Working together
Working with nature to promote biodiversity will protect our natural resources and supply chains. Without nature we have no business.
We are bound by and ultimately dependent on the natural world around us.
- David Attenborough, Life on our planet
Nature is everybody’s business.
Nature is vital to the health and wellbeing of our society and the economy. We have a shared responsibility to care for our planet and the nature that surrounds us.
Business can’t exist without nature. It’s that simple. So looking after nature makes good business sense.
Across the globe and in the UK, organisations are stepping up to protect and restore our natural world. They’re embracing a sense of moral and civic responsibility to make change happen. The campaign for carbon neutrality has been in the headlines, but now the movement to protect and replenish nature has to take centre stage.
Getting Nature Positive
There has never been a better time to join the Get Nature Positive journey.
A time to put nature and biodiversity at the heart of decision-making and design.
A time to go beyond reducing and mitigating negative impacts on nature, and move towards a proactive and restorative approach.
The Get Nature Positive movement and supporting handbook have been created to help businesses prepare for and navigate the pioneering and global effort to change the curve of nature and biodiversity loss, and to aid companies in preparing to commit to specific goals and metrics, such as the upcoming Science-based Targets for Nature. By joining the Get Nature Positive journey you will have access to the latest news, content updates, partners, and exclusive events to support your progress.
Learn more about nature positivity
We hope this handbook provides inspiration and support to get you started on your Get Nature Positive journey.
This journey includes some key steps:
- Understanding impact – both direct and indirect.
- Identifying opportunities to reduce any harm to nature.
- Seeking opportunities to protect, restore and regenerate nature.
- Engaging people – for example colleagues and consumers – on nature smart behaviours and approaches.
Start here. Start now.
The first step for businesses is to understand the impact they have on nature and biodiversity.
This handbook is anchored in the five key threats to biodiversity as outlined by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). This provides a framework for understanding the impact of different industries on nature, and how businesses can respond to those threats or challenges.
Open all Close all
1. Pollution
Pollution can affect a species by making the environment uninhabitable. It can also affect food availability or reproduction, reducing numbers over time.
2. Over-exploitation
Unsustainable harvesting, hunting, poaching, killing, or disturbance of non-target species unintentionally —for example, bycatch in fisheries.
3. Change in land use
Modifying the environment where a species lives by complete removal, fragmentation or reduction in the quality of a key land or sea habitat.
4. Invasive non-native species and disease
Invasive non-native species can compete with native species for space, food and other resources; turn out to be a predator for native species; or spread disease.
5. Climate change
Climate change affects biodiversity in many ways. As the climate changes, many species will need to adapt – by shifting their range to track a suitable climate, for example. Yet not all will be able to.
Take action
To create a nature positive world, businesses must go beyond reducing their negative impact on nature, by taking specific action to restore and replenish the environment.
Nature is adapting as our climate changes. Protecting nature will help it do this well enough so we will have a chance to adapt too.
We know we don’t have all the answers, but we know there is no time to waste. Through our research, we have gathered inspiration and ideas from businesses to help you on your journey.
Actions for nature
Be inspired by others
Companies around the UK and globally are already taking a nature positive approach.
Learn from their approaches, and get inspiration from case studies from other geographies.
Read their stories
The path forward
Businesses can take a variety of positive actions, from quick wins to longer-term efforts. Many of these actions require collaboration – with other businesses, across industries, and with the government.
Examples of different types of action are showcased here, across six chapters – Water, Tourism, Fashion, Finance, Food Retail and Buildings & Infrastructure. These will evolve over time. And we plan to add another three chapters soon as more business sectors join us on the Get Nature Positive journey.
This is not intended to be a comprehensive checklist, rather an inspiration for further positive action. Effective action begins with an understanding of the challenges facing nature.
Untitled Section
Carousel sources
[3] https://www.worldwildlife.org/publications/living-planet-report-2020
