Biodiversity breaking into boardrooms

Standing room only at last week’s first Global Business of Biodiversity Conference, indicating that perhaps companies are beginning to sit up and take notice of nature’s value.

No tree-huggers here. Rooms were full of suits debating why biodiversity is important, what to do about it, and how on earth to communicate this complex issue in a coherent way.

Until now – and, specifically, Pavan Sukhdev’s ground-breaking report on The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) – biodiversity has lagged far behind climate change on the corporate agenda. It is, as Rio Tinto CEO Tom Albanese remarked, “the forgotten dimension of sustainability”. A recent study by PWC backs this up: just 2% of chief execs recognise it as a strategically important issue.

The main problem is a lack of understanding. Biodiversity is confusing, and its importance for business – in terms of risks and opportunities – is not always clear. What’s more, there are no quick and dirty metrics for measuring its loss or protection.

Notable exceptions include extractives companies and agribusiness, who rely heavily on Earth’s resources and at the same time have a massive impact upon nature. They know all too well what happens when they ignore biodiversity (think of Nestlé and palm oil, for instance) – and many have good programmes in place to minimise their footprint.

But all manner of companies rely and impact indirectly upon biodiversity (in ways too intricate to go into here), and this is where Sukhdev’s main challenge lies. These are the businesses that tend to ignore the issue, and the people he needs to persuade. His ‘TEEB for Business’ summary, launched at this conference, is a step in the right direction. Also useful is a new UNEP report that asks, “Are you a green leader?”.

So, what next for nature? Well, many are hopeful of markets for ecosystem services. Caroline Spelman MP, giving her maiden speech as the new UK Secretary of State for the Environment, noted that the global carbon market grew to $140 billion in six years. Could the same be true for biodiversity? If so, it won’t be long before the issue is seen on a par with CO2.

Sustainability communications: beyond reporting

The artist formerly known as Corporate Social Responsibility continues to be widely rebranded as ‘sustainability’. Is this better, or just different? It seems to be a positive step because the term implies that programmes are important for long-term business success – and not just a ‘doing good’ add on. Sustainability is gradually becoming part of corporate culture, with climate change the first issue to make its way into boardrooms the world over.

The focus of communications is shifting as companies realise that sustainability is about opportunities as well as risk management. More and more people – including the (wo)man in the street – care what companies do. As audiences diversify, so communications must also. Green marketing is gaining momentum, with everything from sporting sponsorship to in-store promotions crucial for catching attention and building trust. Even during the recession, price isn’t everything – customers care about quality and reputation.

Reports will still have their place, of course, as an annual compendium of sustainability achievements and challenges. It remains to be seen whether reports’ current focus on operational sustainability will shift to a product-based lifecycle approach. It could certainly help customers choose the greenest option. InterfaceFLOR is calling for this, as in this recent article.

What is clear is that sustainability communications are getting more complex and more creative, and this trend must continue. Targeting different audiences in different ways is a sign you take their opinions – and your communications – seriously.

Peter Knight on US health and safety

Watch your heads! That was the only warning for me and my fellow subway riders at 96th street on a Monday morning rush hour as construction workers used a mobile crane to hoist a very large bag of sand over us.

For the past few years the New York Metropolitan Transport Authority has been building a spanking new station literally around the thousands of men, women and schoolchildren who use the station every day.

This has involved closing off skanky but safe access points that run under busy Broadway and forcing commuters over the main road. That Monday, the suspended sand bag merely added excitement to the day as we dodged mammoth delivery trucks and badly driven taxis with tonnes of No 1 grade hanging over our heads. It’s a bit like being in the midst of a reality TV show: I’m not a construction worker, get me outta here!

In what other advanced nation would such blatant disregard for the public’s safety be tolerated? The grubbiness of the construction workers’ “safety” jackets reflects the deeply conflicted attitude the US appears to demonstrate to safety: plenty of jackets but no reflection.

The Gulf explosion and loss of 11 lives on the Transocean rig that led to the ghastly BP spill came shortly after the loss of 29 coalminers in West Virginia when safety systems clearly failed. Only in China, it seems, do these big industrial accidents happen with greater regularity.

Read this article in full at Ethical Corporation