These days, even some of the most hardened anti-environmentalists know that the impacts of climate change are beginning to have serious economic and business consequences.
But we are only now understanding the potential devastating consequences to society of vanishing species – plants that could provide the source for new medical treatments, animals and fish whose unnecessary demise could lead to the collapse of unique habitats and ecosystems on which the whole world depends, ultimately for its food supply if nothing else.
In many industries, biodiversity plays a central role in maintaining a business’s license to operate. Obtaining this licence partly depends on how a company meets its our environmental obligations, whether driven by legislative requirement or as part of a wider responsibility agenda.
NGOs and local communities are increasingly likely to seek revocations of planning permissions where damage occurs at irreplaceable natural sites, quite apart from vigorously opposing even outlined planning applications for new developments.
Enhanced stakeholder relationships
Understanding habitat and habitat protection makes a significant contribution to the development of stronger stakeholder relationships. It provides a particularly effective route to building trust, confidence and positive engagement with local communities.
Pressure from governments, lending institutions and society as a whole is increasing for certain types of companies to manage their impact on biodiversity. Like climate change, biodiversity is a global issue that requires coordinated and energetic international action and the engagement of the corporate sector. Both issues are inextricably linked – we already know that a change in climate can result in a change in ecosystems but how many of us also recognize that a change in key ecosystems can potentially change climate?
One of the main problems in developing effective mechanisms for maintaining the integrity of natural habitats is a lack of information. The scientific community is certain that biodiversity is being decimated worldwide at an unprecedented rate.
However, The Financial Times in May last year observed that global efforts to save endangered flora and fauna are severely hampered by a lack of accurate information. The recently launched Proteus project by the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre has the potential to link up many different sources of information to address this need provided the data owners, including business, are prepared to make it available and guarantee its quality. Indeed, at a recent meeting in London, the UNEP Executive Director, Dr Klaus Töpfer, made it very clear that participation by the private sector would be a great bonus to the Proteus initiative.
Good data – the essence of good decision-making
For any business or any individual - the essence of good decision-making is good data. As companies increasingly demonstrate that they are taking non-financial responsibilities seriously, this should encourage independent programs that assess biodiversity. These programs not only assist businesses in understanding the environment within which they operate, but can help provide vital information needed by the scientific and conservation communities.
The international business community has significant landholdings and communications in place across the globe. It also has an ability to collect and provide meaningful amounts of data relevant to the protection of natural habitats. Making this information available to the wider scientific and environmental community can be an important contribution to wider conservation without being a significant burden on the business. Recent developments in the internet make this goal all the more deliverable.
The business community in turn needs to access this knowledge to start to make better decisions about the impact of business on biodiversity from day-to-day operations through to strategic planning. Biodiversity issues may be dealt with at local level but their impacts can have global implications.
As part of efforts to link local action to long-term strategy, companies need to build partnerships with stakeholder organizations, ensuring in skill sharing and knowledge transfer – both ways. These relationships offer companies the opportunity to harness the knowledge that our stakeholders have.
I believe that commitment to biodiversity means looking beyond immediate business impacts and seeking out opportunities that go beyond compliance. It is a key part of obtaining and protecting our licence to operate, while providing our stakeholders with a clear point of reference on how we run our businesses.
Biodiversity is tied to everything we do and business operations must mirror this. It forms the foundation of sustainable operating conditions; both our livelihood and our quality of life ultimately depend on it. Questioning, “how will this affect the environment?” should be as commonplace, and given as much weight as, asking, “how will this affect the bottom line?”
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Noel Morrin is international environment director at RMC Group.
This article has been reprinted courtesy of Ethical Corporation magazine.