Presentation made by Paula Lopes Silva, Quercus ANCN, during the Seminar + Workshop "Preserving Natural Capital - Role and action by food retail sector"

1. PROJECT
ENTERPRISES AND BIODIVERSITY
Paula Lopes da Silva
Quercus ANCN
raising awareness • providing resources • promoting change

2. Biodiversity
Biological diversity
number, variety and variability of
living species

3. Recent studies show that species are disappearing at rates
100-1000 fold higher than normal

4. Current situation of biodiversity
MOST IMPORTANT PRESSURES /DIRECT CAUSES FOR
BIODIVERSITY LOSS AND CHANGES ON ECOSYSTEM SERVICES*:
Habitat change
(Ex: changes in land use, physical modification and drainage of water
from rivers, loss of coral reefs, damage to the seabed
due to trawlers)
Overexploitation
Invasive alien species
Climate change
Pollution
In Análise do Milénio sobre Ecossistemas (MEA) - Biodiversidade (2005)

5. Halting the loss of biodiversity…
In 2006 the European Commission published the Communication:
“Halting the Loss of Biodiversity in 2010 – and beyond
Maintaining the ecosystem services for the human well being”

6. JUSTIFICATION

7. Portuguese Presidency of the European Union - 2007
Initiative Business and Biodiversity
Main goal: To highlight the relationship between business and
biodiversity, towards a significant contribution for the
protection of biodiversity and the achievement of the goal of
halting the loss of biodiversity at local, national, regional and
global levels.

8. CBD
European Institutions
The European Council of Ministers
of Environment supports the
decisions of
Convenção das Nações Unidas para a Diversidade Biológica (CDB),
The 10th COP of Out. 2010
10ª Conferência das Partes (COP), Nagoya, Japão,
The Convention on the
Biological Diversity
Encoraja o envolvimento do sector empresarial na protecção da
biodiversidade como contributo importante para a implementação dos
objectivos da Convenção, e reconhece o papel das organizações não
“the importance of cooperation with
the business sector” and “the
governamentais na influência sobre práticas empresariais e enquanto
integration of economic evaluation
of biodiversity and ecosystem
facilitadoras da alteração de comportamentos dos consumidores e
services into the decisions of public
expectativas da sociedade;
and private sectors”
20th December 2010

9. QUERCUS – FORMER ACTIONS

10. 26/9/2007
Under a proposal of the Portuguese
Foundation Caring for the Future,
Quercus organizes a Seminar in Lisbon
27/9/2007
Quercus organizes a Workshop
resulting in a position paper about
B&B, undersigned by national and
foreigner NGOs and the European
federation EEB
11/2007
Quercus participates in the High Level
Conference on Business and
Biodiversity, Lisbon
05/2008
Partnership with NGOs from Germany
and Slovenia - Conferences and
workshops abroad including a side
event to COP9 of CBD in Bonn.

11. The problem:
Reports, studies and other tools - scattered
Companies - Need for training and/or awareness
The idea:
To provide these resources in Portugal
To contribute to further mobilization of companies

12. VISION
Halting the loss of biodiversity by
responsible and strategic action
of business, with effective
integration of natural capital,
leading to a better market
positioning of businesses and
products that respect biodiversity

13. Awareness next to businesses on their relations with
biodiversity, dependencies and risks,
GOALS
Contribute towards further mobilization of businesses
towards the integration of Biodiversity in their strategy,
policies, management, operations and reporting
Facilitate a set of resources and tools
Contribute towards benchmarking

14. Project main partners
GNF – European Campaign Business and
Biodiversity
ISG – CIGEST (Lusófona University)
Translation agreements
GRI, IUCN, Association Orée, etc.
Other international contacts
Pan-European network
Fundación Global Nature (Spain)
PARTNERS
Positive Visions for Biodiversity (Belgium)
ECNC (Netherlands)
OTOP (Poland)
Nature Conservancy (USA)

15. ACTIVITIES Internet platform with documents and other
resources organized by sectoral areas in
Portuguese and English

16. ACTIVITIES Internet platform with documents and other
resources organized by sectoral areas in
Portuguese and English
Streamline meetings / workshops to
mobilize particular sectors or to address
methodological issues

17. ACTIVITIES Internet platform with documents and other
resources organized by sectoral areas in
Portuguese and English
Streamline meetings / workshops to
mobilize particular sectors or to address
methodological issues
Develop further national and international
contacts to exchange information,
benchlearning and contribute to
benchmarking

18. ACTIVITIES Internet platform with documents and other
resources organized by sectoral areas in
Portuguese and English
Streamline meetings / workshops to
mobilize particular sectors or to address
methodological issues
Develop further national and international
contacts to exchange information,
benchlearning and contribute to
benchmarking
Contribute to stimulate new approaches
and methodological areas (eg integration
ISO, EMAS)

19. ACTIVITIES Internet platform with documents and other
resources organized by sectoral areas in
Portuguese and English
Streamline meetings / workshops to
mobilize particular sectors or to address
methodological issues
Develop further national and international
contacts to exchange information,
benchlearning and contribute to
benchmarking
Contribute to stimulate new approaches
and methodological areas (eg integration
ISO, EMAS)
Working mainly by sectors, based on the
priorities listed by the European
Commission

20. Publications in Portuguese
Biodiversity – A GRI Reporting Resource (GRI)
Promoting Business Reporting Standards for Biodiversity
and Ecosystem Services (Institut Orée)
Biodiversity: My Hotel in Action (IUCN)

21. Thematic areas
Food supply and retail
Turism - Hotels
Agriculture – Pro-biodiversity businesses
Finance – Financing pro-biodiversity businesses
Economic valuation of ecosystem services – projects
related with business activities

22. Food Supply / Retail
• Joint elaboration of a position paper on retail and biodiversity,
with partners, delivered during the European Retail Summit to the
European Retail Forum and “Consultation between MEPs and
stakeholders on Retail Market, for Business and Consumers”
Brussels, 24th and 25th January 2011
• European Seminar and Workshop
“Preserving Natural Capital – Role and action by the food retail
sector”. Lisbon, 18th April 2011
• Biodiversity Tour – Development of an action directed to
consumers with cooperation of retailers

23. Banks and Biodiversity
• Presentation at the 4th Workshop
Banks and Environment
4 Feb. 2011

24. Banks – Financing pro-biodiversity businesses

25. THANKYOU
Paula Lopes da Silva
paulasilva @ quercusancn.pt
www.empresasebiodiversidade.org
imagens © Quercus ANCN, Paula Silva, Carlos Palma Rio, José Luís Silva, João Nunes da Silva