IUCN and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) announced a new five-year partnership in December 2015 that will help businesses address global challenges, such as climate change and ecosystem degradation, by valuing nature.
At the WBCSD Council Meeting taking place from 7-10 December 2015 in Paris, the two organisations signed an agreement that aims to deliver joint solutions for conservation and business by scaling up resilience to climate risks through the delivery of nature-based solutions, promoting a net-positive gain for biodiversity, and creating more systematic measurements, valuation and reporting.
This new agreement significantly contributes to the implementation of the WBCSD-led Action 2020 agenda and IUCN’s Global Programme, supporting the SDGs, as well as the achievement of Aichi Targets defined in the Convention on Biological Diversity. It came ten years after the two organisations signed their first Memorandum of Understanding together and two years after WBCSD became the first global non-profit business member of IUCN. The collaboration has resulted in a series of outcomes including a stronger presence and voice of business at multilateral environmental negotiations.
Both IUCN and WBCSD, under the auspices of the Natural Capital Coalition, led consortiums to develop the Natural Capital Protocol, a comprehensive guide to measuring and valuing natural capital in business decision-making which was launched in July 2016. They are also working together on the Cement Sustainability Initiative.
What has been achieved in previous IUCN-WBCSD engagements?
The IUCN-WBCSD collaboration has resulted in a series of outcomes including a stronger presence and voice of business at multilateral environmental negotiations, such as the Convention on Biological Diversity, joint work on ecosystem valuation, and a joint stream of work on water at the World Water Forum, including the joint publication on Water for business.
IUCN and WBCSD were also co-leaders of The Forest Dialogue (TFD) in 2009 and 2010 and shaped the dialogue’s agenda in topics like Forestry & Inclusive Business and REDD Finance & Readiness.
IUCN has also supported the development of WBCSD's Business and Ecosystem Training programme and they have worked together on many other publications. WBCSD will be a key partner at IUCN's World Conservation Congress to be held in Hawai'i in September 2016.
Why WBCSD?
The World Business Council for Sustainable Development is a unique, CEO-led, global association of some 200 companies dealing exclusively with business and sustainable development. The Council provides a platform for companies to explore sustainable development, share knowledge, experiences and best practices, and to advocate business positions on these issues in a variety of forums, working with governments and non-governmental and intergovernmental organizations. Given WBCSD’s unique make up, IUCN’s collaboration with WBCSD is an important vehicle for implementing the IUCN Business Engagement Strategy.
