February news update: Watch our webinar on what the UN Biodiversity COP15 means for business

We hope you’re settling into 2023. As the dust settles on COP15, the Business for Nature coalition, working with our 80 partners, is already thinking collectively about how we can support governments with the implementation of the Global Biodiversity Framework and continue the business momentum and action on nature at scale and speed. Stay tuned for more updates.

Through generous funding from the Global Environment Facility, we are looking at how we can support with implementation of the Global Biodiversity Framework in four key countries including Malaysia, Colombia and South Africa (the fourth country is yet to be selected). We are looking for a partner to support this work in South Africa, any interested organizations can download the Request for Proposals. The deadline for applications is 17 February. Any organization can also express interest in engaging in our national implementation work by filling out this form.

Read Business for Nature’s longer analysis of Target 15 of the Global Biodiversity Framework.

What is in Target 15 and what can business expect?

Following the success of our Make It Mandatory campaign, we have prepared a more detailed analysis of the level of ambition and what businesses can expect from Target 15 on the role of business and finance. If implemented successfully, this target could be transformative – rewarding positive corporate actions on nature and accelerating the transformation of key socio-economic systems. We are preparing further guidance on what needs to happen next to turn Target 15 into a reality that we will share when available.

Please continue to amplify the strong outcomes from COP15 by sharing publicly the unbranded and updated Make It Mandatory campaign content (including an updated video and static assets) in the weeks and months ahead. Your continued support will help ensure governments continue with the right level of ambition when developing their National Biodiversity Strategies and Actions Plans (so-called NBSAPs) that will detail how they are planning to implement the COP15 agreement.

Takeaways from COP15 for business

Business for Nature hosted a webinar with Accenture featuring speakers from IKEA, Salesforce and the World Economic Forum discussing their take on the outcomes from the UN Biodiversity COP and what it means for business.

Watch the 45-minute recording and read our takeaways.

The World Economic Forum’s 2023 Global Risks Report, shows environmental risks making up six of the top 10 risks globally, with biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse ranking in the top five alongside natural disasters and a failure to mitigate climate change. This was reflected in the number of sessions at Davos focusing on nature and/or climate– one-fifth of all official sessions and half of all affiliated sessions. This doesn’t mean we can be complacent though, as the WEF’s Community Lead, Xinqing Lu shared in our recent webinar– while nature and biodiversity are catching up with climate change, there is much work still to be done, including educating investors and boardrooms on nature.

Other news

Biodiversity Insight 2023, published by Environmental Finance features articles about how investors are incorporating biodiversity concerns into their decisions in light of the Global Biodiversity Framework agreed at COP15. Contributors include the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures, Holcim and MS&AD.
At COP15, Business for Nature and China partners launched the Business Handbook for Biodiversity Conservation which offers practical guidance to help Chinese companies in their biodiversity and conservation journey. The handbook is available in Chinese and a summary is available in English.
During Davos, our partners - Capitals Coalition built on the high-level business actions and launched 10 examples of how businesses are Assessing, Committing, Transform and Disclosing on nature.
Also during Davos, scientists Johan Rockström and Joyeeta Gupta shared the latest findings on safe and just planetary boundaries in a compelling presentation.
WWF launched the Biodiversity Risk Filter (BRF) to help companies and financial institutions identify and take action on biodiversity-related risks across their operations, value chains, and investments.
UNEP-WCMC and S&P Global launched the Nature Risk Profile, a new methodology for analyzing companies’ impacts and dependencies on nature.
The Biden-Harris administration releases its national strategy to put nature on the nation’s balance sheet – congratulations to Capitals Coalition for persevering on this!
Applications for the A4S Academy 2023 are now open. This is a practical learning program for finance leaders on embedding sustainability.