Business for Nature - End of year news update
It’s fair to say 2020 has truly been an extraordinary year. Among the challenges we’ve all faced, there are still collective achievements to celebrate. While we’ve missed the interaction of seeing each other face to face, we’ve also seen how it’s possible to shift entire ways of working and keep that team spirit and energy going. We’ve got to know our colleagues in a more personal way, meeting dogs, cats, kids, partners, and commenting on hairstyles (or lack of).
Regardless of what this year has thrown at us, we’re proud of everything we’ve achieved with the incredible support of our partners, Strategic Advisory Group and the increasing number of businesses who engage in our work. Below, we’ve shared some of our highlights.
We hope no matter where you are, or what you’re celebrating, you manage to rest and re-energize ahead of 2021. We look forward to working with you next year as we continue to demonstrate business action and amplify a powerful business voice calling for governments to adopt policies to reverse nature loss in this decade.
In January 2020 in Davos, we launched our policy recommendations together with business leaders from Gucci, Yara International, H&M, COFCO International and Rabobank.
More than 2,000 people attended our global virtual “Building Business Resilience” event on 15 June 2020. The event was translated into Mandarin, French, Spanish and Portuguese and more than half of the attendees were from business.
In September, we launched the signatories of the “Nature is everyone’s business” Call to Action on the same day as the UN General Assembly. More than 600 companies with combined revenues of $4.1 trillion have now signed up and we hope to grow this number in 2021.
Business engagement in the CBD and CBD consultation
We provided direct input to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) process during the second Open-ended Working Group meeting in Rome in February and have developed two reports to drive greater business engagement ahead of COP15 in Kunming.
For business: A Business Guide to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity.
For policymakers: No business on a dead planet – why adopting an ambitious Post-2020 Framework makes economic sense
CBD consultation - what happens next?
141 individual organizations, including more than 100 businesses, completed our consultation on the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework. A huge thank you to those of you that did - we have had rich responses. From February onwards, we will start to share our position publicly and actively engage with the national CBD negotiation teams.
Chief Advisor in China appointed
We’re delighted that Wei Dong Zhou, WBCSD China Director, has been appointed Business for Nature’s Chief Advisor in China to strengthen the role Chinese businesses can play in creating a nature-positive future. On 30 November, Wei Dong brought together representatives from the Foreign Environmental Cooperation Center (FECO) of the Chinese Ministry of Environment Ecology with several business organizations to kick-start a program of activity in the run up to the UN CBD COP15 that is planned to take place next year in China. Read more from Wei Dong on why nature can be China’s strongest ally in the fight against climate change (also available in Mandarin).
Business and labor organizations call on governments to strengthen cooperation
Ahead of the G20 Summit, Business for Nature, alongside 12 other business and labor organizations, called on the G20 governments to strengthen cooperation to ensure an inclusive and resilient recovery from a convergence of global crises. We weren’t the only ones. 20 wildlife conservation organizations including our partners - The Nature Conservancy, Conservation International, WWF and the Born Free Foundation - also published a letter. The overlap between these letters was striking and positive – with both asking for similar ambition levels.
Other bits of news
We Value Nature have launched a series of train the trainer sessions that are open to all, including businesses. The aim of these modules us to guide businesses in a practical and simple way to understand the relationships between business and nature and how to integrate this into decision-making.
The World Business Council on Sustainable Development (WBCSD) has launched a new report on nature-based solutions to help companies accelerate consistent and credible actions for both climate and nature.
The Science Based Targets Network has launched its Corporate Engagement Program. We encourage companies to join the Corporate Engagement Program and help develop methods, tools and guidance for setting science-based nature targets.
Wishing you all a restful festive season ahead of a critical 2021. Thank you for all your support and engagement.
Thank you again,
Eva Zabey
Executive Director– Business for Nature