Now, let’s get our calculator out. How can you MEASURE your dependencies and impacts on biodiversity? Does anyone have any ideas?
"I know! We’ll do a ‘Biodiversity footprint assessment', just like we have a 'carbon footprint assessment' for climate change? So, yes, but not quite.
. . Let me explain.
To simplify things: for the climate, one molecule of carbon dioxide is equivalent to another. For biodiversity, we can’t say a squirrel equals a spider, and even less an ecosystem such as a forest. And even if you compare two squirrels.
. . A red squirrel is different from a grey squirrel!
And two red squirrels are also genetically different. . .
That’s right, biodiversity doesn't fit neatly into an Excel spreadsheet! Besides, there is currently NO universal tool for measuring its impact. But that doesn't mean you can't make progress on the issue, quite the contrary!
Come on, shall we get started? To begin with, the most important thing to remember is that your diagnostic must include all the interrelationships: your company's dependencies on biodiversity. .
. AND the impacts it has on it. Do you remember the impacts?
We saw that with the 5 major direct drivers. Of course, this diagnostic must relate to your company's direct activity. But also, upstream - your suppliers’ activities - and downstream - the use of your products and services.
. . and their end-of-life.
Let's take an example: a company that manufactures and sells photocopiers. On the face of it, not much is linked to biodiversity. And yet, its suppliers produce components like electronic chips.
And that requires water, where the quality and supply depend on ecosystem health. So, it is a DEPENDENCY on biodiversity. Metals also have to be extracted, which has IMPACTS: it disturbs natural environments and leads to pollution.
Downstream, we need paper to use the photocopiers, which comes from. . .
trees. So, that’s a dependency too. But this paper can also have IMPACTS, depending on how the trees are harvested.
For example, pollution or changes in land use. This diagnostic needs to be done for ALL stages, by combing through your company's various activities. This will enable you to identify those that are most at risk, in other words, those with the most impacts and dependencies.
And that's how you can PRIORITISE the actions you need to take. There are many tools available to measure your relationship more precisely with biodiversity. The ENCORE tool, for example, lets you choose your sector of activity, then identify the related dependencies and impacts.
Other tools can be used to assess biodiversity-related risks depending on the REGION where you operate. This is the case for the WWF's Biodiversity Risk Filter. Both tools are free and available online.
Others measure the impact of your PRODUCT, or SITE. . .
In short, you're sure to find one that fits your needs and resources. Now, let's speak to a professional who has already done this diagnostic work. Hello, Daniele Bufano!
Hello, I'm very happy to be here. You run Schneider Electric's biodiversity strategy. Tell us how your group has decided to measure its impact.
It was back in 2019 where we started to discuss about our environmental strategy and realized that we were fairly articulated and strong on climate change. But we have definitely a gap when it comes to nature and biodiversity. And it was the year when there was a new tool which was introduced, which is called the global biodiversity score, the GBS, which is a tool to measure biodiversity all along the supply chain.
And we come from a climate background. So we understand carbon footprint and we know how to use it. So it's based on science and it help us identify the levers of action.
And the GBS, so the global Biodiversity score was offering something very similar. So it was very appealing for us to start our journey in biodiversity. How does this impact measurement tool work?
It's fairly simple. We start from activity data, whether it's euro or real tonne of what we buy copper, plastic, timber and we transform that into pression on biodiversity from action to pressure to impact. And this is the final picture that we get.
Is this tool limited in what it can measure? For instance, we have a lower understanding on of pollution and the impact that we have on invasive species. We need to really understand and have that granularity of data that for now in the kind of supply chain that we have, it's very complex to get.
OK. And what did your impact assessment reveal about the existing situation? When we look at the results of our biodiversity footprint assessment, we realized that less than 1% of our impact were related to our operational scope.
That’s impressive! This means that 99% of your impacts come from the rest of your value chain. .
. So, what causes them? We needed to look outside our operation to have a real impact on biodiversity.
About 98% of it is due to climate change. So we understand that that is a very important piece for our operation and 30% is due to land use and that is due mainly to the procurement of raw material. And what can be done about this last point?
We launch a program to have by 2025, 50% of material which have a lower environmental impact. For instance, if we buy recycled material, it's the recycled copper. We would avoid the extraction of new copper, therefore reducing the impact on land use and of course on climate change because the extraction is requires a lot of energy.
Very clear. Thank you very much, Daniele! Thank you very much.
Goodbye. That's it! Whatever your level of maturity about biodiversity, you have what you need to act.
Great, I'll be telling my colleagues about it tomorrow! To give them an idea of the urgency, can you pass them a message? Yes.
Tell them that a living species disappears every 20 minutes. By the end of this biodiversity course, two species will have disappeared from the Earth. .
. Wow! That's a good reason to get moving!
