“The role of companies has evolved in recent years and is a fundamental part of the change of model that we must face, being already part of the solution,” said Elena Pita, director of the Biodiversity Foundation (MITECO), who chaired the annual meeting of the Spanish Business and Biodiversity Initiative (IEEB), held in a mixed format between the headquarters of the Biodiversity Foundation and telematic presence.

“The role of companies has evolved in recent years and is a fundamental part of the change in the model that we must face, being already part of the solution,” said Elena Pita, director of the Biodiversity Foundation (MITECO), who chaired the annual meeting of the Spanish Business and Biodiversity Initiative (IEEB), held in a mixed format between the headquarters of the Biodiversity Foundation and telematic presence. 

The aim of the meeting was to hold a dialogue on the role of companies in green reconstruction and how to build on the achievements of the IEEB to make it a useful tool in this new context of ecological transition.

The Biodiversity Foundation has been coordinating the IEEB for 8 years and in this new period it intends for this initiative to evolve to make it more useful in this context of change.

During the meeting, a space for dialogue was created in which the importance of issues such as the valuation of natural capital and its tools, science-based objectives or the regenerative economy was put on the table. 

The main conclusion reached by most of the participants was how the commitment to biodiversity in companies has gone from being a risk to a benefit that cannot be dispensed with. At the same time, it has been stressed that efforts must be made to bring biodiversity closer to companies that are less aware of its integration, since in addition, “never before have we been in such a favorable environment to bet on nature-based solutions and it is an opportunity that we must not miss,” said Elena Pita.     

For his part, Hugo Morán, Secretary of State for the Environment of MITECO, who participated at the end of the meeting, underlined the opportunity that meetings like this represent to create a forum for a return to the public administration, since “we are in direct contact with private interlocutors who help us to adjust the roadmaps to the day-to-day reality” and has expressed the need to increase the pace of efforts in the efficient management of natural resources, key in the reconstruction process. “The evolution of this crisis is showing us that changes have to be implemented more quickly, in addition the level of social demand is increasing and the context requires it”.

This was the first meeting for the latest companies to join the IEEB, Nestlé, PortAventura World, Navantia, Enagás, EDP, EDPr, Capital Energy and Sacyr, with which the number of member companies is now 30. 

Finally, the current moment that the IEEB is going through was addressed, which entails a process of reflection in which the specialized consultancy ICF collaborates, which also coordinates the EU Business and Biodiversity Platform, of which the IEEB is a member. This consultancy will offer an external vision that will help to make the best decisions and optimise this period of opportunity, which should serve to achieve the true transformation that the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan aims to achieve.

Do you want to know more about the Spanish Business and Biodiversity Initiative (IEEB)? Here You have all the information.