Preserving biodiversity: a shared responsibility for all organisations

On 22 May 2025, the International Day for Biological Diversity draws attention to a topic too often left in the shadows. Like climate change, biodiversity must be central to any organisation’s sustainable strategy.

Unprecedented decline

Since 1970, populations of wild vertebrates have dropped by 73%, according to the WWF’s Living Planet Report 2024. The IPBES – the biodiversity counterpart to the IPCC – points to five key drivers behind the current loss:

• land-use change
• direct exploitation of resources
• climate change
• pollution
• invasive alien species

Each of these is rooted in the way we produce and consume goods.

Yet biodiversity underpins countless functions we depend on: climate regulation, clean air and water, soil fertility, pollination, disease control. It supports both our societies and our economies — and with them, our capacity to adapt to change.

In 2022, governments adopted the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework to respond to this crisis. Its goals for 2030 and 2050 include restoring 20% of degraded ecosystems and halving the spread of invasive alien species by the end of the decade.

The role and responsibility of organisations

Organisations are not bystanders to this loss. They rely directly on healthy ecosystems — for raw materials, natural risk protection, and biological regulation. At the same time, their activities contribute to pressure on nature: land take, pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, habitat fragmentation.

Understanding these interconnections is a prerequisite for action — but also for anticipating regulatory changes, operational risks, and stakeholder expectations. It enables organisations to take meaningful steps to build resilience, strengthen their operations, and respond to the consequences of biodiversity loss.

This year’s theme — “Be part of the Plan” — highlights how nature and sustainable development are fundamentally connected. With five years left to 2030, we’re well past the time for awareness. What matters now is action.

Embedding biodiversity in business strategy

Taking action begins with building knowledge. Training teams means giving everyone the keys to understand how their organisation depends on — and affects — the natural world.

The next step is to bring these considerations into strategic decisions, starting from the design of products and services. Life cycle assessment (LCA) provides a solid foundation for identifying environmental impacts across the value chain. It helps guide decisions that reduce pressure on ecosystems in a measurable way.

But while LCA is a valuable entry point to assessing environmental footprints, it does not cover all aspects of biodiversity. For instance, it does not take into account the impact of invasive alien species, the direct extraction of natural resources, or location-specific ecological dynamics. This is why additional tools are needed. Carrying out a biodiversity footprint assessment allows for a more detailed picture. It can be further supported by mapping how the organisation depends on biodiversity.

Once a strategy is in place, it can be backed up by clear, consistent communication. That means using reliable indicators and being transparent about outcomes.

These pillars form part of an organisation’s wider CSR strategy, with biodiversity measures that are targeted, practical and achievable. The approach should be tailored to the organisation’s sector, areas of influence and strategic ambitions.

Protecting biodiversity also means protecting human health, supply chains, and business continuity. Every organisation has the means to act — thoughtfully, concretely, and at its own scale.

Mathilde Verrier, LCA and Biodiversity Consultant