Tools
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.
Additional Literature
Schaltegger, S.; Herzig, C.; Kleiber, O.; Klinke, T. & Müller, J. (2007): Nachhaltigkeitsmanagement in Unternehmen. Von der Idee zur Praxis; Managementansätze zur Umsetzung von Corporate Social Responsibility und Corporate Sustainability, Berlin/Lüneburg: BMU/Econsense/CSM.
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- Tools
- Audit
- Corporate Volunteering
- Consumer information
- Cooperation with environmental and conservation organisations
- Label
- Corporate policies, codes of conduct, guidelines and instructions
- Supplier evaluation
- Offset measures and programmes
- Product chain-of-custody certification
- Sustainability management systems
- Biodiversity SWOT
- Environmental impact assessment
- Sustainable supply chain management
- Brochures and Leaflets
- Checklists
- Indicators and key ratios
Audit
An audit is, strictly speaking, a checklist-based monitoring tool in the form of a gap analysis. There are several functional types:
- Legal-compliance audit: determines the legal framework and compliance.
- Performance audit: examines the success of performance objectives and whether company goals have been reached.
- System audit: tests the functionality of a management system.
A “biodiversity audit” for instance could combine the first two functions.
Best Practice Examples: VW Group - Biodiversity Audit
Part of the VW Groups mission statement includes species protection as a main goal. VW is actively promoting such measures in its corporate processes. They have external auditors examine the possible effects of automobile production on species diversity in all of their West German locations.
Corporate Volunteering
Corporate volunteering, also known as employee volunteering, is a non-profit engagement in which employees of a company donate their working time to certain activities. These actions can support diverse projects such as environmental and nature conservation. Such a commitment can enhance the reputation of a company, improve the social competence of employees, help develop a positive atmosphere at work and strengthen employee identification with the company.
Best Practice Examples: Fujitsu – tropical forest regeneration
Fujitsu group employees participate in the regeneration and reforestation of tropical forests in Thailand, Malaysian Borneo and in the mangrove forests in Vietnam. Today 1.18 million trees have been planted on 670 ha of land. The regeneration of the forests aims to support the rich biodiversity found in this area.
Consumer information
The topic of biodiversity is an opportunity to address a very emotional issue for customers. Because many people find nature and conservation important issues there is an opportunity to contribute to the conservation of biodiversity while enhancing the company’s own brand or product value.
Businesses should keep the public informed about their actions and publicise their attempts to contribute to biodiversity preservation. For instance, a business could write on its product, “These apples originate from natural orchards. By purchasing this juice, you are helping to preserve natural growing and harvesting methods.” Other examples include companies pointing out that they refrain from particularly damaging activities or a retailer informing customers about a change in the product line to protect threatened fish species.
Best Practice Examples: TUI – Guide to souvenirs and endangered species
TUI’s “Little Guide to Protecting Species”, produced together with the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation, gives information about illegal souvenirs that are made from protected plants and animals. It gives tips for buying fair souvenirs that will also strengthen the local economy. This brochure additionally helps to protect the consumer, as buyers of illegal souvenirs are often subject to fines or even imprisonment.
Best Practice Examples: Dentsu – Raising public awareness through Publications and campaigns
Products and services that promote conservation or the sustainable use of biodiversity can only be successful if they are sought after by consumers. Through both its own publications and by serving as a secretariat of government campaigns, Dentsu, a Japanese advertising agency, contributes to raising the public's awareness of biodiversity. This in turn leads to developing new markets for biodiversity-friendly products.
Dentsu Inc.
Best Practice Examples: PUMA AG - Raising Awareness
PUMA has partnered up with the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) to create “Play for Life”. Its goal is to support the 2010 International Year of Biodiversity through:
- Raising awareness worldwide about biodiversity and the International Year of Biodiversity among football fans and the general public during football events including the African Nations Cup and international friendly games.
- Raising awareness through Public Service Announcements featuring football stars.
- Encouraging the public to take action to conserve biodiversity.
