More than a year after COP15, private sector commitments on biodiversity remain insufficient. Yet the arguments are undeniable: according to the World Economic Forum, more than 50% of global GDP depends on nature, and the loss of biodiversity will represent the third biggest risk for businesses over the next ten years.
It is undeniable that the decline of biodiversity constitutes a major crisis. The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), the equivalent of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) for biodiversity, notes the decline of several services provided by nature, while the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) highlights that almost 70% of vertebrate wildlife populations are in decline.
Despite the interest shown by many organizations and institutions during the 15e Conference of the Parties (COP15), in Montreal, in December 2022, on momentum seems uncertain today, with commitments from the private sector still timid.
Few concrete actions
Companies are slow to assess their dependencies on nature and reduce their impacts, as well as those of their value chain, on biodiversity. In Quebec, the number of companies that have adopted the framework of the Working Group on Financial Information Related to Nature can be counted on the fingers of one hand. Even on a local scale, few companies assess the biodiversity present on the grounds of their facilities and implement greening and restoration initiatives.
Projects promoting the energy transition are still favored, often to the detriment of nature protection. We still treat these two subjects independently, even if these crises are inseparable. Acting for biodiversity also means acting for the mitigation of climate change and adaptation to it.
The financial sector is also struggling to recognize that biodiversity is a current and not a future issue, while immediate actions are necessary to reduce risks to investments, society and nature. Some research projects are underway, but the investments made remain few.
Limited support
Companies also have little support from the business community. Apart from a few isolated initiatives, events dedicated to the socio-ecological transition rarely address issues related to nature, while purely commercial events do not mention them at all.
In terms of innovation, efforts for biodiversity are long overdue. The majority of our management schools and business incubators talk a lot about climate-related innovations, but little about those related to nature protection.
Grants for innovation in this area are still non-existent, but there is still hope that Canada’s 2030 National Biodiversity Strategy and Quebec’s 2030 Nature Plan, which will be published later this year, contain concrete commitments at this level.
Act now
Protecting biodiversity is a challenge for today, not tomorrow. It is essential that each action implemented by companies in the climate transition aims simultaneously to maintain and restore biodiversity.
Some solutions are already known while others remain to be discovered, but what is certain is that it is crucial to collaborate now and pool our energies to accelerate actions in favor of nature.
Investing in the protection of biodiversity means investing in the resilience of our societies and our economy.
* Have co-signed this letter:
The following representatives of organizations: Alice Chipot, director, Regroupement pour la responsibly sociale des enterprises (RRSE); Alizée Girard, independent biologist consultant; André-Yanne Parent, Director General, Climate Reality Canada; Anne-Josée Laquerre, general director and co-initiator, Québec Net Positif; Benoît Waeckel, vice-president and co-founder, COOP Sens Climat; Charles Duchesne, president, COESIO; Christian Sénéchal, general director, Friends of the Mountain; Daphnée Lecours Tessier, general director, Éco-pivot; David Roy, Director General, Workshops for Biodiversity; David Viens, president, Capitale Nature; Gareth Gransaull, Executive Director, Re-generation; Jean-Pierre Dubé, eng., ASC, founding partner, Coboom; Katie Millette, executive secretary of GEO BON; Leïla Copti, COPTICOM, Strategies and public relations; Marie-Krystine Longpré, general director, Young Chamber of Commerce of Montreal; Marie-Philippe Perreault-Brière, advisor, ADDERE Consulting service; Marine Thomas, editor-in-chief, Deals ; Martin Vaillancourt, Director General, National Regroupment of Regional Environmental Councils of Quebec (RNCREQ); Mathieu Laneuville, President and CEO, Réseau Environnement; Pascal Bigras, general director, Nature-Action Québec (NAQ); Pascal Geneviève, president and co-founder, CCG; Patricia Clermont, organizer-coordinator, Quebec Association of Physicians for the Environment (AQME); Sabaa Khan, Executive Director (Quebec), David Suzuki Foundation; Sophie-Anne Legendre, director of communications, Transfer Environment and Society; Valérie Leblanc, strategic development director, Habitat.
