EU Business & Biodiversity 2016 Workstreams

December 02, 2016 |

This information was originally published on EU Environment.

“The Innovation Workstream aims to promote innovation that contributes to nature and biodiversity conservation and provides business opportunities.

The objective for 2016 was ‘To identify the required enabling actions (policy, regulatory or supportive measures) at EU level to scale-up the most promising innovations identified under the Workstream in 2014 and 2015’.

The idea was that by articulating more clearly what needs to be done at EU level as well as by Member States, companies and other interested parties, the Workstream could help move forward these areas of innovation across Europe thereby contributing to the Biodiversity 2020 Strategy and broader EU growth and jobs objectives.

The outputs for 2016 are the following four Discussion Papers, which have been produced by Working Groups made up of B@B Platform members, facilitated by the Workstream Lead:

WG1: Information and reporting systems innovations for disclosure by businesses of their impacts on nature – Enabling actions to scale up business innovation.
WG2: Natural capital accounting and mapping tools that support business decision-making relating to land management – Enabling actions to scale up business innovation.
WG3: Temporary nature – Enabling actions to scale up the business innovation.
WG4: Reed bed harvesting for biofuel to enhance wetland biodiversity – Enabling actions to scale up the business innovation.

These papers should be of interest to a wide range of businesses which may benefit from the innovations addressed.

DISCLAIMER: Responsibility for the information and views set out in these papers lies entirely with the authors. The information and views set out in these paper are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of the European Union. Neither the European Union institutions and bodies nor any person acting on their behalf may be held responsible for the use which may be made of the information contained therein.”

Read on at: EU Environment.

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Introduction from Carl Obst (2017)

Victor Hugo once wrote that “Nothing is so powerful as an idea whose time has come”. Recognising the true value of natural capital, is one such idea. Across private and public sectors, across disciplines, and around the world, initiatives to advance and develop natural capital thinking have emerged rapidly over the past 10 years.

In a blizzard of acronyms, we have the NCC, SEEA, WAVES, IIRC, KIP-INCA, A4S, GRI, EO4EA – among many others. Are they the same, are they competing, are they useful? To both insiders and outsiders this range of initiatives is confusing at best. At worst, it leads to a lack of engagement, avoidance and misunderstanding.

The reality is that, while differences among these various initiatives do exist, they have all been motivated by a common understanding of the reality that we are losing our stocks of natural capital – and that this matters.

While each initiative may have different origins, some differing objectives, and may reflect variations in technique and method, there is much common ground. Indeed, to engage the broader community in tackling the natural capital challenges we collectively face, we cannot afford to focus on distinctions. Instead, we must look to build on the overlaps and seek to build a common language that will enable the exchange of ideas and ongoing innovation.

It is in this spirit of collaboration that the Natural Capital Coalition, together with the IDEEA Group and supported by over 20 organisations, launches this statement on Combining Forces on Natural Capital.

It is especially relevant that this statement of collaboration is launched at the World Forum on Natural Capital, where leading voices in the movement gather every two years, to share best practice, enduring challenges and build further collaborations.

While progress to date has largely taken place in small pockets, in order to move forward we need to ramp up our efforts and move beyond talking with supporters and “the converted”.

For this, we need leaders who can establish spaces for dialogue and development, and who can ensure that technical debates do not form a barrier to progress, that we take full advantage of the diversity of skills and experience already engaged, and that the big picture is always kept in mind.

I encourage you to take the opportunity to read the statement, to share it within your organisations, to sign on, and to join us as we move towards a better understanding and appreciation of the complex and beautiful world in which we live.

Carl Obst is Director of the Institute for the Development of Environmental-Economic Accounting (IDEEA Group), and Lead Author of the United Nation’s System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (UN SEEA).