+ Business & Biodiversity in Ireland Hannah Hamilton - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

+

Business & Biodiversity in Ireland

Hannah Hamilton

@NatCap_Irl / @BITCireland / @TheRiverField

+ My four hats!

• Leading the conversation on natural

capital in Ireland

• 450+ individual members
• Seeking to influence policy and

engage business

• Ireland’s network

for responsible business

• 80 multinational,

semi state, large Irish companies

• All-island initiative

established by National Biodiversity Data Centre & Trinity College Dublin

• Business

engagement programme

• Postgraduate

research on Corporate Biodiversity Governance

• Investigating

drivers of voluntary

• n-site engagement

+Our starting point…

 2014: Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation

launched the National Plan on CSR, which included a call for companies to have ‘respect for biodiversity’

?

+2014: BITCI’s Environment Review

 Business in the Community Ireland’s 2014 ‘Environment

Review’ found that biodiversity is the environmental aspect

• n which Irish companies do the least

 This led to a two-year project to put biodiversity on the

corporate agenda in Ireland

 Challenges in designing the project:

 what IS biodiversity?  easy actions, easy wins  urban/rural/industrial sites  tenants/owners  multiple sectors

+CSR-led initiative:

Biodiversity Framework for Business

• Aligned to CSR
• bjectives
• Connects with ISO14001
• Framed as a starting

point - not an end goal

• Aim is to provide

inspiration

• Not a standard or

certification

• Applicable to any

company

+Since then…

 Delivering 1:1 support to member companies  Raising awareness with workshops and practical events

 Brought NGOs on board  Thematic focus: pollinators, wildflowers, woodlands, hedgerows  Established a ‘Learning Network’

 Case studies to date:

 Intel – wildflower meadow, on-site walks, embedded biodiversity in

EMS + published biodiversity report

 Dawn Meats – integrated constructed wetland on-site  Accenture – biodiversity volunteering with local NGOs +

pollinator/wildflower workshop with staff

 Gas Networks Ireland/RTE – providing sites for an ecology post doc  RTE – changing they way they manage lawns on-site

 Lots of interest and very positive feedback

+Species-specific initiative: All-Ireland Pollinator Plan

 Co-funded by Bord Bia (Irish Food

Board), whose national sustainability programme Origin Green includes a biodiversity target for businesses

 Business Guidelines launched in

2017 – BITCI co-authors

 16 official ‘Business Supporters’ to

date, 30 more in process

 Businesses include food/beverage

companies, shopping centres

+Natural Capital-framed initiative Irish Forum on Natural Capital

 Semi-state agencies on Steering Committee

 Bord na Mona (peat/energy) & Coillte (forests)  Both undertaking CNCA

 Brought Natural Capital Coalition, environmental economists

at PwC & eftec, Yorkshire Water to Ireland for conferences and workshops on the Protocol, CNCA & Total Impact

 Strong interest from multiple sectors

 Agri-food, water, infrastructure, extractives, energy, forestry

 EPL event coming up  Challenges to corporate engagement:

 Lack of strong case studies  Difficulties in terms of internal capacity & resourcing

+The future…

 There is a continuum of action on biodiversity, from

philanthropy and volunteering right up to natural capital accounting

 Great enthusiasm from private sector for current initiatives  Our challenge:

 How to harmonise efforts in order to move companies along the

continuum?

 How to promote learning/sharing?  How to engage C-level?  How to establish and resource a national Business & Biodiversity

Platform?

 Provided for in the draft National Biodiversity Strategy and Action

Plan, due to be published in 2017