“Nature is the most generous provider we have”

What if nature were key in the balance of companies? “Nature is the most generous provider we have,” explains Elena Ruiz, manager of the Nature Business Ambition initiative, a business alliance that seeks to promote sustainability in the private sector. A supplier of raw materials that determines 50% of GDP globally and that is slowly running out.

The extraction and processing of resources cause 90% of the loss of biodiversity, the population of wildlife was reduced by more than 68% between 1970 and 2016 and a million species are expected to be in danger of extinction by 2050. “We are facing a great challenge,” says Ruiz.

A challenge that is included in the 2030 Agenda and is reflected in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). 17 key points, “where 14 are dedicated to nature”, recalls Ana Herrero, director of projects and services at Forética. “We are at a critical moment in nature and in which we are convinced that business action is essential to overcome it,” she adds.

A context that has served to launch ‘Nature Business Ambition’ “to understand the context and move towards the integration of nature in the business of companies”, reveals Ruiz. “We want to be a relevant agent,” adds Herrera.

The initiative has the collaboration of nine companies: Accenture Iberia, Damm, EDP, Gestamp, OHLA, LafargeHolcim, Leroy Merlin, Naturgy and Sacyr. «It is time to promote business action on nature, as one of the three major global challenges that need an urgent response that are included in the ‘Vision 2050’ roadmap, recently launched within the framework of the Spanish Business Council for Sustainable Development”, highlights the director of projects and services of Forética.

The roadmap of this alliance has the goal of 2030 and “to be a Nature-positive planet,” says Herrero. A trip with three motors: «drive ambition, accelerate action and strengthen alliances».

In the first edition of the ‘Nature Business Ambition’ initiative, the business case of business management of nature will be addressed, in order to help companies learn about the current and changing context in terms of public policies and action frameworks for advance, as well as in the understanding of the integration of nature in the business strategy as a key action for the management of risks and opportunities and the fulfillment of other extra-financial objectives, such as climatic ones. “All companies, regardless of the sector they belong to, are related to nature, both from the point of view of dependency and impact,” Ruiz replies.

there is no plan b

According to data from the Global Footprint Network, the current pace of life and growth would require 1.6 or 2.3 planets. “There is no planet B,” explains Herrera. A context in which companies are called “to be part of the solution”, recall those responsible for Forética.

For this reason, the business world raises its voice to save nature. “Inadequate management of the impact on natural capital can pose operational, financial, reputational or market risks for the private sector,” Ruiz points out. “Inaction is not a possibility, it is essential to accelerate business action to contribute to the recovery of biodiversity,” adds Beatriz Rubio, head of sustainability at the OHLA Group.

Increasingly, there are tools and frameworks that allow companies to incorporate nature into their strategy and management. “The private sector will not achieve its climate or circular economy objectives without incorporating the crisis of nature into business management,” Ruiz warns.