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Do you feel a bit lost when people refer to certain environmental sustainability topics and aren’t sure where to start when it comes to learning more? Sustainability 101 is a blog series that you can turn to for information about different environmental terms that may come up at work, during discussions with friends, and even at your annual holiday gathering.

The term IT (Information Technology) has been in use since an article in the Harvard Business Review in 19581. However what people think of when they hear the term IT has changed dramatically over the years—from feeding punched cards into a mainframe computer, to a smartphone accessing services from the cloud.

When analysing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions it’s important to be clear about the scope being discussed, so often researchers will use the formal sector definition of Information and Communication Technology2 (ICT). This sector definition states that ICT includes user devices including laptops, smartphones and tablets; networks including fixed, mobile and enterprise networks; and data centres including everything from enterprise data centres through to the large hyperscale data centres.

In addition to studying the ICT sector, researchers will often also look at the GHG emissions from the Entertainment and Media (E&M) sector, as this sector is tightly linked in the way we consume many digital services today. This E&M sector definitions includes TV’s, gaming consoles, printers, scanners, and paper media.

Both these sector definitions continue to evolve as new IT devices and services appear, such as virtual reality (VR) headsets, wearables, and smart home technologies. This continual evolution of the scope is one of the things that makes the analysis difficult and means care needs to be taken when comparing results between different researchers.

The IT industry in our everyday lives

Today we take many of these IT services for granted. The movie we watch at home on a Saturday night may start in a large data centre, stream across the internet, come into our house via a router and then be viewed on a large TV screen. Similarly at work, when we call a colleague our speech is likely to be broken into digital packets and transmitted over the same network used to access the sales systems.

New technologies continue to mature and become more pervasive, such as artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, big data, and the cloud. Cisco amongst others publish predictions of how these technologies will change our digital experiences, change the way we work, and shape our lives.3

As IT becomes more and more pervasive in our lives, we naturally see an increasing interest and debate around its impact on greenhouse gas emissions and climate change.

How does IT contribute to emissions and climate change?

When we talk about the impact that IT has on climate change, people often refer to the carbon footprint. A carbon footprint is more than just the electricity used by a product. The carbon footprint looks at the impact across the full lifecycle of a product including acquiring the raw materials, manufacturing and shipping, electricity use in operations, and treating the product at end of life.

Most studies of the ICT sector indicate that user devices account for around half of the total carbon footprint. Breaking that down across a user devices life cycle, around half of the carbon footprint is related to the use phase, and the other half to the remainder of the life cycle. The remaining carbon footprint of ICT is split between networks and data centres as in figure 1. For these the largest part of the carbon footprint comes from the use phase.

The GHG emissions from the use phase of a device depends on the energy source used to make the electricity that powers it. In some countries, or for some companies, they may use a lot of renewable energy, in which case the use phase contribution to the carbon footprint may be smaller. However even when renewable energy is being used, increasing energy efficiency is still a focus as estimates show ICT currently uses around 4% of global electricity4.

Although conclusions from different studies vary, it is estimated that the ICT sector causes between 1.5% and 4% of global GHG emissions. This is said to be the direct carbon footprint.

IT has the potential to help reduce global GHG emissions

While the direct effect of ICT increases GHG emissions, the indirect effects could lead to a decrease, or an increase. Examples where ICT could help decrease emissions are leveraging artificial intelligence to improve fuel efficiency in cars or using video conferencing to replace a business trip. Examples where it could lead to an increase in emissions (sometimes referred to as a rebound effect) are where the cost to drive a car per kilometre decreases due to the efficiency gains, so people drive longer distances, or after meeting by video conference then flying to meet in person.”

Studies of the potential of ICT to decrease GHG emissions usually either focus on one specific use case such as video conferencing, which is then studied in detail, or do an estimate across several different industry sectors like transport, buildings, or energy. This type of analysis is very complicated and while a number of studies estimate that ICT has the potential to reduce global emissions 15% by 2030, the range of estimates varies from 1.3% to 20%5.

Overall, the available published data suggests that ICT has the potential to help reduce global GHG emissions significantly, but more real-world data is needed to understand both the opportunities and the risks. Whether ICT can ultimately reduce emissions depends not only on the technology, but also our ability to master rebound effects.