- Raising funds through the Africa Unity Kit and other PUMA Unity football products under the Yellow “life” label to support biodiversity projects in Africa.
Puma
Cooperation with environmental and conservation organisations
Protecting biodiversity is an important part of the work of many environmental and conservation organisations. Thus, they often have large networks of biodiversity experts. In joint projects, these organisations can make use of their networks to contribute new information, lines of argumentation or even ideas for new products. In addition, the excellent reputation of these organisations can be used to inform customers and users about biodiversity-friendly products.
Best Practice Examples: VW Leasing GmbH – New mobility concepts made
Three out of five new vehicles in Germany are fleet vehicles. VW Leasing GmbH, together with the Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU), has helped its major customers directly combine cost cutting with climate protection and species conservation. “Fleet Competence eCo2” bundles extremely fuel efficient vehicles and fuel efficiency training with the financing of selected projects – such as the renaturation of drained wetlands.
Best Practice Examples: Sekisui House Ltd. – Indigenous plants for humans and animals
Sekisui House Ltd. promotes the “Gohon no ki” gardening concept, which is designed to help maintain ecosystems by planting indigenous trees to attract local wildlife. Planting trees not only improves the aesthetics of the property, but it attracts wild birds and butterflies - creating a small ecosystem. This supports a network for interacting with the surrounding natural environment and has a positive effect on the quality of life for the local residents.
SEKISUI HOUSE, Ltd.
Best Practice Examples: HeidelbergCement – Driver mix
Biodiversity management at HeidelbergCement has a combination of drivers. To ensure that they are able to continue mining raw materials, the company is committed to active stakeholder dialogue. Through efficient biodiversity management and an open dialogue with conservation agencies, NGOs and neighbouring communities about the standards the company applies, HeidelbergCement has been able to save costs (normally incurred by expensive cultivation efforts and long approval processes) and enhance its reputation.
Additional information about Cooperation with environmental and conservation organisations
Label
In general, eco-labels are a marketing tool. They are meant to help the customer see that a company has taken on a responsibility for adhering to specific production processes or standards. Along with this external effect, the managerial decision to introduce, acquire or make greater use of the label also affects internal company processes and structures. Examples include procurement guidelines or company decisions to secure raw materials itself.
Eco-labels and biodiversity labels
Most common are labels that signal an ecologically sustainable and resource friendly management. Examples include:
Developing a label specific to biodiversity has proven to be difficult. This is, however, possible when management policies serve to conserve cultural landscapes or otherwise protect biodiversity. For example:
Corporate policies, codes of conduct, guidelines and instructions
Policies, codes, guidelines and instructions all attempt to influence the behaviour and actions of employees. They can be distinguished according to how binding they are and how precisely they are formulated. However, the overall categorical differences often remain blurred.
Best Practice Examples: Deutsche See – Biodiversity as a way to reduce business risk
Biological diversity is also the basis for whole economic sectors such as the fishing or fish-processing industries. The future availability of fish and seafood is obviously an essential component of long-term business success. Deutsche See has taken on this responsibility. The company is continually reviewing its product line for endangered species and requires its suppliers to use sustainable fishing methods.
Deutsche See
Best Practice Examples: TUI – Corporate policy to ensure dolphinarium quality offered in excursion packets
TUI came up with the “TUI Travel Guidelines for Animal Welfare”, which aids the company in selecting dolphinariums offered on tours. The guidelines include IUCN and CITES regulations, thereby indirectly aiding in the protection of wild dolphin and whale populations. Internal and external auditors verify the TUI’s compliance with the rules of actions.
Best Practice Examples: Sekisui House Ltd. – Indigenous plants for humans and animals
Sekisui House Ltd. promotes the “Gohon no ki” gardening concept, which is designed to help maintain ecosystems by planting indigenous trees to attract local wildlife. Planting trees not only improves the aesthetics of the property, but it attracts wild birds and butterflies - creating a small ecosystem. This supports a network for interacting with the surrounding natural environment and has a positive effect on the quality of life for the local residents.
