Enhancing Biodiversity in Europe’s Oilseed and Cereal Industries

August 2021: A new report from University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) and Biodiversify examines what private sector actors in the oilseed and cereal industry can do to conserve biodiversity on arable farmland in Europe to ultimately inspire them to take action towards best practice. The aim of this work funded by an ADM Cares grant to the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability leadership was to examine the question: What can private sector actors in the oilseed and cereal industries do to conserve biodiversity on arable farmland in Europe? 

Read the report

Cereal and oilseed are extremely important to EU and global agriculture: 54% of Europe’s arable land is dedicated to growing cereal crops while also accounting for 30% of global oilseed supply. With increasing pressure for foods like cereals and oilseeds, production has intensified which has been accompanied by mechanisation of the industry, simplification of the landscape, increased chemical use and, in some regions, land abandonment where soils aren’t productive enough. Not only is the industry impacting on nature, but it is also actually dependent upon it and biodiversity provides a range of ecosystem services including pest management, pollination and enhancing overall resilience of the farm landscape. CISL led research working with UN Environment World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC), Fauna & Flora International (FFI) and the University of East Anglia (UEA) that concluded that companies face potential shortages of raw materials, a fall in crop quality and challenges around security of supply because of an emerging pollination deficit.

This new CISL report draws on best-practice international initiatives, such as the Science Based Targets for Nature to demonstrate how companies in this sector can begin to build the business case for biodiversity and ultimately inspire them to take action towards best practice. The report includes key policy trends that the private sector companies in the oilseed and cereal industries should be aware of in focusing their strategies and approaches towards enhancing biodiversity; citing examples to inspire companies and trigger enabling conditions to set them up for success to enable wider systems transformation and enhance biodiversity at scale.

The report concludes with 10 recommendations for the private sector including:

  1. Build the business case internally.
  2. Establish initial processes.
  3. Set corporate direction with biodiversity strategies including high level goals and targets.
  4. Take no regrets action.
  5. Disclose initial findings from value chain assessment, baseline data and monitoring.
  6. Implement the Mitigation Hierarchy on farms.
  7. Maximise results through landscape level initiatives.
  8. Forge key partnerships across and within value chains.  
  9. Unlock adequate funding to facilitate enabling conditions and seek wider systems transformation.
  10. Integrate biodiversity with climate action and other sustainability initiatives.

Citing this report

Please refer to this publication as:

The University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) and Biodiversify (2021). Enhancing biodiversity in Europe’s oilseed and cereal  industries. Cambridge: The University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership.