Day 2 Plenary speaker panel at SER2023 (Left to right: Henri Douche, Julia Oliva, George Gann, Frank Mars, and Hanieh Moghan)
Day 2 Plenary speaker panel at SER2023 (Left to right: Henri Douche, Julia Oliva, George Gann, Frank Mars, and Hanieh Moghan)
Increasing demand from corporations for impact-driven approaches represents growing opportunity for restoration investments and initiatives
DARWIN, NT, AUSTRALIA, September 28, 2023 /EINPresswire.com/ -- On the second day of SER2023, the 10th World Conference on Ecological Restoration, business leaders and policy experts discussed the essential role of restoration to support long-term viability for corporate operations and supply chains. Panelists emphasized that ecological restoration goes beyond meeting Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) metrics or achieving Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) targets. It is an investment in the resilience of value-chains and in the future of organizations.Food systems, raw materials and global supply chains are under increasing pressure from climate change and land degradation. Effective, science-based restoration standards are vital tools for companies across sectors to manage their risks and ensure availability of the essential natural resources they depend on long into the future. Standards-based restoration will also help meet the increasingly stringent environmental performance targets that customers, suppliers, regulators, and investors are demanding.
SER business member, Mars, Incorporated, has been a leader in developing coral reef restoration solutions and is exploring other ecosystems as part of the company’s overall supply chain.
“An increasing number of companies have pledged to achieve Net Zero emissions by 2050, which will involve striving to reduce, inset, or offset their Scope 3 emissions. These targets will not be realized without integrating ecosystem restoration knowledge and practice (i.e. nature-based solutions such as regenerative agriculture) into their sustainable supply chain operations,” said Frank Mars, a fourth-generation member of the Mars family, a member of the Mars, Incorporated Board of Directors and a Member of the Advisory Board for the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. “The science is clear, and time is not on our side. Which is why Mars just committed to a 50% reduction in our carbon footprint over the next seven years (by 2030). The collective scientific expertise and traditional knowledge held by the 5,000 members of SER will increasingly be of great importance to Mars, and others, as more and more companies actively learn about and how to practice ecosystem restoration.”
The Union for Ethical Biotrade (UEBT), a partner of SER, promotes the ethical sourcing of ingredients from biodiversity to drive positive outcomes for people and nature.
“When we talk about ecosystem restoration, we are not just talking about preserving our natural world. We also need to consider the underlying social dynamics. And without biodiversity, businesses simply cannot operate. Many of the strategic ingredients used in pharmaceuticals, personal care and household products, and of course food and beverages, come from biodiversity,” said Julia Oliva, Director of Policy and Sector Transformation at UEBT. “Standards have an essential role to play. They provide science-based legitimacy, ensure inclusivity by incorporating multi-stakeholder perspectives, help measure impact, and provide opportunity for communication and market differentiation.”
As one of the world’s largest reinsurers, SCOR works with its clients to offer a holistic view of the risks faced by organizations, including those due to climate change and biodiversity loss.
“Land degradation and ecosystem loss has wide-ranging social and economic as well as environmental impacts,” said Henri Douche, Head of Product and Innovation at SCOR. “As a reinsurer, we understand these risks implicitly. This is why we are such a strong advocate for ecological restoration. We believe it is essential for organizations who want to deliver on their environmental goals and mitigate risks across their operations.”
“Because of the long timescales for many projects, it is essential for businesses and investors to recognise the diverse contributions of ecological restoration including biodiversity conservation, carbon sequestration, and the delivery of other vital ecosystem services.” said panel moderator George Gann, International Policy Lead for SER. “Future-focused businesses understand that restoration standards are an essential benchmarking tool for organizations to measure progress and balance interests during the entirety of the restoration process.”
Hanieh Moghani, member of the Advisory Board for the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, and an advocate for Indigenous rights, said: “If we are asking businesses to move from business-as-usual to a more practically sustainable and restorative model, we have to also ask them to evolve their engagement with Indigenous peoples and local communities. As industry transforms its behavior to the earth, so too must it transform its behavior to the first peoples of the earth.”
Principles 7 and 8 of SER’s International Principles and Standards for the Practice of Ecological Restoration illustrate the cumulative value of restoration at scale and reinforce the importance of recognising the restoration journey as part of a continuum. The Standards help funders, regulators, project planners, and implementers reduce uncertainty and improve outcomes from restoration.
The panel discussion made clear that business as usual is insufficient and ineffective to meet the urgent social and ecological challenges of our time, and that it’s time for business to take more holistic and proactive steps to incorporate ecological restoration and other nature positive approaches into their daily business practices in all aspects of their work.
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About the Society for Ecological Restoration
The Society for Ecological Restoration (SER) advances the science, practice and policy of ecological restoration to sustain biodiversity, improve resilience in a changing climate, and re-establish an ecologically healthy relationship between nature and culture. An international non-profit organization with over 5,000 members in more than 110 countries, we actively promote participatory, knowledge-based approaches to restoration. Learn more about our work at www.ser.org.
About the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration
The UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021-2030, led by the United Nations Environment Programme, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and its partners, covers terrestrial as well as coastal and marine ecosystems. As a global call to action, it will draw together political support, scientific research and financial muscle to massively scale up restoration. Find out how you can contribute to the UN Decade. Follow #GenerationRestoration.
For more information please contact:
Media Contact - Society for Ecological Restoration
Florencia Panizza
florencia@claro-comm.com
P: +41 (0)79 633 6184
Media Contact - UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration
Moses Osani
Public Information Officer,
UN Environment Programme
SER2023 Conference Contact:
Bethanie Walder
Society for Ecological Restoration
bethanie@ser.org
P: +1 406 543 5926
Florencia Panizza
Claro Communications Consulting
florencia@claro-comm.com
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