Detailed Checklist 1 B – Biodiversity Awareness and Corporate Volunteering

Introduction
Based on the biodiversity quick check, you see an area where your employees’ awareness and engagement in biodiversity could be or is relevant for your company’s impact on biodiversity. The following checklists provide input and tips to help you can provide targeted support to increase your employees’ awareness about areas that are interconnected with biodiversity and create volunteer opportunities in the field of public projects or corporate volunteering.
C 1 B–1 Corporate Volunteering
Make it possible for your employees to participate in nature conservation or compensation projects (e.g. plant a tree/plant projects, building protection and/or pristine recreation areas) sponsored by other groups (such as schools, universities, communities, etc.). Allow your employees the opportunity to participate in educational vacations with a focus on biodiversity.

Applicable / Feasible?

Consider your employees’ selective approaches in individual projects. For example setting up and taking care of protected areas or public nature trails, projects focussed on restoring biotopes or protecting endangered species.

Applicable / Feasible?

Support your employees’ initiative and involvement through consecutive days of work shadowing.

Applicable / Feasible?

Support non-profit organisations that are focussed on biodiversity with your know-how in the fields of marketing, sales and project management (Know-How-Donation). This increases the non-profit’s efficiency on the one hand, while at the same time improving your business’ knowledge about biodiversity on the other hand.

Applicable / Feasible?

Motivate your personnel to participate in info campaigns (for example by helping to produce brochures) about biodiversity topics such as invasive species or forest protection. Through this your employees will be able to improve their knowledge about the topic and participate in distributing the valuable information.

Applicable / Feasible?

Consider corporate volunteering together with international non-profit organisations, especially in countries where you procure your raw materials or integral materials for business.

Applicable / Feasible?

Realise the following possibilities while engaging in corporate volunteering with overseas organisations: not only can you provide useful project input or support with management personnel, but your company can also offer particular information or contacts, support in PR, support in the network-building process, and among other things, participation in the creation, supply and distribution of info-material.

Applicable / Feasible?

C 1 B–2 Additional employee engagement and corporate cooperation with other organisations
Consider how you can strategically cooperate with associations and organisations. For example, in the form of joint action days, info seminars or long-term projects, such as regular support in maintaining protected areas. Appoint at least one responsible manager for these tasks.

Applicable / Feasible?

Organise “Biodiversity Events” with your personnel and even employees from other companies. An example of this could be an open house day with a specific focus on aspects of biodiversity. At such events it is a great opportunity to present biodiversity conserving projects (that your company is supporting) as well as other non-profit organisations.

Applicable / Feasible?

Consider various options for joint biodiversity fund raising projects that coincide with such events.

Applicable / Feasible?

Check to see if in addition to fund raising events with your employees, other financial supports for non-profit projects that protect biodiversity are possible for your company.

Applicable / Feasible?

Become a member of local, national or international networks. These can act as an information platform for you, giving you access to expert information as well as information about various on-going stakeholder projects. For this you should appoint at least one responsible manager.

Applicable / Feasible?

Check to see if your membership in an international initiative/campaign is worth it. Membership can often provide you with access to international information platforms as well as to actions and events.

Applicable / Feasible?

Additional Tips
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Helpful Links and Organisations for Detailed Checklist C 1-B

www.bund.net

BUND (Friends of the Earth) is one of the largest nature protection associations in Germany.  The organisation is broken down into many working groups for various environmental issues as well as regional associations and chapters that have specific environmental protection goals. 

www.forumandersreisen.de

The travel differently forum (forum anders reisen e.V.) is a network of around 150 travel agents committed to sustainable tourism. Its name stands for travel experiences oriented towards people and the environment. Among other trips offered, they set up corporate volunteering as well as employee study and incentive trips. (In German only)

www.gefweb.org

The Global Environment Facility (GEF) is an international network made up of 178 countries, international institutions, NGOs and the private sector, which works on environmental topics.  They especially focus on supporting national initiatives for sustainable development in developing countries. GEF provides financial support to projects working to preserve and protect biodiversity.

www.globalnature.org

The Global Nature Fund (GNF) is an international foundation for the environment and nature.  It carries out nature and environmental protection projects, model projects supporting sustainable business practices and events about nature and environmental protection.

www.gtz.de

The German Technical Cooperation (Gesellschaft für technische Zusammenarbeit, GTZ) as a global player in international cooperation activities for sustainable development works on development projects and programmes in more than 130 countries. Additionally, this includes many environmental projects that are increasingly setting a focus on the preservation of biodiversity. The GTZ works chiefly under contract for the German government, but does take on other national and international clients.

www.manager-ohne-grenzen.de

The foundation Managers without Borders (Manager ohne Grenzen) connects management personnel for different time frames in world-wide social or environmental non-profit projects. Participants with the Manager ohne Grenzen Foundation can gain experience as “social entrepreneurs” or “volunteer experts”, which they can also use as part of their professional career qualification.

www.nabu.de

The Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU) has been involved in conserving nature through community action at the national, regional and local level for years. The countless local and district associations in your area can expertly and adequately help you with questions on biodiversity.

www.urgewald.de

The German organization Urgewald e.V. is involved in environmental protection projects in developing countries.  It uses its involvement to research the connection between the causers in business and politics and the affected areas. This work helps to connect the decision makers with the places that are affected most by the decisions that make.
(In German only)



www.wbcsd.org

In the event your company would like to get involved in foreign projects, they can do so through multi-stakeholder campaigns. Examples of such activities include the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil”, the “Roundtable on Responsible Soy” or the “Better Cotton Initiative”. These initiatives have a growing number of participating businesses and stakeholders, which join the effort to produce goods and services that are sustainable and biodiversity-friendly. The  World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) offers an overview of these projects and more on their website.

www.wwf.de

Der WWF (World Wide Fund For Nature), one of the largest international environmental protection organisations, cooperates with many different businesses who want to do their part to conserve natural resources and protect biodiversity. They welcome both long term and short term partnerships alike.

How the Checklists work

With the checklists' various fields of action you will be able to assess your company's situation.  For each field of action, there is a quick check along with multiple other detailed checklists.  Fill in the relevant checklists one after the other.  At the end you can print out and send or email us the completed questionnaire.

Note:

The entries are meant to aid you in your self-evaluation and will not be saved or used by us or any other third party organisation.

 

 

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