A European business network and a US-headquartered conservation NGO have kickstarted an initiative to foster the integration of biodiversity in corporate decision-making, with nine corporations joining the programme ahead of its general launch next year.
The business-led Biodiversity Alliance for Sustainable Management, announced by CSR Europe and the Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC), will focus on advancing corporate efforts on biodiversity preservation, as well as hastening the adoption of standards for assessing and disclosing risks and dependencies on nature.
Global businesses such as Coca-Cola, BASF, and Hitachi are among the companies that joined the initiative. Other early members include Syensqo, PPC, Titan, Autostrade per l’Italia, Leonardo, and Impronta Etica.
After a year-long incubation period, the programme will open the participation to other organisations in 2025.
“CSR Europe’s Biodiversity Alliance aims to facilitate companies in the complex efforts to recognise biodiversity as a priority and integrate solid biodiversity management strategies into their operations,” said CSR Europe.
“Businesses will work together with their peers, European policymakers, and representatives of governments and civil society to achieve impact at scale, and to create an alliance of leading companies that will act together on measurable improvement in their impact on biodiversity, leveraging the business opportunities that go along with it.”
ADVANCING DISCLOSURES
Under the initiative, companies will collaborate to share best practices on managing biodiversity-related risks, and develop a set of metrics and tools to measure their impact on nature.
A major focus will be placed on implementing EU requirements on biodiversity as part of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), as well as aligning with international frameworks such as the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD).
“Long-term business success relies on incorporating biodiversity into decision-making structures, including identifying, assessing, mitigating, and disclosing biodiversity pressures in business operations,” said CSR Europe.
“While an increasing number of companies adopt biodiversity strategies, many are still navigating the integration of these actions into their overall sustainability plans, emphasising the need for strengthened cooperation among European corporates to collectively address these challenges.”
Companies face growing expectations to contribute to biodiversity conservation, as target 15 under the 2022 Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) urges them to regularly monitor, assess, and disclose their risks, dependencies, and impacts.
As companies step up their efforts to align with disclosure standards, demand for biodiversity credits could also increase.
The corporate risk management data generated by TNFD uptake could represent a foundation upon which a high-integrity nature credit market can expand, a report by Australian firm Clayton Utz said after last year’s launch of the TNFD recommendations.
By Sergio Colombo – sergio@carbon-pulse.com
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