Nature and biodiversity

Sustainable fashion trends are on the rise. After climate change, leading textile businesses are embracing biodiversity as the next step in their sustainability journey. The Align project is holding its first webinar of this year on 22 February from 14-15.30h CET on “Biodiversity and natural capital accounting for the apparel sector”. Make sure you are part of the solution and help us transform the fashion, textiles and apparel industry into a sector that protects nature and restores biodiversity.

The EU B@B Platform and the Finance for Biodiversity Foundation, in collaboration with UNEP-FI and PRI, are organising a webinar for the financial sector on the headline outcomes of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. Join us on 16 February from 14-15h CET to hear from finance experts and practitioners how to close the current financing gap for biodiversity of around US$4.1 trillion in line with the commitments of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

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Discover what happened at COP15 in Montreal and its implications for business and finance! Join us for the COP15 debrief with 𝗛𝘂𝗴𝗼 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆, EU Lead Negotiator at COP15 of the European Commission, 𝗘𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗜𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗹, Head of Climate and Environment of Storebrand and Co-Chair Public Policy Advocacy working group of the Finance for Biodiversity Foundation, and Michael Ofosuhene-Wise, Climate & Nature Manager from Business for Nature on January 26th between 14:00 and 15:00 CET. The session will focus on the key outcomes and ambitions emerging from the COP15, diving deep into the new Global Biodiversity Framework and reflecting on the implications for business, finance, and policy. An engaging Q&A session will follow where you are encouraged to voice your thoughts. 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗼𝘄.

We are eager to hear your thoughts on the priorities that the B@B Platform should set for 2023. 𝗛𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗮𝘆 𝗯𝘆 𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝟰-𝗺𝗶𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝘃𝗲𝘆 (click "more" below). Your input will be crucial in identifying the critical needs of business and finance that will shape the new 2023 plan of activities of the Platform.

As a new year begins, the EU B@B Platform embarks on a new phase marking a decade of successful operations. The European Commission is now ready to launch Phase 5 of the EU B@B Platform, a critical stage in the journey towards the institutionalization of biodiversity. After nine consecutive years under ICF’s leadership, ICF will continue to coordinate the Platform, with vital support from Arcadis and NextGreen.

The Finance@Biodiversity Community and the Finance for Biodiversity Foundation have published the first update of the Collaborative Engagements Overview, which acts as an annex to the Guide on Engagement with Companies. Five new biodiversity-related collaborative engagements have been added. Discover more.

As the UN Biodiversity COP15 is in full swing, the world is holding its breath hoping for a landmark agreement on biodiversity. The Global Biodiversity Framework is expected to help us transition to a nature positive world; one where there is more biodiversity globally in 2030 than there was in 2020. “Nature Positive by 2030” appears in capital letters on the wall of one of the COP15 pavilions where many technical discussions involving business are taking place. There are concerns that nature positive might fail to drive meaningful and verifiable action. The EU B@B Platform, in consultation with key partners and businesses, takes a first attempt to define the concept and what it means in a business context.

The rapidly evolving landscape of tools, metrics and frameworks to measure and value the impacts and dependencies of business on biodiversity and ecosystem services, illustrates how biodiversity measurement is gaining traction among the business community. Faced with multiple approaches and based on requests from its members, the EU B@B Platform started a critical and constructive assessment of a of biodiversity measurement approaches in 2018. The fourth update report in the “Assessment of Biodiversity Measurement Approaches for Businesses and Financial Institutions” series is now available.

Today marks the opening of the negotiations to reach a 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐆𝐥𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐥 𝐁𝐢𝐨𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 that will shape policies for biodiversity by 2030 and beyond. Following the European Business and Nature Summit, the EU B@B Platform will be present at COP15 to further strengthen the ‘business for biodiversity movement’ and call on an ambitious outcome. Reach out to: 𝐘𝐚𝐧𝐧 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐧 (ICF), 𝐀𝐧𝐧𝐞-𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐞 𝐁𝐨𝐫 (NextGreen), and 𝐉𝐨𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐋𝐚𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭 (Arcadis) who will be in Montreal. You can get in touch via email at EUBB_Platform@icf.com. Looking forward to seeing you there!

A growing community of financial institutions recognise the critical role the finance sector plays in addressing the global biodiversity crisis and are taking action to address this. But commitments need to be paired with action. In this webinar organised by the Finance and Biodiversity Foundation, Finance@Biodiversity Community, UNEP FI and PRI leading practitioners will showcase how to set concrete targets and monitor progress, demonstrating that it can be done.

More than 500 business and finance delegates joined government and civil society representatives at the 2022 edition of the European Business and Nature Summit (EBNS). Building on the ACT-D (Assess, Commit, Transform, Disclose) framework, the Summit convened over 80 speakers across 20 sessions showcasing best practices and providing clear and actionable steps to help business and finance contribute towards a nature positive world. The Summit inspired participants to take action, strengthening the ‘business for biodiversity movement’ in Europe and beyond, and called for an ambitious post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework to be negotiated within one month at the UN Biodiversity Conference in Montreal (COP 15, 7-19 December 2022). Read our Summit highlights. Access slides and watch recordings.

The European Business and Nature Summit (EBNS) 2022 is at the doorstep! The Summit will attract more than 300 delegates from business, finance, government, academia and civil society next 18 and 19 October in Brussels. It will be an important milestone in the road to the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15) in December 2022 and will strengthen the European "Business for Biodiversity movement". All the main sessions of the Summit will be livestreamed on the EBNS website. Check it out!

Business for Nature, Capitals Coalition, CDP, Textile Exchange, The BTeam, We Mean Business, World Business Council for Sustainable Development and the World Economic Forum are collectively collecting registration of interest from business interested in attending COP15 either physically or virtually. If you are considering attending, submit the form by 10 October.

The Finance@Biodiversity Community convened on 13 September to progress on defining and assessing positive biodiversity impact during an online workshop. This workshop was the second out of a series of three workshops on positive impact, and built on the results of the 23 June session. Slides and summary of the workshop are now available online!

After the first webinar in May, the three September webinars focused on nine case studies from different industries and sectors. Building on these case studies, the European Business@Biodiversity Platform has refined its ‘working definition’ of nature positive in a business context. Discover more and check out the slides and recordings of the webinars.

Embark on a journey to nature positive! Join us at this year's European Business and Nature Summit on 18 & 19 October to find out how to take important steps to ASSESS your impacts and dependencies on nature and biodiversity, COMMIT to operate within the Earth's limits, TRANSFORM and evolve your business model, and DISCLOSE and be transparent about your successes and lessons learned. Meet and learn from pioneering businesses and engage in inspirational keynotes, panel debates, practical workshops and side events. Access the full programme and register now!

The second edition of the Guide on biodiversity measurement approaches, created by the Finance Community of the EU Business and Biodiversity Platform, and the Finance and Biodiversity Foundation has been published. The new release includes dedicated chapters on biodiversity data and on measuring marine biodiversity.

This is the final sprint towards COP15! Business for Nature will host a webinar on 6 September to present how companies can engage in the COP15 Business Advocacy Campaign and support the adoption of an ambitious Global Biodiversity Framework. Register for the webinar!

The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) invites Governments and relevant organizations or institutions to submit their offers to host the technical support unit for the business and biodiversity assessment. The deadline for submissions is Friday, 16 September 2022.