Tools: 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.
Management Cycle Stages
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.
Act - A
Take corrective action
Do - D
Implement action plans
Fields of action
Fields of action in can be identified and set by analysing where a company’s activities have a either direct or indirect influence on biodiversity. The spatial relation to biological diversity is intuitively connected to the sites and facilities field of action. Corporate activities influence biodiversity in other ways though as well.
Product Design
Depending on product or service design, the final product will have a greater or lesser impact on biodiversity. Negative impacts can be reduced in a number of ways, including changing the service design or by substituting, reducing and recycling materials used in the production. Positive effects can also be created by using raw materials in products that contribute to the conservation of biological diversity, such as the use of older types of grain or juices from traditional mixed-crop orchards. This creates the possibility for innovation and product differentiation in market competition.
Product design can also be more than eco-design, especially when it is a part of “cause-related marketing,” a method that enables the manufacturer to combine products sales with donations for specific projects. Consumer protection aspects can also be combined with biodiversity protection.