Actions Cisco is taking to help reduce emissions

As a large, global company, we want to do our part to decrease the GHG emissions associated with our business and help our customers do the same. A key priority is continuing to improve the performance of our products while maintaining, or decreasing, their energy use. This allows us to tackle our direct GHG emissions and reduces global energy demand. We try this through product improvements such as more energy efficient power supplies, research into alternative methods of cooling, and next generation ASICs. We’re also giving our customers more insight into their energy usage through energy dashboards like in Cisco Nexus Dashboard, and giving them the ability to save energy by setting policies to switch off features outside of office hours like in Webex Control Hub.

In addition to helping tackle direct emissions we also look at how we can help reduce emissions in other sectors through innovations like Smart Buildings6. Lastly of course we look at how we can reduce our own emissions from our internal operations like our data centres and we share our lessons learnt so others can do the same7.

The role of IT in climate change is complicated and we recognise that as an industry we still have a lot of work to do. However, if we learn to harness the power of IT wisely, it could become a key enabler for the transition to a net zero world.

Willing to learn and engage more on environmental sustainability? In the next blog in our series, we will share more about virgin plastics.

Information regarding Cisco’s environmental, social, and governance (ESG) initiatives, goals and commitments, our latest impact, as well as policies and additional disclosures for specialized audiences, can be found in our 2022 Cisco Purpose Report and supplemental information in our ESG Reporting Hub.

“Management in the 1980’s” by Harold J. Leavitt and Thomas L. Whisler https://hbr.org/1958/11/management-in-the-1980s“Annex 1. The OECD Definition of the ICT Sector” https://www.oecd.org/digital/ieconomy/2771153.pdf“Tech Trends and Predictions That Will Shape 2023” https://blogs.cisco.com/news/tech-trends-and-predictions-that-will-shape-2023“ICT Sector Electricity Consumption and Greenhouse Gas Emissions – 2020 Outcome” https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4424264“A review of assessments of the greenhouse gas footprint and abatement potential of information and communication technology” https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195925522002992?via%3Dihub“Sustainability 101: How smart buildings help the planet and people” https://blogs.cisco.com/csr/sustainability-101-how-smart-buildings-help-the-planet-and-people“Cisco IT Data Center Sustainability” https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/solutions/collateral/enterprise/cisco-on-cisco/cisco-it-dc-sustainability-wp.html

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Originally published in Webster Bank’s 2022 Corporate Responsibility Report

We are a values-driven organization dedicated to our collective commitment to how we conduct business and work together every day with each other, our clients and the communities we serve. 

As part of these efforts, we strive to offer competitive total rewards programs, promote colleague development and foster a diverse environment. Accordingly, we seek to implement policies and practices that align with applicable laws and regulations and are in the best interest of our stakeholders.

Webster believes in upholding the principles of safety and observing fair labor and employment practices throughout our organization, including providing equal opportunities. We recognize the importance of having engaged colleagues, and we support the personal development of our colleagues to help them achieve their career goals. In 2022, we introduced a Belonging at Webster course, which outlines the behaviors expected of each colleague to create and maintain a workplace free of discrimination, harassment and bullying. This course is required for all colleagues.

Human capital management is a top priority at Webster and is managed by members of the senior team.

“At Webster, we strive to create a workplace that reflects the communities we serve and where every colleague feels empowered to bring their true authentic selves to work each and every day. When colleagues feel free to share their experiences, perspectives and backgrounds we create a stronger and more creative work environment where everyone’s point of view is valued and respected. This diversity of thought enables us to better help our clients and the communities we serve achieve their financial goals.”

Javier L. Evans, Chief Human Resources Officer

To learn more about Webster Bank’s commitment to corporate responsibility, visit our CR webpage.

For full details about Webster Bank’s 2022 Corporate Responsibility Report, visit here.

We’re proud to sponsor the Muhammad Ali Center‘s 4th annual Greatest Give Back event to help pack 2,200 healthy snack kits and 2,200 backpacks that will be distributed to nonprofit organizations across Kentucky and Southern Indiana. Thanks to our amazing partner Metro United Way for making this event happen and Yum! volunteers for taking time out to give back to our community!

Preserving the environment and our oceans for future generations requires action today; that’s why we are committed to supporting organizations like Every Can Counts (ECC) in its ongoing efforts to combat landfill waste and minimize carbon footprints by successfully recapturing infinitely recyclable used beverage cans (UBCs). 

