Nature or biodiversity is relevant to all businesses, irrespective of their sector or size. Sometimes there’s a really obvious link to biodiversity – for example a housing developer will need to achieve 10% Biodiversity Net Gain on a new development and will need to restore or create habitats to more than make up for what will be lost. Some businesses will need to delve a bit deeper into their supply chain. A fashion retailer would look at where their garments are manufactured to find the impacts the manufacturing process is having on biodiversity. For example, the production of raw materials is likely to be where the biggest impacts on biodiversity lie (e.g., from intensive farming of cotton or sheep grazing).
We're supporting businesses across Oxfordshire to get Nature Positive when making decisions about what to buy, how to manage land, or how to reduce, reuse and recycle. By choosing the best options for nature we can, collectively, make a huge, positive contribution and grow Oxfordshire’s Nature Recovery Network.
A tool to help businesses begin to identify where their biggest biodiversity risks lie.
For example, do you have operational, management or corporate citizenship drivers? An example of an operational driver is that you have a direct footprint impact on biodiversity through your operations and want to address this. A management driver could be that you want to engage your staff in corporate volunteering days to help create healthy and resilient workplace culture. A corporate citizenship driver could be that you want to invest in local nature-based solution projects that create positive outcomes for nature and the climate in Oxfordshire.
Find who can take the lead on being responsible for biodiversity in your business and make sure they have the capacity and seniority to make an impact.
Familiarise yourself with the frameworks and standards out there to help guide your business on its Nature Positive journey (see our handy resources to help).
Start with some quick wins! e.g. corporate workdays, helping nature thrive on your business premises, or partnering with a local nature charity.
Begin to understand the full scale of your biodiversity impacts, and the scale of your Nature Positive ambition, to plan action on the ground.
Talk to your suppliers and find out what they are doing for biodiversity.
The pledge is for UK businesses of all sizes and sectors who want to reduce their negative impacts on nature and make nature positive decisions.