SEKISUI HOUSE, Ltd.
Additional information about Corporate policies, codes of conduct, guidelines and instructions
Supplier evaluation
Supplier evaluations use selection criteria to help the company choose the best suppliers. Such selection criteria allow for ecological standards to be integrated into the supplier selection process.
Best Practice Examples: Deutsche See – Biodiversity as a way to reduce business risk
Biological diversity is also the basis for whole economic sectors such as the fishing or fish-processing industries. The future availability of fish and seafood is obviously an essential component of long-term business success. Deutsche See has taken on this responsibility. The company is continually reviewing its product line for endangered species and requires its suppliers to use sustainable fishing methods.
Deutsche See
Best Practice Examples: Otto Group – Supply chain management
The Otto Group shows how commercial enterprises can have a positive impact on raw material production. For example, the company promotes the sustainable production of cotton in Africa by controlling its product line and ecologically managing their supply chain. In addition, for the production of furniture, the Otto Group procures its wood using a strategy that hinders the use of endangered wood species and timber illegally logged from forests.
Offset measures and programmes
Biodiversity offsets are programmes intended to compensate for residual, unavoidable damage to biodiversity. Such programmes strive to avoid an overall net loss of biodiversity.
For some countries compensatory programmes for particularly wearing activities, such as building production halls, are legally regulated. One example is Germany, where offset measures are supported through nature conservation laws, building codes governing mitigation, and compensation regulations. In countries without obligatory regulations, companies can voluntarily participate in such programs in order to gain the support of local authorities and NGOs.
Best Practice Examples: VW Group - Bundling compensation measures together
Instead of creating a number of smaller and less significant compensation areas, Volkswagen decided to bundle various individual projects together to push nature protection forward in a big way, over a big area. Volkswagen joined forces together with the town of Wolfsburg to create a new area of river meadows covering more than a million square metres. The goal was to recreate the original dynamic water flow systems of the Aller River. Renaturising the Aller into a meandering river involves many steps and is an ongoing project that is protecting many plant and animals in a natural environment.
Best Practice Examples: CAIXA Bank – Innovations in the finance sector - Investment fund for offsets
CAIXA, a Brazilian bank, set up an investment fund for ecological offsets for companies that are required to invest in the maintenance or creation of conservation units as compensation for their business’ negative environmental impacts.
CAIXA
Best Practice Examples: KfW Bankengruppe - BBOP
The KfW Bankenguppe supports private sector efforts to protect the environment. Since 2006, KfW has been financing the Business and Biodiversity Offsets Program (BBOP), whose aim is to encourage companies to take voluntary measures to offset significant negative impacts on the natural environment. The CBD has acknowledged the “biodiversity offsets” as a significant contribution on behalf of the private sector in protecting biodiversity. The private sector has been invited by CBD to compile case-studies, methodologies, tools and guidelines on biodiversity offsets in collaboration with relevant organizations and initiatives, such as BBOP.
Product chain-of-custody certification
Product chain-of-custody certifications<//a> allow raw materials to be tracked from the final product to the original raw materials, ensuring transparency. Such certificates can be a part of sustainable supply chain management.
Best Practice Examples: Deutsche See – Sustainable fishing
To preserve global stocks of fish, Deutsche See has implemented procurement requirements that guarantee traceability and transparency. In addition the product line is regularly reviewed for endangered fish species as well as for the possibility of using fish from certified, sustainable fisheries, organic fish and fish from aquaculture.
Deutsche See
Additional information about Product chain-of-custody certification
Sustainability management systems
The purpose of sustainability management systems is to coordinate and systematise business activities. With the aid of predefined and documented management and control mechanisms, management systems aim at optimising business processes and organisation structures. Furthermore, they strive to ensure that the company’s development is sustainable and that its activities comply with the law. Standards such as ISO 26000 (standard for corporate responsibility) or the EU norm EMAS (Eco-Management and Audit Scheme) show that aspects of biodiversity conservation can be an integral part of a company’s management system.
