As biodiversity loss remains high on the agenda of policymakers worldwide, businesses are responding. The leaders? Companies of the Chemicals and Materials sectors, according to CSR Europe’s benchmark for the collaborative platform Biodiversity & Industry.  

Despite the delays caused by the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19), biodiveristy loss remains high on the global and European agenda. But are business tackling this complex issue? Companies operating in the Chemicals and Materials sectors are leaders in addressing  biodiverisity loss, followed by the Food and Agriculture sectors. This is result of CSR Europe’s preliminary benchmark analysis conducted in the framework of the collaborative platform Biodiversity & Industry to understand the leadership positioning of 30+ companies operating in  6 different sectors.

What makes a corporate leader?

Corporate biodiversity leaders are companies who:

1.      Assess potential and current impacts of their operations on biodiversity and ecosystem services, and engage suppliers and other key stakeholders through the process

2.      Mobilise and lead action-oriented initiatives through implementation of biodiversity management plans to minimise negative impacts, achieve a net positive impact on biodiversity and support an ambitious EU biodiversity framework

3.      Adopt collaborative approaches and share experiences to reach common goals for integrating biodiversity into decision-making and investment decisions

Companies from the Food and Agriculture sectors predominantly scored as a “top leader” or  “good”; on average they scored highest due to their direct engagement with suppliers and key stakeholders as part of their forestry initiatives. Biodiversity loss significantly impacts their business in terms of growth, cost or risk and/or it is important to their stakeholders – such as investors, society (citizens, NGOs, governments), consumers, customers (retailers), suppliers and employees.   The Chemicals and Materials sectors also scored well: biodiversity is a highly material issue for the sector, and as a result their biodiversity actions are mature (see for instance the cement sector guidelines).

What are the most common, cross-sector challenges?

1.      The integration of biodiversity into decision-making processes

2.      The degree of engagement with suppliers (and value chain actors as a whole)

3.      The definition and measurement of biodiversity impact in a standardized way

How can your company become a biodiversity leader?

Join the Biodiversity & Industry Platform. CSR Europe will support companies in becoming biodiversity leaders with a double approach aimed at:

1.      Minimise negative impacts on biodiversity across the value chain

2.      Maximise new business opportunities through nature-based solutions

Together, partners of the collaborative platform will produce a common blueprint on:

·        How to assess the impact of a planned intervention (e.g. new factory, new road etc.)

·        How to remediate its negative impact on biodiversity.

If you would like to learn more about this collaborative platform and how we are talking the global issue of biodiversity loss, register to the Biodiversity & Industry webinar on June 2, from 16:00  to 17:00 CEST.

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