Business for Nature and China partners launch the Business Handbook for Biodiversity Conservation

On December 9, 2022, Business for Nature co-hosted the “Accelerating Business Actions to Achieve Biodiversity Conservation” side event in the China Pavillion during the UN Biodiversity Conference COP15 in Montreal, Canada. The event was led by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and co-organized by the Publicity and Education Center (CEEC) of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, WWF and SEE (Society of Entrepreneurs and Ecology) Conservation.

Based on the concept of "Green water and green mountains are golden mountains and silver mountains", the event aimed to showcase the practical experience of Chinese companies participating in biodiversity conservation. Business leaders and other stakeholders from China and beyond attended the side event to discuss the challenges faced by companies in biodiversity conservation in China and to share successful experiences and case studies with the global business community.

Event speakers

Tian Chengchuan, Director of the Publicity and Education Center of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Josip Pervan, Senior Director of Policy Advocacy and Member Mobilization at WBCSD, Li Lin, Senior Director of Global Policy and Advocacy at WWF, Maelle Pelissone, Director of Policy Advocacy at the Business Nature Alliance (BfN), and Fang Jiansheng, Vice President of Alibaba Group spoke at the event.

Tian Chengchuan, Director of the Publicity and Education Center, China Ministry of Ecology and Environment:

"Businesses are critical participants in the construction of ecological civilization. The sustainable transformation of companies is a strong example of ecological civilization. On one hand, through sector collaborations, leading companies can strengthen the ecological concepts, accelerate technological innovation and form replicable experiences. On the other hand, through building green business brands, they can become industry leaders, set the benchmarks, and contribute to the storytelling of ecological civilization.”

Maelle Pelisson, Advocacy Director, Business for Nature:

"It is hoped that China's business community will support the global biodiversity framework and take actions now to help China and the world move towards a better future for nature."

Josip Pervan, Senior Director of Policy Advocacy and Member Mobilization, WBCSD:

"The daunting challenges of tackling climate change, loss of nature, and rising inequality represent potentially historic opportunities for the global business community. We need to seize these opportunities in a way that matches the urgency of the challenges we face.”

Li Lin, Senior Director of Global Policy and Advocacy, WWF:

"Faced with the challenges posed by biodiversity loss, companies need a practical set of guidance to integrate biodiversity conservation into their daily operations."

Fang Jiansheng, Vice President, Alibaba Group:

"Alibaba fully leverages our strengths in digital technology, platform network and philanthropy to contribute to biodiversity conservation. We call on the China business community to contribute to green development together and support the integration of economic development and ecological protection.”

Publications

At the side event, Business for Nature and our China partners launched the "Business Handbook for Biodiversity Conservation" and the "Business Biodiversity Conservation Cases", which offer practical guidance to support Chinese companies in their biodiversity conservation journey.

Business Handbook for Biodiversity Conservation

The preparation of the Business Handbook for Biodiversity Conservation was led by the Publicity and Education Center (CEEC) of the China Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), Business for Nature (BfN) and WWF. Many partners including the Shenzhen One Earth Nature Foundation (OPF), the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), SEE Conservation and Hubei Yangtze River Ecological Conservation Foundation (CCF) made strong contribution. We’d also like to thank HSBC China, SEE Foundation and SinoCarbon Innovation & Investment (SCII) for their generous support.

The Handbook is divided into four parts, which introduce:

The value and status of biodiversity, as well as its relationship with business activities
The background and importance for businesses to participate in biodiversity conservation
The core steps of business participation in biodiversity conservation
The latest trends for businesses to participate in biodiversity conservation

Business Biodiversity Conservation Cases

The "Business Biodiversity Conservation Cases" includes 23 best practice examples selected from and in consultation with hundreds of domestic and foreign companies.

The China Chamber of International Commerce (CCIOC), China Business Council for Sustainable Development (CBCSD), The Nature Conservancy (TNC), SEE Conservation and Hubei Yangtze River Ecological Conservation Foundation (CCF) recommended valuable examples, and member companies of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) were also included.

The collection includes Chinese and foreign companies of different industries and scales, aiming to provide diverse conservation paths, highlight feasible practices, and provide opportunities for businesses to learn from each other.

Leading Voices for Nature

As part of the “Leading Voices for Nature“ campaign, we also released a collection of videos featuring 10 CEOs from China speaking up for nature. These CEOs represent pioneer companies in the field of nature conservation in China. Their voices demonstrate a strong commitment to biodiversity and encourage more companies to participate in biodiversity conservation.

As representatives of the partners and supporters of the launches, Liu Mingda, Chairman of SEE and Chairman of Shenzhen Mingda Asset Management, and Clinton Adas, Senior Vice President of ESG, HSBC Group, delivered closing remarks.

Liu Mingda, Supervisor of Alxa SEE Ecological Association, Chairman of Shenzhen Mingda Asset Management said:

"SEE Ecological Association is deeply involved in the compilation of the Handbook, Case Collection and Leading Voice for Nature videos. We encourage member companies to actively participate and provide cases. We hope that these publications will help motivate businesses to transform their business practices and establish sustainable competitive advantages.”

Clinton Adas, Senior Vice President, ESG at HSBC Group said:

"Governments, businesses, communities and civil society organizations must work together to drive transformational change to reverse natural loss. The financial sector can play a key role in mainstreaming nature-positive financing and reducing financial flows that harm biodiversity.”