More than 130 businesses call for renewed policy ambition to implement the Biodiversity Plan and halt and reverse nature loss this decade

Today, more than 130 businesses and financial institutions with combined revenues of $1.1 trillion including Danone, Decathlon, dsm-firmenich, H&M Group, Holcim, IKEA, Kering, L'OCCITANE Group, Mahindra Group, Natura &Co, Nestlé, ofi, Safaricom PLC, Sainsbury’s, Salesforce, Suzano, Sumitomo Forestry, Unilever, Wipro Limited, Volvo and many more are calling on Heads of State and governments to adopt and enforce nature policies to implement the Biodiversity Plan and accelerate decisive corporate action for nature.

With less than 100 days until the UN Biodiversity COP16, the business statement is an urgent appeal from businesses to governments for their immediate leadership to strengthen – not weaken – the policies, incentives and legislation that will drive the necessary business action to halt and reverse nature loss this decade.

The statement delivers five recommendations for nature policies that:

1. Make sure business and financial actors protect nature and restore degraded ecosystems

2. Ensure sustainable resource use and management to reduce negative environmental impacts

3. Value and embed nature in decision-making and disclosure

4. Align all financial flows to transition to a nature-positive, net zero and equitable economy

5. Adopt or strengthen ambitious global agreements to address key nature loss challenges

These bold asks, if implemented, have the potential to unleash new opportunities and establish a strong enabling environment for business action. They include a call for clear regulatory frameworks and incentive mechanisms that would improve corporate accountability and create a level playing field for businesses and financial institutions.

Laurent Freixe, Nestlé Chief Executive Officer, Latin America (LATAM), Nestlé, commented: “Colombia is home to 10% of the planet’s biodiversity. Nature loss is a critical risk we cannot ignore, and the success of our business relies on a healthy natural world. At Nestlé, we have set ambitious targets to ensure 50% of our key ingredients are sourced from farmers adopting regenerative agriculture practices by 2030. We strongly support the call for governments and the private sector to help halt and start reversing nature loss by 2030.”

Rishi Kalra, Executive Director and CFO, ofi: “At ofi, our vision is to be the preferred partner for positive change for our farmers, our customers and other partners across our supply chains. Under our Choices for Change sustainability strategy and ofi-wide 2030 targets, we focus on helping farmers to prosper in thriving communities, driving climate action and regenerating the living world. Every crop we grow or source is connected to nature, and we believe that business and financial actors must collaborate to understand the true cost of agriculture on nature and drive action to protect biodiversity and build natural capital in sourcing landscapes. Ahead of COP16, we call on governments to implement robust regulations that inspire meaningful action and enable businesses to make better choices towards a nature-positive economy.”

Adrien Geiger, CEO, L’OCCITANE en provence: “Through our biodiversity strategy, L’OCCITANE en provence is committed to empowering people and supporting nature. Recognizing that many of our iconic ingredients are sourced from areas facing conservation issues, we are focused on improving ingredient traceability and minimizing the environmental impacts of our products and operations. We ask governments to urgently accelerate the transition to a nature-positive, net zero economy through ambitious and forward-looking legislation."

Peter Ndegwa, CEO, Safaricom PLC: "As the leading technology company in East Africa, our purpose is to transform lives. We are committed to managing our impact on the environment and developing solutions to help our customers mitigate their environmental footprint. Today's COP16 business statement shows the breadth of support from businesses globally to support ambitious nature policies and ensure the rapid implementation of the Biodiversity Plan."

Business for Nature publishes policy recommendations for governments to implement the Biodiversity Plan

The Business for Nature coalition, with input from nearly 150 partners and companies, has developed 20 specific policy asks for how the level of ambition businesses are calling for could be implemented by governments through the Biodiversity Plan. These range from banning conversion in specific key protected areas to the transition to regenerative farming models and the adoption of a global plastics treaty. The more detailed policy asks complement the high-level recommendations of the business statement that raise the need for this focused set of measures to reshape our economic and financial systems.

Eva Zabey, CEO, Business for Nature, said: “Businesses are uniting and calling on governments to provide the regulatory certainty they need to transform their operations and supply chains. Our policy asks show governments how they can make this a reality. Only through collective effort will we be able to drive the global systemic change needed for a nature-positive, net zero and equitable economy.”

Current economic and business practices are driving nature loss, putting planetary systems under ever-increasing pressure and creating significant risks for our economies and livelihoods. Research shows that over half (55%) of the world’s gross domestic product is moderately or highly dependent on nature – equivalent to $58 trillion.

In December 2022, 196 governments adopted the Biodiversity Plan (also called the Global Biodiversity Framework) in Montreal, providing a whole of society approach with a set of goals and targets to halt and reverse nature loss by 2030.

18 months after the adoption of the Biodiversity Plan, businesses are calling on governments to move faster on its implementation.

Businesses are already starting to transform their operations and value chain, including by following the high-level actions to Assess, Commit, Transform, and Disclose. So far, nine nature strategies from businesses including Decathlon, Holcim, GSK, Kering and Tetra Pak have been accepted as part of ‘It’s Now for Nature’.

However, the transformation needed within the private sector will only happen at the required scale and speed if governments urgently adopt, implement and enforce the policies needed to enable business action.

ENDS

For more information and to arrange interviews, please contact:

Georgia Crumpgeorgia.crump@greenhouse.agency +44 7565 39874

Nick Boylenick.boyle@greenhouse.agency +44 7875 687035

Leyla Ertur, Head of Sustainability, H&M Group: "Nature loss is an urgent challenge, with profound implications for the stability of our supply chains and the entire economy. At H&M Group, we recognize that every stage of our value chain touches nature, particularly in sourcing raw materials. By implementing science-based targets for climate, prioritizing circular business models side by side with piloting and learning the SBTN method, we are actively working to reduce our footprint. We need governments and businesses to remain ambitious and work together to contribute to the global goals for biodiversity.”

