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Business & Biodiversity Council

Mission
A community of business leaders committed to taking positive environmental actions in their businesses that contribute to the conservation of biodiversity.

Opportunity
There is a growing recognition within the private sector of the importance of biodiversity and its relevance to business. Enlightened corporate leaders are driving change within their industries and embracing the principles of sustainability. Yet, few opportunities exist for interaction with like-minded leaders from different sectors of the business community.

Convened by Conservation International (CI), the Business & Biodiversity Council is an action-oriented forum for corporate leaders to work with each other in finding ways to institute pro-environmental practices.

  • Member-centric: Council members drive the meetings so that they will address pressing member issues and develop innovative and executable solutions.

  • Solving Real Problems: Discussions are targeted at answering those questions facing companies on a regular basis including integrating biodiversity into the supply chain, low impact extraction techniques and engaging consumers on distinguishing environmentally friendly brands.

  • Diversity of Perspectives: From CEO’s to senior vice-presidents and environmental managers, high-level representatives from across the industry spectrum attend and weigh in with a variety of experiences and perspectives.

    Benefits to Council Members:

    Opportunities for Learning and Networking
    Many global companies recognize the importance of biodiversity to their businesses. However, they have few opportunities to learn about biodiversity and share approaches with like-minded companies both within and outside their industry. The Council provides a forum for leading companies to gain valuable insights from other Council members on real world solutions for integrating biodiversity consideration into company operations.

    Access to Business and Environment Expertise
    Scientific, policy, economic and business experts from a variety of organizations are called upon to provide their expertise on integrating environmental issues into business management systems. These unique perspectives help Council members to better understand how their companies can most effectively contribute to conservation efforts. Council members also receive all publications from CI and CI’s Center for Environmental Leadership in Business

    Visibility and Acknowledgment of Council Members’ Participation
    CI believes it is important to acknowledge the positive contributions of the private sector to biodiversity conservation as a way to encourage the replication of environmentally friendly practices across industry sectors. As Council members work with CI to achieve conservation outcomes, those successes will be profiled at CI special events and receive distinct acknowledgment in CI’s annual report, newsletter and website.

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  • © SC Johnson
    Council members at The SC Johnson Entomology Center.

    © CI
    Council members and CI staff touring McDonald's Facilities


    COUNCIL MEMBERS
    Bank of America
    Cargill
    Coca-Cola
    DuPont
    Ford Motor Company
    Gap Inc.
    General Mills, Inc
    General Growth Properties, Inc
    Hyatt
    Kraft Foods Inc.
    Limited Brands
    McDonald's
    Office Depot
    Royal Caribbean
    SC Johnson
    Shell Group
    Starbucks Coffee Company
    United Airlines
    United Technologies
    Wal-Mart
    The Walt Disney Company
    Weyerhaeuser Company
    WhiteWave Foods

    COUNCIL FACTSHEET
    Business and Biodiversity Council Factsheet (pdf, 674 kb)

    "The inaugural meeting of the Business & Biodiversity Council exceeded my expectations. We found it incredibly valuable to hear what other companies have learned and experienced in implementing practical solutions to environmental and biodiversity issues in their businesses."

    Fisk Johnson
    Chairman and CEO, SC Johnson


    COUNCIL CONTACT
    Maggie McIntosh
    Manager
    Conservation Investments


     Photo credits for banner image: (Zebras in Botswana) © CI, Chris Brooks