To bring awareness to the positive impacts of recycling, ECC has just executed its third International Recycling Tour, an inspiring event hosted across numerous European and Brazilian cities in which ambassadors collect UBCs directly from consumers in parks and busy urban areas. Amid this year’s event, Veronique Curulla, Marketing and Business Development Director in Crown’s European Division and board member of the Every Can Counts Executive Committee, shares her perspective on the value ECC brings to industry sustainability initiatives and the importance of recycling. 

As we celebrate #WorldEnvironmentDay today and look ahead to #WorldOceansDay later this week, we encourage all of our followers to continue the momentum ECC has created with its widespread recycling attention and to #keepthecyclegoing with the world’s most sustainable beverage packaging.

Business remains the most trusted institution globally, according to the 2023 Edelman Trust Barometer. With this trust comes increased expectations to do the right thing on key societal issues. Companies who embrace this responsibility are a source of hope for driving positive change on the most challenging issues we face — whether that’s racial inequity and injustice or an intensifying climate crisis.

The good news is that as the world expected and demanded more from businesses in the past few years, many readily answered the call. When stakeholders explicitly told them they needed to step up, be vocal and take a stand, they used their power and platform for good. From supporting frontline workers, vulnerable populations and low-income countries that lacked vaccine access in the face of COVID-19, to making public commitments and acting to further racial justice and equity for Black, Indigenous and Asian people who were impacted by devastating events of racial hate, corporations proved they could be counted on in times of crisis. And those who meaningfully showed up were met with great accolades and allegiances, but also — in some cases — backlash, embroiling business in yet another threat to progress: polarization.

In this economically turbulent period, it’s become more difficult to decouple today’s societal issues from political undercurrents. In a time rife with rollbacks around access to reproductive and gender-affirming healthcare for women and LGBTQ people and an ongoing war in Ukraine, many companies are now finding themselves in a double bind: Avoid action and risk impeding much-needed progress and alienating a socially driven population. Or veer too deep into issues deemed political, tip into polarization and face negativity.

Regardless of where businesses stand on when, how or even if they will show up publicly on divisive yet important societal issues, employees remain invested in the idea that a company’s role is to help their people grow and evolve through consciousness raising, continuous learning and opportunities to make a positive impact.

The role of business in bettering employees 

As corporate purpose programs mature and increase in importance, companies are recognizing their role is not only bettering the communities in which they operate but supporting their people in becoming better humans. What better actually looks like will vary from company to company.

In 2023, companies are left contemplating how they will straddle the seemingly impossible expectation to make progress on major issues, better their people and act as a unifying force for society in the face of politicization — all while the pressure of profits looms. It’s unsurprising that tension prevails among CSR leaders.

As companies consider balancing competing corporate and societal needs without adding to further division, every business will need to reflect on what better looks like for them and then use it as a North Star to guide them through the next period of uncertainty.

The question remains: How do you do this in a practical way that meaningfully represents your company’s mission and the values of your stakeholders?

Discover the top five emerging societal and industry trends shaping the future of CSR, DEI and ESG in The State of Corporate Purpose 2023.

RESTON, Va., July 19, 2023 /3BL/ – CACI International Inc’s (NYSE: CACI) SkyTracker® Technology Suite protects the nation from evolving counter-unmanned aircraft systems (C-UAS) threats, and recently, local high school students caught a rare glimpse into how the company’s drone technology achieves its mission.

As part of CACI’s philanthropic efforts to spark a passion for STEM among younger people, the company proudly sponsored Techstravaganza, which was hosted by Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology. During the event, CACI volunteers Patrick Poling, systems engineer, and Parker Agan, engineering intern, demonstrated how the company’s C-UAS technology helps to secure the nation. This presentation, featuring the SkyTracker Technology Suite, offered a unique experience to the attending students who learned how science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) contribute to national security.

“Investing in the next generation of talent is a rewarding venture that CACI strongly supports,” said Todd Probert, CACI President of National Security and Innovative Solutions. “We are helping to drive and inspire younger talent to discover a path into national security by exposing them to potential careers in STEM, which is a critical need for our business and our customers.”

Techstravaganza is a free, hands-on STEM activity fair that is open to the public and attracts thousands of students from the greater Washington area each year. Students and their families interact with more than 50 different labs and demonstrations that cover a wide range of STEM concepts. This year, more than 3,000 students attended from over 100 different elementary and middle schools.

CACI opens doors for the next generation of talent through its internship program and early career opportunities. Recruitment for CACI’s Summer 2024 Internship Program will begin in September 2023.

Learn more about CACI’s early career and internship opportunities.

