Business and Biodiversity Initiative

Biodiversity includes the diversity of ecosystems and species as well as the genetic variation within the species. Biological diversity is the basis for a number of different services for people and the economy.

Pollution

Wastewater

Emissions caused by production

 

Best Practice Examples: Der Grüne Punkt - Duales System Deutschland - Agenda for sustainable packaging

DSD is concerned about the packaging life cycle and is cooperating with many manufacturers to develop a way to keep the packaging materials even longer in the business cycle (cradle-to-cradle). With the company’s Environmental Success Report, DSD has been able to collect information on its environmental impact, as well as gather specific indicators on the further development of packaging recycling. DSD has joined forces with selected partners from the retailing, filling and package manufacturing sectors to set up the “Sustainable Packaging Agenda” pilot project.

Der Grüne Punkt – Duales System Deutschland GmbH (DSD)

Additional information about Pollution

All Impact factors on biological diversity

More permanent measures are those that simultaneously make a direct contribution to a company’s success while contributing to the conservation of biological diversity. In such cases a “business case for sustainability” or, more specifically, a “business case for biodiversity” is referred to.

A business case for biodiversity can be achieved through targeted, voluntary biodiversity conservation measures that go beyond the legal requirements, and work to strengthen a company’s competitive advantage. This is often aided by intelligently and efficiently complying with existing government regulations, such as wastewater treatment, which has positive effects on biodiversity.

The success of a corporate biodiversity management is linked to changes in one or more success-related variables called business case drivers.

Costs

Decreasing production costs (for example, by means of energy efficiency, processes enabling the substitution of rare resources)

Best Practice Examples: Der Grüne Punkt - Duales System Deutschland - Agenda for sustainable packaging

DSD is concerned about the packaging life cycle and is cooperating with many manufacturers to develop a way to keep the packaging materials even longer in the business cycle (cradle-to-cradle). With the company’s Environmental Success Report, DSD has been able to collect information on its environmental impact, as well as gather specific indicators on the further development of packaging recycling. DSD has joined forces with selected partners from the retailing, filling and package manufacturing sectors to set up the “Sustainable Packaging Agenda” pilot project.

Der Grüne Punkt – Duales System Deutschland GmbH (DSD)

Additional information about Costs

All Drivers of Business Cases

Areas of operation in corporate structures organise the various fields of action in corporate biodiversity management. As is made clear through the cross-sectional nature of corporate biodiversity management systems, it is often possible and practical for departments to cooperate together.

Production

Approaches:

Production

Goals:

Lowering costs for greenhouse certificates through lowering CO2 emissions Decrease of waste water or other emissions

Best Practice Examples: Audi AG – Lowering water use

Water is essential for life – and it is a scarce good. In order to decrease the use of water, Audi recycles 96% of the water needed in its plant in Ingolstadt. It also gathers rainwater in underground cisterns and collecting tanks, which, over the last 20 years, has lowered the amount of water required per auto by almost 70%.

Company Profile: Volkswagen

Best Practice Examples: Native Organics’ new production systems increase the biodiversity on their sugarcane farms

As a Brazilian producer of organic sugar, Native Organics developed a new production system, based on “green” cane harvesting in contrast to traditional burnt cane harvesting. Together with organic cultivation the new system leads to biodiversity levels 23 times higher than in conventional sugarcane farms.

Native Organics

Best Practice Examples: Mars Inc. – Production conditions optimisation

Sustainability is an integral part of the Mars’ corporate policy. This can be seen through continual assessment measures used to optimise Mars’ operational practices.  At their headquarters in Viersen, in the last ten years they have been able to reduce natural gas consumption by 23%, electricity usage by 33%, water utilisation by 73%, and rubbish creation by 97%.

Company Profile: MARS, Incorporated

Additional information about Production

Sales and Distribution

Approaches:

Transport between different production sites Storage of intermediate products

Goals:

Gain in reputation through energy saving transport systems

Best Practice Examples: Der Grüne Punkt - Duales System Deutschland - Agenda for sustainable packaging

DSD is concerned about the packaging life cycle and is cooperating with many manufacturers to develop a way to keep the packaging materials even longer in the business cycle (cradle-to-cradle). With the company’s Environmental Success Report, DSD has been able to collect information on its environmental impact, as well as gather specific indicators on the further development of packaging recycling. DSD has joined forces with selected partners from the retailing, filling and package manufacturing sectors to set up the “Sustainable Packaging Agenda” pilot project.

Der Grüne Punkt – Duales System Deutschland GmbH (DSD)

Additional information about Sales and Distribution

All Areas of Operation

Corporate biodiversity management not only requires scientific and planned approaches, but also environmental management business methods.

For instance, the biological diversity of an area can be modelled with the help of regional surveys and field mapping. These evaluations can then become part a business’ decision-making and management processes.

Specific methods for corporate environmental management have not been readily available in the past. Furthermore, these tools can only be roughly assigned to phases of the management cycle, because some of them can be used in more than one of the phases. For example, “indicators and key ratios” are both an important part of determining the current state of biodiversity (for screening and success measurement) but are also the basis for planning future programmes.

The selection and usability of a tool depends on the function of the departments involved, the business case driver and the intended effect on the impact factors that, in turn, affect biodiversity.

In the following section the way a variety of tools can be applied to biodiversity will be specified.

All Tools

Using a systematic management “plan-do-check-act” cycle to implement a corporate biodiversity management process allows for proper business orientation, for example, as is used when part of the Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) or ISO 14000.

Finding the business-specific relationship between company and biodiversity is, however, made more difficult by the complexity and extent of biodiversity (ecosystem, species, and genetic pool). The criteria “rareness” and “endangerment” of species and habitats act as a point of orientation. Aids in determining such threats to biodiversity such as the “Red List”, the European Union’s Habitats Directive along with the EU’s Birds Directive and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

Scientific expertise is often required in cases where specific plans are made. This is an area where local environment and nature conservation groups can provide businesses with technical know-how, representing an opportunity to deepen the cooperation with regional NGOs.

All Management Cycle Stages