Businesses and Biodiversity working group

Origin

 

In February 2006, Orée and the IFB (French Institute of Biodiversity) initiated a working group on “how to integrate biodiversity into corporate strategies”, involving approximately thirty companies, major corporations, small and medium-sized businesses and industries as well as local authorities and associations. Its objective is to identify how biodiversity can influence corporate strategies to go beyond impact control analysis. There are significant issues at stake as it is the first time in France that businesses, scientists and associations come together as a working group to examine the biodiversity issue, more specifically the reintegration of the economic activity into the dynamics of living systems.

 

Phase 1 of the working group was completed in 2008 with the production of three major deliverables:


•    The publication of a guide on Integrating biodiversity into business strategies. The Biodiversity Accountability Framework, co-published with the FRB (Fondation pour la Recherche sur la Biodiversité) – Issued in September 2008, in French and English;
•    the creation of a Business and Biodiversity Interdependence Indicator,  
•    A conference “Biodiversity: businesses and scientists engage in dialogue” in November 2008, organised by the FRB in partnership with Orée.

Phase 2 of the working group started in 2009, its aim is to develop a Biodiversity Accountability Framework. It concerns in particular the elaboration of an accountability framework recording biodiversity flows at the scale of (1) a company and (2) of interacting companies.
A doctoral thesis, supported by VEOLIA Environment and the State via a CIFRE (research-based industrial training contracts) scholarship, is being written in close partnership with the working group. The objective is to switch from one development model, standardising the living world, to another based on reciprocity between businesses and biological diversity.
A doctoral thesis, supported by VEOLIA Environment and the State via a CIFRE (research-based industrial training contracts) scholarship, is being written in close partnership with the working group. The objective is to switch from one development model, standardising the living world, to another based on reciprocity between businesses and biological diversity.

 
Phase 2 deliverables


The results envisaged were presented during the phase 2 launch meeting of 11 March 2009. These results relate to the development of a system to record the flow of biodiversity and ecosystem services:


•    Logical and methodological framework;
•    Nomenclature and methods to evaluate flows, costs and income;
•    Case studies – business and local authority members;
•    Recommendations in terms of data collection, management, communication and traceability for inter-business relations;
•    Implications for financial accounting, “Sustainable Development” reporting, the assessment of projects, products and services.
See framework memo
 
Organisation


• President, scientific affairs: Jacques Weber, economist and anthropologist, CIRAD’s Research director (International Cooperation Centre in Agronomical Research for Development)
• President, corporate affairs: Mathieu Tolian, Environmental performance Department, Veolia Environment.
• The working group is coordinated and monitored by Orée.

Targets


The main targets will be businesses, large corporations, small and medium-sized businesses and industries. Politicians, public institutions, local authorities and stakeholders will also be concerned.