Learn more about CACI’s philanthropy program, CACI Cares.

ABOUT CACI

CACI’s approximately 22,000 talented employees are ever vigilant in providing the unique expertise and distinctive technology that address our customers’ greatest enterprise and mission challenges. Our culture of good character, innovation, and excellence drives our success and earns us recognition as a Fortune World’s Most Admired Company. As a member of the Fortune 1000 Largest Companies, the Russell 1000 Index, and the S&P MidCap 400 Index, we consistently deliver strong shareholder value. Visit us at www.caci.com.

# # #

Corporate Communications and Media:

Lorraine Corcoran 
Executive Vice President, Corporate Communications 
(703) 434-4165, lorraine.corcoran@caci.com

Whirlpool Corporation has been recognized as a “Best Place to Work for Disability Inclusion” after receiving a 100 percent score on the 2023 Disability Equality Index (DEI) for the seventh straight year. The DEI is the world’s most comprehensive benchmarking tool to measure disability workplace inclusion for Fortune 100 companies.

“We are honored to once again receive a score of 100 on the Disability Equity Index in recognition of our efforts to ensure every employee is welcomed, valued, respected, and heard,” said Carey Martin, EVP and chief human resources officer at Whirlpool Corp. “At Whirlpool Corporation, inclusion is a key pillar of our enduring values, and we remain committed to creating a culture that supports and empowers our differences so that we can be a better company to work for, produce even better products, and truly improve life at home and in the workplace.”

As part of its long-standing commitment to inclusion and diversity, Whirlpool Corporation maintains 17 Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) worldwide which support the diverse groups and perspectives throughout the organization. As part of this initiative, in 2022, Whirlpool Awareness of Visible and Invisible Disabilities (AVID) and Whirlpool Veterans Association volunteers partnered with Disability Network of Southwest Michigan to complete three handicap ramp builds in Southwest Michigan. These volunteers dedicated 210 volunteer hours to provide greater independence and safety for people with mobility disabilities in their own homes.

The Disability Equality Index is a joint initiative of the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), the nation’s largest disability rights organization, and Disability:IN, the global business disability inclusion network, to collectively advance the inclusion of people with disabilities. To create the annual list, the DEI ranks companies across six categories including Culture & Leadership; Enterprise-Wide Access; Employment Practices (Benefits, Recruitment, Employment, Education, Retention & Advancement, Accommodations); Community Engagement; Supplier Diversity; Non-U.S. Operations. In 2023, out of 485 participants, 294 companies received a score of 100; 66 companies received a score of 90 and 45 companies received a score of 80. There were a total of 405 top scorers.

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When you work for Boston Scientific—an organization dedicated to transforming lives through innovative medical solutions—your job inherently involves helping others.

And yet many people at the company make the time to serve their communities off the clock as well. In 2022 alone, Boston Scientific employees volunteered more than 31,000 hours.

Each year, Boston Scientific honors employees who are particularly engaged in this local work through its Global Volunteer Awards. We sat down with this year’s inspiring winners, who were selected from a pool of 40+ nominations across 18 countries, to hear about their recent projects, what ignited their passion for philanthropy and how Boston Scientific supports them in their efforts beyond its walls.

Continuing a legacy of service

Some of Mehak Sachdev’s favorite childhood memories are of visits with her grandfather. She only saw him every few years—Sachdev grew up in Southern California and her grandparents lived in India—but noted his dedication to Seva, a Hindi term that means service, nonetheless.

“My grandfather spent his life helping people who were experiencing religious persecution,” says Sachdev. “He was always one of my biggest inspirations.”

In high school, Sachdev worked with Be The Match, an organization that registers volunteers for a global blood and bone marrow registry. In college, she volunteered with the Interfaith Youth Core, which aims to unite people of all faiths. When she landed at Boston Scientific in 2017, she worried the start of her professional career would mean the end of her community engagement. But Sachdev was pleasantly surprised by the company’s commitment to supporting employees’ volunteer work, and soon became the captain of the Young Professionals Network at Boston Scientific.

Two years ago, one of her mentors revealed that both of his parents had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Sachdev knew she had to do something to help. So for the last two years, she has been working with the Alzheimer’s Association in Valencia, California, engaging more than 500 employees and helping to establish Boston Scientific as a local community leader and socially conscious employer.

“My personal passion aligns so well with Boston Scientific’s core value of caring,” she says. “There’s this mutual understanding that our actions—no matter how small—have the power to transform lives.”

