people - especially leaders - to apply systems thinking in order to better understand the actual and potential consequences of the decisions they make
Incentivize
Build sustainability KPIs into your executive and management performance assessments, and make sure achievements are recognized and shared in order to reinforce positive behaviours and motivate and inspire others
Collaborate
Identify partners, such as NGOs, local suppliers, and even competitors, who you can work with to gain a deeper understanding of the issues and co-create locally-appropriate and mutually beneficial solutions
Connecting issues, actions, and business outcomes
Having a clear strategy and targets for action on biodiversity is only half the story - transforming the culture in your organisation so that it encourages and supports the implementation of those ambitions is equally important. Just as one company or industry cannot solve any sustainability issue alone, the same is true within organisations - every function and every level of the company needs to be working together towards a common goal.
At enteleco we specialise in shifting mindsets and behaviours by helping your people to “connect the dots” between their everyday actions, your sustainability ambitions, and their real world impact.
It starts with awareness: by bringing together leaders from different functions and levels in the organisation to listen to each other’s challenges, goals and ideas for implementing the company’s sustainability strategy, we build a shared understanding and sense of purpose that leads to stronger engagement, collaboration and coordination.
The next step is to build skills - the toolkit and frameworks needed to bring understanding into the work context and identify what needs to change and how. The final step is then implementation - here we often use practical projects that not only enable people to apply their learning to a real situation, but also deliver tangible results for the business and a positive impact on the world.
If you would like to discuss how we can support your organisation to unleash the potential of your people for positive impact, do get in touch!
Website: https://www.entelecoconsulting.com/
Email: info@entelecoconsulting.com