The following professors, researchers and students: Alex Alexis, lecturer and doctoral student, University of Montreal; Angélique Dupuch, professor, University of Quebec in Outaouais; Anne-Sophie Caron, professor of biology, Vanier and Dawson colleges, Ecotoxicogenomics and endocrine disruption, National Institute of Scientific Research (INRS); Anthony Ricciardi, full professor of biology, McGill University; Antoine Caron-Guay, master’s student in biology, University of Montreal; Ariane Burke, full professor, Anthropology, University of Montreal; Ariane Peroni, master’s student, Concordia University; Audrey Lafrenaye, doctoral student, University of Sherbrooke; Aylish Marshall, master’s student, McGill University; Benjamin Mercier, research professional, University of Sherbrooke; Camille Lévesque, master’s student, University of Sherbrooke; Carly Ziter, professor of biology, Concordia University; Cécile Fonrouge, associate professor, UQTR; Claire-Cécile Juhasz, postdoctoral fellow, University of Sherbrooke; Clara Casabona Amat, doctoral student in biology, University of Sherbrooke; Daniel Normandin, director, Center for intersectoral studies and research in the circular economy; Dominique Berteaux, holder of the Canada Research Chair in exchanges between ecosystems, University of Quebec at Trois-Rivières; Egor Katkov, researcher, Cassiopea Inc. and McGill University; Émilie Desrosiers, doctoral student in administration, University of Sherbrooke; Emma Despland, professor-researcher, Concordia University; Emmanuel Raufflet, professor, HEC Montréal, Quebec Circular Economy Research Network; Emmanuelle Barreau, doctoral student, University of Quebec en Outaouais; Eric Harvey, holder of the Canada Research Chair in exchanges between ecosystems, University of Quebec at Trois-Rivières; Esther Lévesque, full professor, director of the Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Quebec at Trois-Rivières; Étienne Lacroix-Carignan, doctoral student in biology, University of Montreal; Étienne St-Jean, full professor, Canada Research Chair in Entrepreneurial Careers, University of Quebec at Trois-Rivières; François Labelle, full professor, Department of Management, SME Research Institute, UQTR; Guillaume Blanchet, assistant professor of biology, University of Sherbrooke; Guillaume Larocque, research professional, Center for Biodiversity Science of Quebec; Hugh Cronin, student at Concordia University; Joelle Boua, doctoral student, UQTR; Jordi Vilanova i Broto, doctoral student in biology, Concordia University; Katherine Hébert, postdoctoral fellow, McGill University; Laura Désilets, master’s student, University of Quebec en Outaouais; Laura Fequino, master’s student, University of Sherbrooke; Loriane Des Alliers, master’s student in environment, University of Montreal; Louis Moisan, doctoral student in biology, University of Quebec at Rimouski; Luc Audebrand, full professor, Laval University; Luis Rodrigo Arce Valdes, postdoctoral fellow, Concordia University; Malek Kalboussi, doctoral student, University of Montreal; Marc Journeault, professor, Laval University, Quebec Circular Economy Research Network; Marc-Olivier Beausoleil, doctoral student in biology, McGill University; Marianne Turcotte, master’s student, University of Quebec at Rimouski; Marie-Hélène Brice, researcher, Montreal Botanical Garden, University of Montreal; Mathias Glaus, professor, School of Higher Technology, Quebec Circular Economy Research Network; Mathieu Cusson, professor, University of Quebec at Chicoutimi; Matthias Pepin, associate professor, Laval University; Maxime Fortin Faubert, postdoctoral fellow, INRS ETE Center and David Suzuki Foundation; Mégane Déziel, doctoral student in biology, University of Quebec in Montreal; Mélanie Primeau, master’s student, University of Montreal; Mélissa Fortin, professor, ESG University of Quebec in Montreal; Michelle Gros, research assistant and laboratory director, McGill University; Monique Poulin, full professor of plant science, Laval University; Olivia St-Laurent, master’s student, McGill University; Paul Savary, postdoctoral fellow, Concordia University; Pierre Legendre, full professor of quantitative ecology, University of Montreal, member of the Royal Society of Canada and corresponding member of the Academia Mexicana de Ciencias; Pierre-Alexandre Cardinal, doctoral candidate, School of Management Sciences, University of Quebec in Montreal; Sarah Piché-Choquette, postdoctoral researcher, University of Quebec in Montreal; Simon Beaudoin, lecturer and research assistant, University of Sherbrooke; Sophie Beaudet, student at Concordia University; Stéphanie H. Leclerc, doctoral student, McGill University; Stéphanie Pellerin, associate professor, Biological Sciences, University of Montreal; Valérie Langlois, full professor and holder of the Canada Research Chair in Northern Biodiversity, Université du Québec à Rimouski; Vanessa Poirier, doctoral student, University of Quebec in Montreal; Varina Crisfield, doctoral student in biology, University of Sherbrooke; Vincent Maire, professor, UQTR; Vincent Poirier, associate professor and scientific director, Agricultural Research and Development Unit, University of Quebec in Abitibi-Témiscamingue; Yves Plourde, associate professor, HEC Montréal.