The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), often called the ‘IPCC for biodiversity’, has published its Methodological assessment report on the impact and dependence of business on biodiversity and nature’s contributions to people (known as the Business and biodiversity report). It finds that businesses are central to halting and reversing biodiversity loss, but that many often lack information to address their impacts and dependencies, as well as the risks and opportunities relating to biodiversity and nature’s contributions to people.
The report was prepared over three years by 79 leading experts from 35 countries and all regions of the world, drawn from science and the private sector, in consultation with Indigenous Peoples and local communities.
Measuring impacts and dependencies
The report finds that a wide range of methods, knowledge and data exist for measuring business impacts and dependencies, which can inform decisions and action, but that more is understood about applying methods for assessing impacts than for measuring dependencies. The report helps users to understand which methods, metrics and policy tools are appropriate for the scope of business, helping bring clarity and coherence to how businesses measure and report on their interactions with nature.
Priorities for business action
All businesses, including financial institutions, have a responsibility to address their impacts and dependencies and could take further actions, given an enabling environment. The report explores both actions that can be taken by businesses themselves and ‘signalling’ actions that can publicly influence and inspire action by others. Actions of each type can be pursued by businesses across four decision-making levels: corporate, operations, value-chain and portfolio.
Five specific components are identified as central to such an enabling environment: policy, legal and regulatory frameworks; economic and financial systems; social values, norms and culture; technology and data; and capacity and knowledge. The report provides more than 100 specific examples of concrete actions that can be taken, across each of these five components, by businesses, governments, financial actors and civil society.
Collaboration is key
Another central message of the report is that businesses cannot, by themselves, deliver the scale of change needed to halt and reverse biodiversity loss. Collaboration, collective and individual actions are essential to create an enabling environment where businesses contribute to a just and sustainable future.
‘I am excited to see this report out after 3 years of meticulous work by all authors and reviewers. IPBES sets the science and Ipieca helps translate it into action for the energy sector. I look forward to reviewing this credible report and using it as a foundation for future projects at Ipieca.’
Artemis Kostareli, Ipieca Nature Director
Ipieca support for biodiversity
Ipieca supports companies to integrate the management of biodiversity and ecosystem services (BES) across the life cycle of oil, gas and alternative energy operations and embed the concept of BES issue management and the mitigation hierarchy within operational practices and management systems. Recent work has also gone beyond the application of the mitigation hierarchy to aim to achieve no net loss and biodiversity net gain.
Click here to download the IPBES Business and biodiversity report.