Ankit Todi, Group Chief Sustainability Officer, Mahindra Group: "The biodiversity and nature crisis will have severe implications further magnified by the climate crisis. Both governments and businesses must understand the urgency and work together to tackle these interconnected challenges. At Mahindra Group we are committed to operating in a ‘planet positive’ manner across all our businesses and have adopted a nature-positive approach to protecting biodiversity and integrating biodiversity conservation into our projects.”

Rebecca Marmot, Chief Sustainability Officer, Unilever: “Resilient natural and agricultural ecosystems and a stable climate are fundamental to the security of our supply chain, and we must transform our relationship with nature. As governments gather in Cali later this year, we urge them to put nature at the heart of decision-making, to drive business action and support the transition to a nature-positive economy for all.”

Nollaig Forrest, Chief Sustainability Officer, Holcim: "Nature is climate’s greatest ally, with the capacity to absorb up to half of our world's carbon emissions every year. With our science-based targets, we are working to protect natural ecosystems across our operations as well as in our neighboring communities to build a nature-positive future. As governments gather in Colombia later this year, we urge them to put nature at the heart of decision-making. We call on governments to strengthen policies to drive business action and support the transition to a nature-positive, net-zero economy for all.”

Christina Niemelä Ström, Head of Sustainability, IKEA: “IKEA is dependent on biodiversity for the success of our business, now and in the future, and is already today experiencing implications influenced by biodiversity loss. With this statement, we hope to bring a strong and unified business voice to governments around the world, demonstrating our support for ambitious nature policies. Now is the time for collaboration across all parts of society, and strong action on nature."

Fernando Bertolucci, Chief Sustainability, Research and Innovation Officer, Suzano: "At Suzano, we understand that the conservation and restoration of nature and biodiversity is vital for our future. We're committed to protecting Brazil's rich natural heritage through large-scale initiatives like creating ecological corridors to connect vast areas of native forest. We need bold leadership - at the UN CBD COP16 and on the road to the UNFCCC COP30 - to reverse nature loss and ensure Latin America's rich natural heritage is preserved."

Willem Mutsaerts, Head of Global Procurement and Sustainability, Givaudan: "In the face of the nature and climate crises, collective action is vital. At Givaudan, we actively work to reduce our own impact on nature and are proud to work with expert organizations and partners who are driving forward efforts to tackle the interconnected challenges of climate, nature and people. The UN Biodiversity COP16 is a major opportunity for governments to refocus and accelerate corporate action on nature."

Full list of business signatories:

ACCIONA S.A.

Amundi Asset Management

Anglo American

Arauco

Arcadis

Arup

Axfood

CMPC

COLBÚN

CTCI Group

Danone

Decathlon

Dentsu Group

dsm-firmenich

EDF Group

Enel

ENGIE

ERM

Givaudan

H&M Group

Heidelberg Materials

Holcim

Iberdrola

Icade

IFF

INDITEX

IKEA

International Paper

Johnson Matthey

Kering

Legal & General Ltd

L'OCCITANE Group

Mahindra Group

Natura &Co

Nestlé

Novonesis

ofi (olam food ingredients)

Ørsted

Poste Italiane S.p.A.

Reckitt

RWE AG

Safaricom PLC

Sainsbury's

Salesforce

Schroders

SOK/ S Group

Stora Enso Oyj

SUEZ recycling and recovery UK

Sumitomo Forestry Co., Ltd.

Suzano

Teck Resources Ltd.

Unilever

VEOLIA

Volvo Cars

Wipro Limited

WSP

Anthesis

Corporación HVQ S.A. (Hospital Vozandes Quito)

Cosentino

EcoVadis

Energy Development Corporation

Familia Torres

Gamuda Berhad

Groupe AFNOR

Grupo Ferrer Internacional, S.A.

Grupo Presidente

IFF

IPAC S.A.

Jayanti Herbs & Spice

Joseph Robertson (Aberdeen) Ltd

Lion Super Indo

P+, Pension for Academics

Sogrape

South Pole

Systemiq

Tetra Tech Ltd

Triodos Bank

Velliv

Veris

ABTYS

Addenda Capital

Animondial

Anne Veck Limited

Article 13

AXA Climate

Banka BioLoo Limited

Basecamp Research, UK

Beijing comprehensive Pharm consultants Co.,Ltd

BL évolution

BLOOMING

Blue Renaissance

Carbono Neutral Cía. Ltda.

Chumbe Island Coral Park (CHICOP) Ltd.

Circular and Sustainable Solution Co., Ltd.

Clear Skies Investment Management Inc.

Conscience Consulting

design. create. innovate!

Doconomy

Dunya Analytics

Earth Recovery Partners

Earthly

Earthself

Ecoacsa Reserva de Biodiversidad

EcoCitizen

Emergenssi Ltd

ETHNIESSENCE CIA LTDA

Etifor | Valuing nature

Hello Nature

I Care

IFSB

InTent

ITMO Ltd.

JS Global Advisory

Laboratorio de Reciclaje

Little Blue Research

Mc Connell Translation

Metabolic

NANJING LEADING CHEMICAL CO.,LTD

Natural Capital Reserve

Neobuild GIE

OVERTECH Soluciones Técnicas S.A.

Pharma International Inc.

PSI Productos y Servicios Industriales CIA.LTDA.

Salconst

Sustainism

SVS Türkiye

Sycomore AM

TORAJAMELO

Trash Lucky

TREKKINGTHAI CO.LTD.

Uribe Schwarzkopf

Van Hulsen Consulting

VAUDE Sport GmbH & Co. KG