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Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL)

Insect on flower

Biodiversity iconBiodiversity fundamentally underpins the benefits that businesses derive from natural capital and supports the key ecosystem functions that ensure the delivery of business operations and productivity.

Businesses, including pharmaceutical companies, food and agri-businesses, forestry industries and construction and packaging sectors use genes, species and ecosystem services as critical inputs into their production processes. They depend on healthy ecosystems to treat and dissipate waste, maintain soil and water quality and help control air composition. Considering these societal and industrial benefits as well as the associated values of these intact ecosystems is vital when exploring land use opportunities and conversion.

Rather than allowing biodiversity risks to manifest themselves in mainstream business, business leaders can take early steps to secure biodiversity, and seize opportunities that enable them to remain at the forefront of their sector. The benefits of such action can include decreased costs from the reduced need of inputs to counter biodiversity degradation and brand enhancement from the implementation of conservation initiatives.

One-pager: Business and Biodiversity: opportunities and challenges 

 

Business and biodiversity: the relationships 

What are the biodiversity-related challenges for business? 

 

What are the biodiversity-related opportunities for business? 

Biodiversity trees

Biodiversity escarpment

Banana plantation

What do business sustainability leaders say? 

On biodiversity data 

On ecosystems and ownership