Creating community at home and abroad

Precious Morton comes from a long line of givers: Her great grandmother, grandmother and mother all fostered children in their homes. “I learned that to make someone else feel seen and valued is the most rewarding thing,” she says.

When she moved to Yok’Neam, Israel, in 2021, as part of her current role as senior quality manager, she sought out volunteer opportunities immediately. Within weeks, Morton had identified Alef, an organization that helps African refugees and asylum seekers, and got to work initiating activities there, first participating herself, then bringing in her new Boston Scientific colleagues.

Together, they cleaned, painted and renovated Alef’s local community center and sponsored fundraising efforts for the organization. “Nothing binds you with your co-workers like building Ikea furniture together,” she says with a chuckle.

When Morton learned she’d received one of this year’s Global Volunteer Awards, she brushed the honor off at first. “Volunteering is something I do behind the scenes—my recognition comes from helping others,” she says. Yet when the congratulatory emails began rolling in from co-workers who’d nominated her, she flashed back to the many soul-filling moments she’s had working with Alef—and to her mom, who inspired this work in the first place.

“Investing in my local community is a personal value of mine, even while abroad,” says Morton. “It was important to me to make sure the Yok’Neam teams experienced the Boston Scientific core values of caring and global collaboration. Though unexpected, this award means everything for being recognized for something already rewarding.”

Protecting the beaches of her youth

Quality engineer Daniela Jinesta Rojas first connected with nature as a little girl, when she’d visit her grandfather in Los Nubes in Coronado, close to the Braulio Carrillo rain forest. As she got older, she grew to love hiking and scuba diving.

Yet spending so much time in the great outdoors came with one major downside: Jinesta noticed garbage in the most beautiful places, which prompted her to become an ardent advocate for the environment.

These days, Jinesta spends more than 200 hours a year helping to conserve corals and clean local beaches and rivers. She also creates opportunities for other Boston Scientific employees at the Heredia, Costa Rica, site to do their part to protect the environment, too.

“When you work with your colleagues to fill three massive trucks with garbage you’ve picked up on a local beach, it’s proof that if each one of us makes a small contribution, we can make a big impact,” she says.

A few years ago, Jinesta read about the Japanese word ikigai, which translates to a sense of purpose. She says it helped crystallize why gives back in the ways she does.

“We cannot just take and not give anything back—we’ll be out of resources,” she says. “Sometimes it might seem like you’re not doing enough. But it’s all the little efforts put together—and all the people you engage and ideas you set into motion—that make the difference.”

Learn more about how Boston Scientific empowers its employees to feel valued, and create value, every day.

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The hypermarket operator cut about 235,000 tonnes of carbon emissions in its fiscal 2023Sun Art Retail “most advanced enterprise” in China’s food and daily necessities retailing industry for sustainability: S&P Global

Chinese hypermarket operator Sun Art Retail aims to hit carbon neutrality by 2030, according to the group’s ESG report for its fiscal year 2023.

The company achieved a carbon reduction of more than 235,000 tonnes between April 1, 2022, and March 31, 2023, as it rolled out energy-conserving best practices and reduced waste throughout its supply chain.

Sun Art, the operator of over 500 digitally-enhanced grocery stores, saved another 50,000 tonnes by buying around 84 million kilowatt hours of green power and nuclear power.

“Sun Art Retail is devoted to becoming a green benchmarking enterprise in the retail industry,” CEO Lin Xiaohai said in a foreword for the 2022/2023 Environmental, Social and Governance Report published last month.

The company, in which Alibaba Group acquired a controlling stake in 2020, is working to become carbon neutral across its operations, as well as the gasoline and diesel consumption of its logistics fleet, by 2030.

As a country, China is working to slash pollution, and the government has rolled out legislation as it looks to reach peak emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060.

For its part, Alibaba has pledged to reach carbon neutrality by 2030 as well and is on track to cut 1.5 gigatons of carbon emissions throughout its ecosystem by 2035.

Food plays a big role in sustainable development for many Chinese consumers, 97% of whom said they believed environmental concerns are important to consider when buying grocery products in a survey by research group Daxue Consulting last year.

Sun Art was named the most advanced food and daily necessities retailing company in China in terms of sustainability initiatives by global rating agency S&P Global.

“In the past fiscal year, Sun Art Retail continued to practice the concept of sustainable development and steadily improved the level of corporate performance from the three aspects of environment, society and governance,” Sun Art’s CEO said in a statement following the publication of the ESG report.

