This is my final seminar at the University of Oxford, reflecting on my 3 year Knowledge Exchange Fellowship, working with businesses to improve corporate biodiversity accountability. You can view a video of the seminar here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ys0tpGJDD8&feature=youtu.be

1. @prueaddison
Dr Prue Addison
Knowledge Exchange Fellow
The business of biodiversity:
conservation science
multinational corporations
knowledge exchange

2. Museum Victoria Synchronicity Earth

3. www.brookings.edu

4. 4
Knowledge Exchange: an emerging discipline

5. 5
Knowledge exchange
process
Changes to
understanding
Policy or
practice
change
Impacts of
policy or
practice
change
Extent of control of scientists & KE practitioners
Extent of real world impact
Knowledge Exchange: an emerging discipline

6. 6Source: https://www.mpls.ox.ac.uk/public-engagement/what-is-public-engagement
Achieving
research impact:
Informing
>
Consulting
>
Collaborating
>
Co-production

7. Why work in the business
& biodiversity space?

8. The sustainable business edit
Operational
Regulatory & legal Reputational
Financing New market opportunities
Motivations
Why businesses & biodiversity?
8

9. The sustainable business edit
World Economic Forum Global Risks Report 2019
9
Why businesses & biodiversity?

10. The sustainable business edit
10
Why businesses & biodiversity?
United Nations (2017) United Nations Global Compact Progress Report:
Business Solutions to Sustainable Development

11. How are businesses
accounting for their
biodiversity impacts?

12. 12
The state of corporate biodiversity accountability
lance… How is biodiversity treated by the world’s biggest companies?
We analyzed the
nability reports of the
Fortune Global 100
companies
49 companies
mentioned biodiversity
or biodiversity related
issues, and an additional
16 companies
mentioned sustainable
forestry or fishing (with no
mention of biodiversity)
op 100 companies, 86 have publicly available sustainability reports:
Represent 15 sectors, dominated by the
financial sector (23 companies) and the
energy sector (21 companies)
Have headquarters located in 15 countries,
dominated by USA (38 companies) and
China (19 companies)
Total revenue =
US$12.6 trillion
Total employees =
26.4 million staff
6 Fortune
0 Global
31 companies had a
clearly stated biodiversity
commitments, and an
additional
3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40
43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60
63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70
73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80
2016 Fortune 100 companies
31 companies (e.g. energy)
32 companies (e.g. finance)
37 companies (e.g. healthcare)
H
M
L
Representation in biodiversity
risk sectors
Commitments made
49 companies mentioned biodiversity in their
sustainabilityreports.
5 companies had biodiversity commitments that
are specific, measurable,& time-bound.
Actions & indicators
9 companies quantitatively reported biodiversity-
related activities. e.g., sustainable sourcing of
resources,& avoidance ofprotected areas.
No companies reported on quantitative
outcomes of their activities for biodiversity,
making it difficult to assess whether business actions
are achieving positive outcomes for nature.
49 companies qualitatively reported biodiversity-
related activities. e.g., habitats restored, &
partnerships formed.
Addison et al (2018). Cons Biol. 33, 307–318.

13. How can a knowledge
exchange fellowship
help business tackle
biodiversity loss?

14. 14
2016 - 2019

15. 15
Aim: to provide targeted science-
based biodiversity solutions that can
be used by businesses, and the
practitioners who they work with,
to drive improvements in the
practice of corporate biodiversity
accountability
2016 - 2019

16. Our conservation science:
16
Protect Conserve Mitigate
Avoid
Minimise
Restore
Offset
Mitigation Hierarchy

17. Improving corporate biodiversity accountability:
Developing science-based corporate biodiversity commitments
Developing biodiversity indicators to evaluate achievement of corporate
biodiversity commitments and effectiveness of actions
Expanding and deepening business action for biodiversity
17

18. What businesses would
work with academics?

19. KE Fellowship Partners (planned)
19

20. KE Fellowship Partners (actual)
20

21. Key collaborations

22. Improving corporate biodiversity accountability:
biodiversity commitments
biodiversity indicators
business action
22

23. 23
biodiversity commitments
What is the latest science behind ”no net loss” goal setting
and indicator development?
BP Group Ecology Expert: “Our work with Oxford has been invaluable not only
in making sure that our practices are underpinned by good science, but also in
helping to justify improvements in the way we work to senior executives”
BP Group-wide Guidelines on Managing Biodiversity (2018), setting out how a
commitment to NNL on biodiversity can be made and achieved for projects

24. 24
business action
How can we help make the
international biodiversity
goals become significantly
more visible and relevant to
everyday business activities?

25. 25
business action

26. 26
business action

27. 27
business action

28. 28
business action

29. 29
business action
JNCC staff member:
“the infographic itself has been
invaluable at demonstrating how
nature conservation interventions also
crosswalk into sustainable
development …
[and the collaboration has] certainly
led to new approaches that JNCC and
DEFRA have considered [for] private
sector input into the development of
post-2020 framework”

30. 30
biodiversity indicators
How can businesses be
better supported in
developing biodiversity
indicators?

31. 31
biodiversity indicators
A spectrum of business applications
for biodiversity indicators:

32. 32
biodiversity indicators
Critical elements to help differentiate and select fit-for-purpose
biodiversity indicators for business:

33. 33
biodiversity indicators
1: Clarify the
decision
context
2: Set
management
objectives
3: Explore &
set
management
actions
4: Develop or
select
indicators
5: Monitor,
assess & report
6: Adapt &
refine

34. 34
biodiversity indicators

35. 35
biodiversity indicators
Research influence:
• Work presented to > 300 business & NGO representatives in 2018
• Integration into 2 other international initiatives leading the
development of biodiversity indicators for the extractives and
finance sector in 2018 & 2019
• Informed the establishment of an international working group
“Aligning measured for business”
• Foundation for IUCN draft “Guidelines for Planning and Monitoring
Corporate Biodiversity Performance”

36. Improving corporate biodiversity accountability:
Developing science-based corporate biodiversity commitments
Developing biodiversity indicators to evaluate achievement of corporate
biodiversity commitments and effectiveness of actions
Expanding and deepening business action for biodiversity
36

37. Key KE outcomes

39. 39
5 critical factors for successful
knowledge exchange

40. 1: Build & maintain networks
40

41. 2: Develop collaborative partnerships
41
Research Practice

42. 42
Research Councils UK, Pathways to Impact
• Passion
• Communication
• Trust
• Power
3: Master social dynamics

43. 43
4: Seek institutional support
Cvitanovic et al. 2019. Environmental
Science & Policy. 94: 20-31
Creating a New Kind of Science in Academia
Produce not only professors but also future environmental leaders
Keeler et al, 2017.
BioScience, 67: 591-592

44. 5: Evaluate & learn
44
Knight et al (in prep)
Knowledge exchange
process
Changes to
understanding
Policy or
practice
change
Impacts of
policy or
practice
change
Extent of control over that being evaluated
Extent of real world impact

45. 45
5 critical factors for successful knowledge exchange
1: Build & maintain networks
2: Develop collaborative partnerships
3: Master social dynamics
4: Seek institutional support
5: Evaluate and learn

46. Thank you

47. Thank you!
Knowledge
Exchange
@ Oxford
300 × 340

48. Thank you!
prue.addison@zoo.ox.ac.uk
@prueaddison