- 18 companies sign the new Pact for Biodiversity and Natural Capital, supporting the goals of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework
- The Secretary of State for the Environment, Hugo Morán, has held a dialogue with the entities participating in the annual meeting of the IEEB to discuss how to guide and accelerate the action of the private sector in nature conservation
- Damm, Enagás, Endesa, Grupo EDP in Spain, HEINEKEN Spain, Holcim Spain, Naturgy, Red Eléctrica (Redeia) and Sacyr have committed to assessing their impacts and dependencies on biodiversity, developing a roadmap to reduce them and disseminating the efforts and achievements achieved. Baleària, Danone, Decathlon, FCC Medio Ambiente, Grupo Cooperativo Cajamar, Grupo Tragsa, Nestlé España, OHLA and Solunion will identify and disseminate their impacts and dependencies on biodiversity
- In addition, 20 other entities participate to exchange information, concerns and knowledge
May 24, 2023.- The renewed Spanish Business and Biodiversity Initiative (IEEB), coordinated by the Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO), held its annual meeting today, coinciding with the tenth anniversary of its launch in 2013. In this new stage, 18 Spanish companies have already made a public commitment to become relevant organisations for nature conservation, by signing a Pact for Biodiversity and Natural Capital. During the meeting, inaugurated by the director of the Biodiversity Foundation, Elena Pita, representatives of two companies that are members of the IEEB, Nestlé Spain and Redeia, and the Spanish Green Growth Group, a strategic partner of the initiative, took part. During their speeches, they presented the objectives and strategic lines of action to reduce the impacts and dependencies of nature. After a debate on how to guide and accelerate action in the private sector, the Secretary of State for the Environment, Hugo Morán, held a dialogue with the attending entities, where he highlighted the IEEB’s vocation for public-private cooperation and the importance of a scenario of triple sustainability: economic, social and environmental. Morán stressed that “the action plan to advance in the incorporation of biodiversity in business management must be based on shared and accessible information (digitization of data in a single repository), planning that is integrated into a coordinated roadmap and evaluation and monitoring that are maintained over time”.
LEVELS OF ADHERENCE ACCORDING TO COMMITMENT
After ten years of activity, the IEEB has designed a new model of adhesion to allow large, medium and small companies to publicly support the objectives of the Kunming-Montreal Global Framework for Biological Diversity and to express their degree of ambition with actions to be implemented in the next two years. In addition, to accommodate all types of entities interested in the field of business and biodiversity, the IEEB offers another formula for participation that, without requiring the signing of the Pact, allows access to all the activity and knowledge that is generated. Regardless of the formula chosen, participation is subject to a code of conduct that supports companies committed to greenwashing practices. The 18 signatories of the Pact are: Damm, Enagás, Endesa, Grupo EDP in Spain, HEINEKEN Spain, Holcim Spain, Naturgy, Red Eléctrica (Redeia) and Sacyr, which are committed to assessing their impacts and dependencies on biodiversity, developing a roadmap to reduce them and disseminating the efforts and achievements achieved. On the other hand, Baleària, Danone, Decathlon, FCC Medio Ambiente, Grupo Cooperativo Cajamar, Grupo Tragsa, Nestlé España, OHLA and Solunion, are committed to identifying and disseminating their impacts and dependencies on biodiversity. In addition, 20 other entities have shown their interest in cooperating and generating and exchanging information, concerns and knowledge within the framework of the IEEB: AGROAMB, Adeje City Council, Spanish Association of Wood Trade and Industry (AEIM), Azentúa (NWorld), BiossFera Terra, how to create stories, Earthworm Foundation, Ecoacsa, Estrella de Levante Foundation, WestMED European Initiative and Atlantic Action Plan, Madretierra Medioambiente y Desarrollo Sostenible, MAPFRE, Mercadona, Minkadev, Navantia, NTT Data, PEFC España, Preferred by Nature, Runakai, y Solaria Energía y Medio Ambiente. All companies, signatories or not, have access to a Community of Practice, which offers a centre of advanced knowledge and a space for dialogue between the public and private sectors where they can explore opportunities for public-private collaboration, have up-to-date information on the regulatory context, learn about initiatives and tools of interest and exchange good practices.
ABOUT THE SPANISH INITIATIVE BUSINESS AND BIODIVERSITY
The IEEB is a public-private collaboration platform that seeks to add the business sector to the improvement and maintenance of biodiversity and natural capital. It is aimed at entities in the business sector that want to know, explore opportunities, advance and show their commitment to nature conservation. Promoted by the Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, the IEEB is part of the European Business and Biodiversity Platform and the Global Business and Biodiversity Alliance. It also participates in international projects (SUSTAIN, BIODIVERSA+) to generate and transfer knowledge that helps identify, assess and evaluate the impacts and dependencies of biodiversity and coordinates with other business and biodiversity initiatives through its strategic partners (Spanish Group for Green Growth, CEOE, Forética, Club of Excellence in Sustainability and Global Nature Foundation). All the information about this new stage and how to participate can be consulted on https://ieeb.fundacion-biodiversidad.es/.