The company operates 486 hypermarkets, 12 larger RT-Super stores and 84 community-level RT-Mini locations across 212 cities in China as of March 31, 2023.

Waste Not, Want Not

Sun Art is working to reduce waste by optimizing garbage sorting, better regulating water use and cutting kitchen waste.

Globally, agrifood systems – from rearing livestock to land clearing to food manufacturing – account for a third of greenhouse gas emissions, according to a 2021 report by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. And unfortunately, roughly the same proportion of food winds up in the garbage bin every year, per FAO estimates.

During the 2023 fiscal year, the number of Sun Art stores sorting waste grew to 156 in 35 cities. All its cardboard boxes are recycled, according to the report.

In order to save water, Sun Art has also installed wastewater storage and wastewater circulation systems to purify and reuse as clean water. And for the first time, Sun Art has set a target of reducing 3% of kitchen waste from its stores in its 2024 fiscal year.

Powering Change

Sun Art stores are being powered with more energy from sustainable sources like the sun, cutting back the company’s reliance on fossil fuels.

By the end of March, induction lamps had been installed in the stairwells of 70% of Sun Art Retail stores. This will cut electricity consumption by approximately 2 million kWh throughout the upcoming fiscal year, according to the company.

Sun Art stores ‘ consumption of renewable energy from solar power increased 17.6% year-on-year during the 2023 fiscal year, according to the ESG report, from just over 11,000 mWh to over 13,000 mWh.

During the reporting period, 22 stores also installed solar panels on their roofs. Altogether, these will be capable of generating more than 13,000 mWh each year.

“We have laid a solid foundation for enhancing our climate resilience by further identifying the risks and opportunities of climate change, proposing countermeasures, and performing impact assessments,” said Sun Art CEO Lin in the report.

Please refer to https://www.alizila.com/esg/ for additional information about Alibaba’s sustainability efforts.

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What are planetary boundaries? Simply put, they are thresholds that, if crossed, can lead to irreversible and potentially catastrophic changes in the functioning of ecosystems and the global environment. And according to the Stockholm Resilience Centre, we’re at risk of permanently crossing that invisible line in several areas. Sounds scary, right?

But here’s the good news: if we make efforts to adhere to these boundaries, we can maintain the stability and resilience of our planet’s life-support systems. And believe it or not, the private sector can play a crucial role in changing our relationship with nature by shifting to a business model that ensures sustainable development within the planetary boundaries of biosphere integrity.

So what does that mean for your company, and how can you be a part of the solution?

Science-based targets for nature

The Science-Based Targets Network (SBTN) is a ground-breaking effort that plays a crucial role in operationalizing these planetary boundaries at the corporate level, helping businesses to align their activities with the biophysical limits of ecosystems. It allows companies to work together to incorporate concepts of thresholds and boundaries into corporate decision-making, which is essential for the long-term sustainability of both your businesses and the planet.

It also offers cities and businesses a comprehensive and practical framework for aligning nature protection with the greatest available scientific data: the science-based targets for nature. Covering four fundamental realms of nature – freshwater, land, biodiversity and oceans – the framework helps businesses to create quantitative, measurable, and aspirational goals to ensure that corporate activities are sustainable and sync with promoting healthy ecosystems.

Biodiversity action in five steps

The framework consists of five steps that businesses can take to achieve effective biodiversity stewardship. Though still under development, many organisations are keenly aware of the framework and are already working with the existing guidance of steps 1-3 while taking actions in anticipation of guidance on steps 4-5.

Assess. To begin, you gather and/or supplement existing data to estimate your value chain-wide impacts and dependencies on nature, resulting in a list of potential ‘issue areas’ and value chain locations for target setting.Interpret & Prioritize. You then interpret the outputs of Step 1, prioritizing key issues and locations to take action. You will consider actions across different ‘spheres of infuence’-from your operations, to the landscapes surrounding your value chain(s).Measure, Set & Disclose. You then collect baseline data for prioritized targets and locations. Using the data from this and previous steps, you can set targets aligned with Earth’s limits and societal sustainability goals and then disclose these publicly.Act. Once targets are set, you utilize SBTN’s Action Framework (AR 3 T: Avoid, Reduce, Regenerate, Restore, and Transform) to make a plan and begin to address your contributions toward the unsustainable use and loss of naturekey impacts.Track. Finally, you monitor progress toward your targets, and report publicly on this progress, and adapt your approach as necessary.