Best Practice Examples: HeidelbergCement – Driver mix
Biodiversity management at HeidelbergCement has a combination of drivers. To ensure that they are able to continue mining raw materials, the company is committed to active stakeholder dialogue. Through efficient biodiversity management and an open dialogue with conservation agencies, NGOs and neighbouring communities about the standards the company applies, HeidelbergCement has been able to save costs (normally incurred by expensive cultivation efforts and long approval processes) and enhance its reputation.
Best Practice Examples: Puma AG - Sustainability and transparency throughout the supply chain
Puma AG, a leading global sportlifestyle company, is an experienced player in supply chain management. In an effort to create transparency in its own business and sustainability reporting, it has committed to working closely with its suppliers. With the Global Action Network for Transparency in the Supply Chain (GANTSCh) Puma has been working with more than 30 of its suppliers since 2006 to build up equal partnerships as well as provide trainings and coaching to build capacities for sustainable operation.
Puma
Best Practice Examples: oekom, a pioneer within the media industry - Green Publishing
oekom is aware of its role as a pioneer and multiplicator for sutainable management within media industry. With its initiative „ Nachhaltig Publizieren – Neue Umweltstandards für die Verlagsbranche“ („Green Publishing – New environmental standards for media industry“) advocated by the Federal Environment Ministry, oekom examines in cooperation with the ifeu – Institute for Energy and Environmental Research Heidelberg, the Institute for Ecological Economy Research (IÖW) and the Frankfurt Book Fair the whole supply chain. This enables oekom to identify potentials for improving its ecologically sound production by examining everything from paper production to the printed book. The results are discussed within different forums with a great specialist audience.
Additional information about Sustainability management systems
Biodiversity SWOT
A SWOT analysis can help identify possible courses of action that correspond with a business’ strengths and weaknesses, opportunities that biodiversity presents, and the threats resulting from a loss of biodiversity.
Environmental impact assessment
Environmental impact assessments (EIA) serve to systematically identify, predict and evaluate the environmental impacts of proposed projects in a timely manner. The EU has established EIA guidelines, which must be implemented into member states’ national laws. Projects subject to EIA standards have been catalogued and made available to the public to check if planned ventures fall into a compliance category. Accordingly, for planned actions not subject to EIA guidelines, companies have the opportunity to voluntarily submit to such an assessment. The “voluntary guidelines on biodiversity-inclusive environmental impact assessments, published by the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, contains recommendations on how the effects of a project on biodiversity can be integrated into such an impact assessment.
Best Practice Examples: VW Group - Biodiversity Audit
Part of the VW Groups mission statement includes species protection as a main goal. VW is actively promoting such measures in its corporate processes. They have external auditors examine the possible effects of automobile production on species diversity in all of their West German locations.
Best Practice Examples: Kajima Corporation – Innovative evaluation methods in the building industry
Kajima Corporation, a Japanese construction company, uses innovative planning and evaluation methods to analyse whether a sufficient quality and quantity of green space is available for key (indicator) species. In addition to using a geographic information system (GIS), Kajima employs high resolution satellite data and digital surface models. This shows that with the proper planning these species’ habitats can be saved.
Kajima Corporation
Best Practice Examples: KfW Bankengruppe - green light for the storks – Gabal el Zayt wind farm, Egypt
The KfW Bankengruppe is concerned about the impacts its projects have on biodiversity. For example, the KfW Entwicklungsbank together with the European Investment Bank and the European Commission were slated to finance 200 MW of the Egyptian Gabal el Zayt 630 km² wind farm with a total output of up to 3,000 MW. This western Egypt location is also a main bird migratory corridor. An extensive bird migration study, stipulated by the KfW Entwicklungsbank, recommended the southern area of the project, accounting for around 60% of the originally planned area, be left untouched for bird migration. The Egyptian government agreed to this and adjusted its plans accordingly, leaving the area untouched for the bids.
