Big brands nurture nature as business demands sustainability
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Barcelona — From helping Mongolia’s goat herders produce cashmere more efficiently to counting insects on “biodiversity plots” planted on farms, some of the world’s biggest brands are blazing a trail with innovative efforts to nurture nature.
Sustainability researchers say businesses have shown a surge of interest in limiting the harm their operations do to the planet, as scientists have outlined more clearly the threats to forests, water, soil, plants, animals, birds — and people.
“For decades we have been trying to get companies on board with this journey but in the past six to 12 months, I have never seen so much interest,” said Eva Zabey, executive director of Business for Nature, a coalition lobbying for stronger government policies and more corporate action.
At least 400 firms have signed up to international commitments to protect nature, and more than 1,200 companies are already taking some steps in their operations, she said.
On Monday, Britain said it would start a consultation process on a potential new law that would force big companies to clean up their supply chains by fining them if they use products grown on illegally deforested land.
A World Economic Forum report in January estimated that $44-trillion of economic value generated around the world each year — more than half global GDP — depends on nature and its services.
These include food crop pollination, genetic material for medicines and mangroves to reduce storm damage, said Cath Tayleur, a senior programme manager for business and nature at the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL).
“The key message is that your business can’t continue to have negative impacts while still expecting to benefit from the positive aspects of biodiversity,” she told a webinar on business and nature this month. Already nature “is in a perilous state”.
A 2019 flagship report from the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) warned that up to 1-million animal and plant species out of an estimated 8-million are at risk of extinction, particularly due to industrial farming and fishing.
Numbers like these — together with greater recognition of the role forests play in absorbing planet-heating carbon — are pushing water utilities, mining companies, food manufacturers and others to address the environmental impact of how they source raw materials.
Resources stewards
Chris Brown, senior director of sustainable supply chains at British supermarket chain Asda, said customer surveys show more than 90% of its ...
Sustainability researchers say businesses have shown a surge of interest in limiting the harm their operations do to the planet, as scientists have outlined more clearly the threats to forests, water, soil, plants, animals, birds — and people.
“For decades we have been trying to get companies on board with this journey but in the past six to 12 months, I have never seen so much interest,” said Eva Zabey, executive director of Business for Nature, a coalition lobbying for stronger government policies and more corporate action.
At least 400 firms have signed up to international commitments to protect nature, and more than 1,200 companies are already taking some steps in their operations, she said.
On Monday, Britain said it would start a consultation process on a potential new law that would force big companies to clean up their supply chains by fining them if they use products grown on illegally deforested land.
A World Economic Forum report in January estimated that $44-trillion of economic value generated around the world each year — more than half global GDP — depends on nature and its services.
These include food crop pollination, genetic material for medicines and mangroves to reduce storm damage, said Cath Tayleur, a senior programme manager for business and nature at the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL).
“The key message is that your business can’t continue to have negative impacts while still expecting to benefit from the positive aspects of biodiversity,” she told a webinar on business and nature this month. Already nature “is in a perilous state”.
A 2019 flagship report from the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) warned that up to 1-million animal and plant species out of an estimated 8-million are at risk of extinction, particularly due to industrial farming and fishing.
Numbers like these — together with greater recognition of the role forests play in absorbing planet-heating carbon — are pushing water utilities, mining companies, food manufacturers and others to address the environmental impact of how they source raw materials.
Resources stewards
Chris Brown, senior director of sustainable supply chains at British supermarket chain Asda, said customer surveys show more than 90% of its ...
