What biodiversity means for companies and how they can contribute to it

The discussion about biodiversity today goes far beyond the protection of cute bees and the questions about biodiversity in companies are constantly increasing. New initiatives are constantly being formed to sensitise companies and provide them with tools. On the other hand, NGOs are increasingly focussing on biodiversity in companies and the legal requirements for companies are also increasing.

We want to provide an overview of what biodiversity means and encompasses in general and for companies. In the follow-up article, we will then look at how companies can approach the topic step by step.

Contents

• Why biodiversity is relevant for companies and society
• General developments in biodiversity
• Regulation and initiatives for biodiversity in companies
• What does biodiversity mean for companies?
• What are specific biodiversity issues for companies?
• How exactly do companies affect biodiversity?
• Conclusion Biodiversity is becoming increasingly important for companies and is complex, but manageable

Why biodiversity is relevant for companies and society

Biodiversity is the very basis of human life on our planet. It enables us to farm, catch food, grow cotton, harvest wood, enjoy nature, enjoy our own gardens and breathe oxygen. When species that characterise our everyday lives are threatened, such as the Banana or the Coffeethen the importance of biodiversity becomes particularly clear to us. As all species are integrated into complex ecosystems, it is just as important for our everyday lives and our survival that insects, soil bacteria and weeds also survive.

This also quickly shows that companies play an important dual role. On the one hand, they have a responsibility to maintain this basis of life for us all. On the other hand, many companies are themselves dependent on this basis. Some sectors recognise this dependency very clearly, such as the food industry, the textile industry, tourism or the wood and paper industry. But many other industries are also affected, for example when there is a shortage of wood for transport pallets, when poor soils jeopardise embankments and thus shipping traffic, or when exploding pest populations affect the building industry.

The direct or indirect utilisation of biodiversity describes the concept of Ecosystem services.

General developments in biodiversity

In general, the state of biodiversity conservation worldwide is not good. The Global Report of the World Biodiversity Council summarised in 2019 that 40 percent of amphibians, almost a third of corals and more than a third of marine mammals are threatened with extinction. In addition, 85% of wetlands have been destroyed and 23% of the land area is ecologically overexploited and therefore economically weak. In general, species are currently disappearing 100 times faster than in the last 10 million years.

These statements show that both society in general and companies should act swiftly.

Regulation and initiatives for biodiversity in companies

More and more companies want to fulfil their responsibility and protect biodiversity. However, legislation in this regard is also becoming increasingly comprehensive. The most important current laws regarding biodiversity in companies are

• The Federal Nature Conservation Act for the protection of nature and landscape
• The Environmental Damage Act for the prevention and compensation of environmental damage
• The Environmental Impact Assessment Act to analyse the impact of planned projects on the environment

The existing legislation will soon be joined by regulation by the EU taxonomy to this. The EU taxonomy will become one of the most important instruments for banks and investors in the coming years and will gradually promote the financing of sustainable projects and withdraw funds from non-sustainable ones. Biodiversity is one of six target areas of the ecological taxonomy, alongside climate change and water, among others. The specific sector-related criteria that a company must fulfil in order to be classified as sustainable in terms of biodiversity are currently still being developed. However, the three-part categorisation is already clear: whether a company A) causes damage to biodiversity, B) acts neutrally or C) actively promotes it. Companies can therefore already analyse how they affect biodiversity and work to improve their impact. We explain exactly how in the following article.

In addition to the legal requirements on biodiversity for companies, more and more initiatives are being launched to support companies in this area. At this point we briefly refer to "Company Biological Diversity" of the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation and the "Biodiversity in good company".

What does biodiversity mean for companies?

Firstly, it is important to understand that biodiversity, or biological diversity, refers to a triad of diversity:

• The diversity of species (the variety of animals, plants, bacteria)
• The diversity of genetic material (the diversity of genes and varieties within a species, e.g. different apple varieties)
• The diversity of ecosystems (the different forms of forests, reefs, meadows, etc.)

The global stability of our livelihood is based on this diversity. Accordingly, a focus on this triad is also helpful for companies.

What are specific biodiversity issues for companies?

Building on the triad and the global ecosystems, the topics are numerous. To become more concrete, it helps to focus on the goals of the Convention on Biological Diversity of the UN orientation. These Aichi destinations The targets refer to the most pressing problems of biodiversity. The targets are to be renewed at the end of 2022.

The Aichi Targets that can guide companies are:

• Balancing biodiversity as a value (visualising ecosystem services)
• Preventing the loss of ecosystems (deforestation, mining, sealing, etc.)
• Preventing overfishing and protecting marine ecosystems
• Switch to sustainable agriculture and prevent overexploitation
• Preventing pollution of the environment
• Preventing the spread of invasive species
• Preventing ocean acidification
• Reduce pollution of rivers and lakes
• Preventing the extinction of endangered species
• Increasing the genetic diversity of crops and livestock
• Protecting ecosystems around indigenous peoples
• Development of ecosystems as CO2 reservoirs and against desertification

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How exactly do companies affect biodiversity?

The Aichi Targets therefore describe WHAT a company does with regard to biodiversity. The other side of the perspective is now WHAT impact it has on biodiversity.

As with all sustainability issues, there are three areas in which companies have an impact:

• Effects from the core business
• Effects due to operation
• Effects of the utilisation of funds

These three areas can be further subdivided:

Core business	Operation	Utilisation of funds
Effects of the product / the Service in use	Effects of your own Manufacturing / Production	Effects due to the species the investment of capital (e.g. sustainable bank)
Effects of the Disposal of a product	Impact of all administrative activities, i.e. office buildings, purchasing, vehicle fleet, etc.	Influence through the use of profits for donations, etc.
Effects of the Upstream value chain (raw material extraction, pre-production, etc.)	Effects of logistics for products
	Impact through sensitisation of employees

In the follow-up article, we will go into more detail on how the areas of impact and the specific biodiversity issues are brought together. Basically, however, it is a matter of realising where the company's activities have an impact on which factors and how these can be improved.

Conclusion Biodiversity is becoming increasingly important for companies and is complex, but manageable

The ongoing regulation of the topic, particularly through the forthcoming EU taxonomy, makes it relevant for companies to deal with it at an early stage. The variety of topics in the Aichi Targets also shows that the topic of biodiversity is complex for companies. The concrete naming of topics also provides companies with a good orientation for targets and measures. Companies can significantly improve their impact on biodiversity through a systematic approach and a thorough analysis of the situation.

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