COP26: leading businesses share integrated action on climate and nature
The urgency to act on the intertwined crises of climate change and nature loss has never been higher. With over half the world’s GDP dependent on nature and its services, the private sector has a critical role in transforming their business models in order to thrive within planetary boundaries.
Delivering an equitable, net zero and nature-positive future requires immediate and urgent action from businesses. Leading companies are adopting strategies to take integrated action on climate and nature — and tackling the related challenges of land degradation, food and water insecurity and social inequality.
On 6 November 2021 at the Business Pavilion of COP26, Business for Nature, along with a group of partners, co-hosted the “How companies are stepping up action on climate and nature“ event, where leading companies shared their integrated action on climate and nature based on practical, real-life experience, and linked these insights to policy asks and recommendations.
The event host and panelists include:
Diane Holdorf, Executive Vice President, WBCSD
Magali Anderson, Chief Sustainability and Innovation Officer, Holcim
Matt Inbusch, Sr Manager, Sustainable Operations, International Paper
Pierre Rousseau, Senior Strategic Advisor for Sustainable Business, BNP Paribas
Marco Lambertini, Director General, WWF
Eva Zabey, Executive Director, Business for Nature
Maria Mendiluce, CEO, We Mean Business
Joel Makower, Chairman and Co-founder, GreenBiz
Eric Soubeiran, Managing Director, Climate and Nature Fund, Unilever
At the event, nine companies from diverse sectors and geographies launched a set of case studies, through which they shared insights into their own journeys to integrate action on climate and nature. These companies include BNP Paribas, CEMEX, H&M Group, International Paper, Jayanti, Mahindra & Mahindra, Solvay, Suzano and Unilever.
Through these brief case studies, executives from each company provided a snapshot of their sustainability commitments, actions, impact and learnings along the way. They also highlighted the challenges, opportunities, and range of approaches and tools that are needed for corporates to take action now. Together, they demonstrated how business can help lead the transition to an equitable, net-zero and nature-positive global economy.
In addition to showcasing ambitious corporate action on climate and nature, the event explored policy levers that business needs to further integrate, scale and speed up climate and nature action. These include clear interlinked national targets and implementation timelines, stronger rules on disclosure (such as Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures and Task Force on Nature-Related Financial Disclosures), removal of harmful subsidies, and alignment of public finance with sustainability priorities.
An enabling regulatory environment is key to ensuring a level playing field and stable operating environment for business. Business for Nature, in collaboration with We Mean Business, has issued a set of joint high-level policy asks to advise governments on building integrated policies for the planet. At COP26, Business for Nature supports We Mean Business’ land-use and nature policy asks, which send a clear message to negotiators on delivering successful outcomes for climate and nature.
The event and case studies were facilitated by Business for Nature, We Mean Business, WWF, Wildlife Habitat Council, World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), CII-ITC Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Development and The Nature Conservancy, with significant thanks to Nature4Climate, Entreprises pour l'Environnement (EpE), and One Planet Business for Biodiversity (OP2B).