Nature - Biodiversity
Biodiversity Enhancement in Operations
Scale
Global Site Operations
Impact
Program Development, Global Baseline Assessments, 20% Uplift in Biodiversity by 2030
Background
Nature and the protection of global biodiversity has risen to fore in recent years. With recents focus on measurement, it is now clear that restoring nature can provide 30% of the carbon reduction needed to mitigate climate change, and at least 50% of our GDP depends on nature. The importance of nature in our long term survival was recognized on the global stage when in December 2022, at the United Nations Global Conference of Parties (COP 15), 196 nations agreed to conserve 30% of the earth's surface and aligned behind a Global Biodiversity Framework.
This biodiversity project was undertaken on the global scale, by the research division of a Fortune 500 company based in the UK. At the time, the company had a public target to be Nature Positive by 2030. While significant work would be necessary in other areas of the supply chain to reach this target, the focus of this project was on the development of a program for approximately 40 internal sites across the globe.
Project Overview
Problem Statement
Approach
Result
How can we achieve a 20% uplift in biodiversity within the Company's global site portfolio while maintaining consistency and transparency in measurement across continents, biomes and socio-economic regions?
Given the program scale and complexity, and with the potential for external audit, it was important to establish a clear definition of biodiversity. Given the absence of any universally-agreed framework, an evaluation of all available definitions/approaches was completed. In addition to evaluating measurement approaches, the team considered the locations and sizes of the sites and how best to balance the trade-off between data collection and financial expenditures. The intent was to collect enough information to establish a meaningful baseline and be able to quantify meaningful changes in uplift over time.
In the course of the project, several external partners were consulted including the UN Environment Programme, the Science Based Targets Network, IUCN, Convention on Biological Diversity and a range of tool developers.
Through internal and external collaboration, a program was developed that built on the landscape-based model from the UK's DEFRA model. It incorporated a combination of physical site assessments and electronic screening tools like IUCN's IBAT and STAR. The program follows the Science Based Targets Guidance for Nature.
In partnership with an external engineering consultancy, the global program was initiated, and over 85% of the company's global internal sites were assessed. Significant uplift activities have been completed at several large sites, and strategic plans are in place to ensure the company reaches it's target to achieve 20% uplift by 2030.