Getting Started on Protecting Nature

In this blog, we share insights from our series of Getting Started Guides that address issues related to nature. These three new guides form part of a larger series of issue-based Getting Started Guides that aim to support the development of an embedded strategy that we will release over the coming months.

About our Getting Started Guides

Anchored in research, each guide tackles a specific sustainability sub-issue to help you (and others in your business) build a foundational understanding and understand the work ahead. We explain each sub-issue along with relevant trends, system thresholds, key concepts, actors, and pair that with resources to help you along the journey. We also outline common corporate goals and internal interim targets to show how companies are working on addressing the impacts of their operational and value chain activities.

Getting Started on Nature

This set of Getting Started Guides addresses the focus area of nature, and includes three guides, covering the sub-issues of:

• Protecting and restoring nature, biodiversity, and ecosystem services

• Regenerating land and soil

• Animal rights and welfare

Nature in crisis

Healthy and diverse ecosystems underpin the resilience and sustainability of our planet and the communities and economies that depend on it. Yet, we are losing nature at an alarming rate.

Global wildlife populations – mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles and fish – have declined by 73% since 1970, and two million species are currently at risk of extinction due to human activities – double the previous estimate. Deforestation and land conversion for industrial purposes, human habitation, and food production, have transformed over 75% of the Earth’s total land surface, with global deforestation rising by 3.2% in 2023.

Land degradation, deforestation, and the loss of soil health also pose significant business risks, from rising exposure to extreme weather events and damage, to physical assets, to increasing consumer and investor scrutiny about how companies manage their impacts and dependences on land.

Animal welfare is also deeply interlinked with environmental and social sustainability. It has implications for human health, the environment, and socio-economic development – and whether within the food system, for animal-derived materials, or as subjects for testing, animals are present in the value chains of many industries and attention to their welfare is increasingly gaining momentum.

Companies will need to understand the risks that nature loss, land and soil degradation, and declining animal welfare pose to their operations and value chains. They will need to work to halt and reverse nature loss, transition to land-positive practices that restore ecosystems and soil biodiversity, and ensure that animals within their value chain are treated ethically.

Our forthcoming Getting Started Guides on Nature help to explain key concepts and outline the work required. To give you a sense of what they cover, we share some insights from the three guides below.

Getting Started on Protecting and Restoring Nature

Protecting and Restoring Nature: A Getting Started Guide provides insights on the key drivers behind nature decline and biodiversity loss, thresholds such as biosphere integrity that safeguard the resilience of many systems, the importance of ecosystem services, and more. It includes guidance on protecting and restoring nature, biodiversity, and ecosystem services, and explains key concepts like nature positive and the mitigation and conservation hierarchy.

Common long-term goals include achieving nature positivity, usually by 2030, and are frequently paired with mid-term goals addressing net-positive impacts on biodiversity, eliminating deforestation, and supporting ecosystem recovery efforts such as reforestation.

Taking action on protecting and restoring nature begins in year one with learning about the core concepts of biodiversity and ecosystem health, such as the importance of genetic and species diversity, ecosystem services and the benefits nature provides, and system limits. This is paired with understanding your company’s impacts on nature, as well as understanding your nature-related risks and opportunities. Year two covers conducting baseline assessments, identifying KPIs, and developing a position statement to align your organisation for action. Year three includes leveraging the work done in previous years to develop a nature-positive strategy and extending your learnings into your value chain to protect and restore nature.

Getting Started on Regenerating Land and Soil

Regenerating Land and Soil: A Getting Started Guide addresses current trends in forest loss and land and soil degradation, and the risks this decline poses to companies. It also explores the colonial underpinnings of land degradation, how practices such as regenerative agriculture and conservation can perpetuate negative impacts on Indigenous and local communities, and the importance of partnering with Indigenous and Traditional knowledge holders to mitigate this risk. It also provides guidance on taking action to eliminate deforestation, protect and improve soil and microbial health, and improve the vitality and resilience of land systems.

Common long-term goals include zero conversion of natural ecosystems and commitments to becoming a regenerative company. This is accompanied by mid-term goals to remediate past conversion that has occurred as a result of company activities, restoring or rehabilitating impacted areas, sourcing from conversion- and deforestation-free areas, and more.

Taking action on regenerating land and soil begins in year one with building an understanding of the drivers of forest loss and land and soil degradation, understanding your impacts, and understanding current approaches that safeguard and promote the resilience of local land systems. This is followed by conducting baseline assessments and benchmarking current practices in year two. In year three, based on your baseline assessments and your understanding of key drivers, set long-term goals and develop a strategy for regenerating land and soil. Once you have established a clear strategy, year four can include working with suppliers to co-develop strategies for the regeneration of land resources in your value chain and working to support systemic changes beyond your company.

Getting Started on Animal Rights and Welfare

Animal Rights and Welfare: A Getting Started Guide offers insights on the need for animal welfare, addressing practices that harm animal welfare and the shifting reputational and regulatory landscape. It explores key concepts, including the Five Freedoms and Five Domains Model for animal welfare, and touches on the implications of animal welfare for human health, the environment, and socio-economic development.

Common long-term goals include transitioning to higher animal welfare practices, ensuring animal by-products are procured ethically, and eliminating animal testing. Mid-term goals are often species- and industry-specific – examples include ending the use of closed confinement throughout value chains, eliminating the use of exotic animal skin in products, using alternative methods for testing products, and more.

Taking action on animal rights and welfare begins in year one by understanding animal welfare issues and concerns, benchmarking best practices and standards, and mapping your value chain. Year two involves training employees on good animal welfare practices and engaging with your procurement team to understand the opportunities and constraints related to animal welfare. Year three covers developing policies to support animal welfare in operations and value chains, articulating a position statement, and exploring whether certification schemes can support your company’s work towards greater animal welfare.

This was just a brief summary of the more detailed guidance provided by the Getting Started Guides on Nature.