The guide on Business and Biodiversity offers a framework to assess the present status of a company regarding biodiversity, key steps for action, and examples of companies that have experience in managing the risks. Henk Simons, Senior Advisor Biodiversity of IUCN NL, told P+ that companies welcomed the guide, "but they were eager to see it complemented with practical information on how to implement the steps in different sectors. The timber industry for instance faces problems like illegal logging that are quite different from those in other sectors."
The guide shows some well-known examples of companies that try to minimize the impact of their business on biodiversity. One of them is the partnership between the large Dutch shrimp trader Heiploeg, IUCN and Oxfam Novib, aiming to tackle the ecological and social problems in the tropical shrimp industry. Another one is the Round Table on Sustainable Palm Oil, in which some 140 organisations such as oil palm growers, palm oil processors and traders, consumer goods manufacturers, retailers, banks and NGOs try to create a supply chain of sustainable palm oil. Dutch members in the Round Table include Unilever, Essent, Cargill, Rabobank and Both Ends.
As local, national and international partnerships are essential to manage biodiversity impacts and risk, NGOs are increasingly invited by companies to play a role, says Henk Simons. "Companies want to involve important stakeholders in biodiversity like NGOs to create commitment. We have seen this happening in the fields of soy and palm oil. NGOs can also play an important role in giving information on high conservation value areas."
P+ webtip: IUCN HOLLAND