The businesses that have joined forces as members of the 'Biodiversity in Good Company' Initiative advocate for the protection and sustainable use of biodiversity in partnership with other political and societal stakeholders. The Initiative members are small-, medium-, and large-scale companies from Germany and other countries and a variety of sectors. They have committed themselves to including the protection of biological diversity into their sustainability strategies and environmental management by signing the Initiative’s Mission Statement and Leadership Commitment.

The German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety and companies had launched the Business and Biodiversity Initiative in May 2008 on the occasion of the German presidency of the 9th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). It was one of the first initiatives of its kind – a real pioneer. The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) was responsible for its implementation. 

The approach has become a role model. Meanwhile, all Parties to the Convention committed to founding national or regional initiatives. 

When public funding ended in 2011, companies decided to sustain the initiative on their own, paying tribute to the importance of the topic. The 'Biodiversity in Good Company' Initiative realigned its structure and is now a company-driven registered association, paving the way for many more successful activities. The Initiative is seeking to include further members and push the topic towards broader scale.