Additional information about Environmental impact assessment
Sustainable supply chain management
Supply chain management is more a concept than a tool. It describes the systematic cooperation of a company with its suppliers at every level of the value chain. The goal is to optimise business processes both within the company and with the other partner companies. The cooperation’s starting point is consumer-driven demand for ecological products or the production of products that creates the necessary customer demand.
Best Practice Examples: UPM, the Otto Group and Axel Springer – From the forest to printing products
An example of such a sustainable supply chain management policy is the cooperation between the Otto Group, Axel Springer, and UPM, a forestry company. This allows wood to be traced back from the finished printing product to the forest the wood came from. Company Profile: UPM, Otto Group, Axel Springer
Best Practice Examples: Axel Springer - Green supply chain management
As part of its supply chain management programme, Axel Springer, a German publisher, uses ecological criteria to select its suppliers. For paper manufacturers, the criteria specify that they:
- must not harvest more wood than can be grown again,
- must use the forest in a way that does not endanger animal and plant species,
- should, as a timber buyer, conduct eco-monitoring,
- should provide the necessary ecological expertise (for example, for forestry workers),
- respect the native population (for example, the Sami),
- should instruct the public about ecological progress and problems.
Axel Springer AG
Best Practice Examples: Aleph Inc. – Supply chain management for “biodiversity-friendly rice”
The Japanese restaurant chain Aleph Inc. intends to launch a “biodiversity-friendly rice”. As part of this effort, Aleph has convinced rice producers to cultivate rice without the use of agrichemicals and to create natural biotopes in rice paddies. This effect on their supply chain has already led to an increase in the number of species in the rice paddies.
Additional information about Sustainable supply chain management
Brochures and Leaflets
Information can be targeted at internal and external stakeholders, such as company employees, suppliers, distributors or customers.
Best Practice Examples: TUI – Guide to souvenirs and endangered species
TUI’s “Little Guide to Protecting Species”, produced together with the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation, gives information about illegal souvenirs that are made from protected plants and animals. It gives tips for buying fair souvenirs that will also strengthen the local economy. This brochure additionally helps to protect the consumer, as buyers of illegal souvenirs are often subject to fines or even imprisonment.
Checklists
Checklists serve to evaluate the actual situation while offering the possibility to examine the effects a company has on biodiversity. They can thus form the basis for corporate biodiversity management. An example is the list of fields of action described in this handbook, which must then be adapted to a particular industry, company or product. A more detailed adaptation to specific departments of a company can also be undertaken.
Indicators and key ratios
The analysis of the effects of business activities on biological diversity can be carried out using indicators or key ratios. With their help, situations can be defined in advance, systematically tracked and then presented in aggregate form. Biodiversity-related indicators usually have a relative character. That means that they place two values in relation to each other.
There are two kinds of indicators: those that show a particular state of biological diversity and those that show the impact of a particular business activity on biodiversity.
Best Practice Examples: TUI – Biodiversity indicators in sustainability reports
In the corporate environmental key ratios chapter of TUI’s yearly corporate sustainability report, TUI lists its key ratios for biodiversity under the headline “Biodiversity Action”.
Best Practice Examples: Kajima Corporation – Japanese honeybee as bioindicator
Kajima Corporation, a Japanese construction company, is continuing to investigate how indigenous honeybees could be used as an indicator for human quality of life, because they support and stabilise biodiversity by means of pollination. The idea behind this initiative is that native honeybees are vulnerable to agricultural chemicals and that they need plants as a source of nectar.
Kajima Corporation
Best Practice Examples: HiPP GmbH & Co. KG – CO2 accounting analysis of the whole product cycle
An example of a sustainability indicator is a company’s CO2 footprint, which HiPP has introduced for its baby food product, “Pure Early Carrots”. They used the following indicators in their calculation: raw material production, the availability of adjuvants and packaging, energy consumption in production, transport, the use by the customers as well as disposal or recycling of waste. This forms the basis for carrying out a CO2 accounting analysis of the whole product cycle.