The first step supports companies in identifying and assessing the most common pressures on nature derived in its own sector and across its value chain. In other words, it looks at the impacts and dependencies of the company in relationship with nature.

In the second step, companies identify the areas they can influence and develop an understanding of locations where biodiversity may be at higher risk and where setting their own targets can be more feasible. The feasibility is determined by several variables, such as strategic interest, or a company’s relationship with local providers and other stakeholders (e.g. local communities, indigenous people and local authorities).

For the third step, targets are quantified and set. The SBTN puts a strong emphasis on the protection of priority landscapes, like areas of great biodiversity importance or high ecological value. The landscape approach also figures prominently and provides for a collaborative process that integrates policies and practices for multiple lands uses in a given area.

The fourth step is all about action and implementing projects that will generate a positive impact on the ground for local biodiversity.

Finally, the fifth step involves setting up the right processes for monitoring, reporting, and verification so that companies can be sure that projects are kept on track and aligned with targets and reported and verified according to trusted standards.

The Global Biodiversity Framework sets a new standard

At the close of the United Nations Biodiversity Conference in 2022, one hundred and ninety six nations accepted and adopted the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), setting a clear agenda for real biodiversity action.This has highlighted the need to report, disclose, and act on nature-related issues more than ever before. And for businesses, it means that companies wanting to protect the planet’s natural resources – and their long-term viability – need to get on board too.

The GBF provides a comprehensive road map for governments, businesses and other stakeholders to collaborate towards a world where people and nature flourish in harmony. By aligning their strategies with the GBF, businesses can ensure that their actions contribute to achieving global conservation objectives while also demonstrating to investors, consumers and other stakeholders that the company is committed to addressing the biodiversity crisis and promoting sustainable development.

Yet more than just hoping that companies realise the benefits of aligning with nature, the GBF will require transnational companies and financial institutions in signatory countries to assess and disclose their environmental risks, impacts, and reliance throughout their operations, supply chains, and portfolios through target 15. Companies that actively pursue this objective will not only help to ensure a sustainable future for all, but will also create positive value for their businesses by reducing risks, enhancing their reputation and creating new market opportunities.

Bringing it all together

Target 15 of the GBF is intrinsically linked with the science-based targets for nature. Both share the ultimate aim of understanding and assessing in order to conserve and restore ecosystems while ensuring the long-term sustainability of businesses and communities. By adopting the science-based targets for nature, companies can already align their corporate strategies with the objectives of target 15.

By aligning their goals with target 15, companies also send a powerful message to investors, consumers, and other stakeholders that they are committed to addressing the biodiversity crisis and promoting sustainable development. Making this commitment plays a strong role in fostering collaboration among stakeholders and helps them to begin to work together towards achieving the goals of the GBF and driving real, lasting change for both businesses and nature.

Other frameworks to support biodiversity

It is worth noting that the science-based targets for nature framework is not a standalone solution to address the biodiversity crisis. In fact, it is designed to complement and reinforce other sustainability frameworks, initiatives, and reporting standards. Other aligned frameworks include the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD),CDP the Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS) or the Natural Capital Protocol.

How to become a leader in driving biodiversity action

While the science-based targets for nature framework is still under review, many companies around the world are and are already driving real biodiversity action and setting an example for others to follow. These pioneering companies have demonstrated their commitment to sustainability and biodiversity conservation by proactively incorporating the emerging framework into their business strategies and decision-making processes.

Early adopters are not only gaining a competitive advantage becoming global biodiversity frontrunners, but also shaping the future development and refinement of the framework. They provide valuable feedback and insights that contribute to the ongoing review process by the SBTN and are taking an active role in ensuring that the final framework is robust, practical and effective in driving real change. These companies are also instrumental in promoting the uptake of SBTN by other businesses, thus fostering a collaborative, industry-wide approach to addressing the biodiversity crisis.

Start taking action today

The science-based targets for nature enable companies to detect and reduce their environmental impacts while ensuring their long-term growth and prosperity. In a time when consumers and stakeholders are more concerned about environmental issues than ever, companies that prioritise sustainability and biodiversity conservation will stand out on the market and acquire a competitive advantage. On top of that, acting now on biodiversity provides companies with the power to lead by example and demonstrate their commitment to a sustainable future while protecting the viability of their business and inspiring others to follow suit.