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Unilever – Helping to protect lives and livelihoods from the Covid-19 pandemic

Unilever contributes more than €100m to continue helping people affected around the world

London/Rotterdam. Unilever, the consumer goods manufacturer of brands including Dove, Knorr, Omo and Lifebuoy, today announced a wide-ranging set of measures to support global and national efforts to tackle the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.

The company’s actions are designed to help protect the lives and livelihoods of its multiple stakeholders – including its consumers and communities, its customers and suppliers, and its workforce.

Consumers and communities

Unilever will contribute €100m to help the fight against the pandemic through donations of soap, sanitiser, bleach and food. This includes:

A product donation of soaps and sanitiser of at least €50m to the COVID Action Platform of the World Economic Forum, which is supporting global health organisations and agencies with their response to the emergency. In addition to the supply of soap, Unilever will adapt its current manufacturing lines to produce sanitiser for use in hospitals, schools and other institutional settings.
Product donations, partnerships and handwashing education programmes, delivered through national health authorities and NGOs, to support local communities most at need.
Customers and suppliers

Unilever will offer €500m of cash flow relief to support livelihoods across its extended value chain, through:

Early payment for our most vulnerable small and medium sized suppliers, to help them with financial liquidity.
Extending credit to selected small-scale retail customers whose business relies on Unilever, to help them manage and protect jobs.
Workforce

Unilever will protect its workforce from sudden drops in pay, as a result of market disruption or being unable to perform their role, for up to three months. We will cover our employees, contractors and others who we manage or who work on our sites, on a full or part-time basis. This will apply to workers not already covered by government plans or by their direct employer.

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Alan Jope, CEO Unilever said: “We are deeply saddened by the terrible impact that coronavirus is wreaking on lives and livelihoods everywhere. The world is facing its greatest trial in decades. We have seen the most incredible response from the Unilever team so far, especially those on the front line of our operations in factories, distribution centres and stores.

“We hope that our donation of €100m of soap, sanitiser, bleach and food will make a significant contribution towards protecting people’s lives, and that by helping to safeguard our workers’ incomes and jobs, we are giving some peace of mind during these uncertain times. Our strong cash flow and balance sheet mean that we can, and should, give this additional support.”

Notes to editors
Unilever’s €100m donation of soap, sanitiser, food and bleach is based on the equivalent retail sales value.

Shell takes its first steps in ev charging in Central and Eastern Europe

Shell is making its foray into electric vehicle (EV) charging in Central and Eastern Europe by opening its first high-powered charging station in Hungary, in partnership with charging network operator IONITY, also launching its first Shell Recharge point, Shell’s electric vehicle charging global brand. Both charging points enable drivers to charge their cars on the go at Shell service stations.

“I am pleased, that we’re starting a new chapter in the history of Shell Retail in Central and Eastern Europe today. The region has in the past driven innovations in traditional fuels by launching our premium Shell V-Power fuels and now we enter new era on our journey to offer low-emission transport fuels to our customers”, said István Kapitány, Executive Vice President of Shell Retail.

With opening its first high-powered charging station together with IONITY, on M7 highway next to Lake Balaton in Hungary, Shell will help electric vehicle drivers to make longer-distance journeys easier. Each of four charge points offers the potential of up to 350 kW charging power. The high-powered chargers take up to 10-15 minutes to charge next-generation electric vehicles, making them up to three times faster than current chargers available to drivers.

In total, IONITY aims to build 21 charging stations at Shell sites across Central and Eastern Europe covering Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia by the end of 2021. At the same time Hungary will become the 5th market for Shell in Europe (and 9th for Shell worldwide), where Shell Recharge is being introduced. Its own electric vehicle charging service offering 50kW rapid charging capacity typically provide from 0% to 80% charge in approximately 30 minutes. The service has launched on two sites, on the M7 highway offering EV charging to drivers travelling from Budapest in the direction to Slovenia and Croatia and on the M3 highway. Both will serve for Shell as pilot testing EV service points in the region. The launch price of 1 925 HUF per session[1], to be applied after the initial test period, refers to the year when Shell was founded in Hungary.

Shell is committed to supporting people’s vehicle charging needs – whether they are at home, at work or on the road. This is because Shell believes more people will choose to drive electric vehicles if they can access quick and reliable facilities. “Hungary is currently the most developed electric vehicle market in Central and Eastern Europe and that’s why we have started to develop and test our solutions here. Our ambition is to provide EV charging capabilities at 100 Shell retail sites by the end of 2021 across the region through our own investment or via our partners” comments Sasha Koliakin, General Manager for Shell Retail in Central and Eastern Europe.

Electric vehicle charging solutions is just one of the ways that Shell is aiming to deliver more and cleaner energy around the world. Shell is also working to enhance the efficiency of traditional fuels and support the development of low-emission transport fuels such as hydrogen, biofuels and natural gas following regional opportunities.

[1] There are no subscription or connection fees associated with Shell Recharge.

Sustainable dining

Several restaurants and cafes were set up by Graphisoft Park within its premises in order to serve its numerous tenants. Our express goal was to reduce take-out food orders while motivating diners for short open air walks in the Park and to provide a wide variety of freshly prepares meals. At the same time significant reduction of waste is achieved, way less plastic and paper are wasted and less leftovers are generated.

The operation of our restaurants are in tune with the basic values of Graphisoft Park, to be in perfect harmony with nature, while preserving it. Local suppliers and produce are most welcome at our restaurants where the operators provide a variety of healthy foods. Self-service system was introduced in our restaurants on serving-weight based payment, resulting in significant reduction of food waste, since patrons only buy as much as they need. Graphisoft Park secured agreements with restaurant operators for ensuring the everyday presence of healthy meal choices on their menu. Some of our restaurants even indicate the meat-to-vegetable or carbohydrate ratio in their served dishes. We have also launched a place specializing in sustainable food, that is becoming ever more popular among our environmentally conscious diners.

In recent years, Graphisoft Park was regularly inviting primary growers to directly sell their quality produce, so that tenants can buy fresh food bypassing the retail outlets. The most popular is the sale of strawberries in May – June. From March this year, a vegetable and fruit stand will also set up at the Park on a daily basis.

Nestlé creates market for food-grade recycled plastics, launches fund to boost packaging innovation

In January Nestlé announced that it will invest up to CHF 2 billion to lead the shift from virgin plastics to food-grade recycled plastics and to accelerate the development of innovative sustainable packaging solutions.

Building on its 2018 commitment to make 100% of its packaging recyclable or reusable by 2025, Nestlé will reduce its use of virgin plastics by one third in the same period whilst working with others to advance the circular economy and endeavor to clean up plastic waste from oceans, lakes and rivers.

Food quality and safety are paramount, and packaging plays a major role in assuring this. Most plastics are difficult to recycle for food packaging, leading to a limited supply of food-grade recycled plastics. To create a market, Nestlé is therefore committed to sourcing up to 2 million metric tons of food-grade recycled plastics and allocating more than CHF 1.5 billion to pay a premium for these materials between now and 2025. Nestlé will seek operational efficiencies to keep this initiative earnings neutral.

Packaging innovation, including new materials, refill systems and recycling solutions, is another key challenge on the path towards a waste-free future. In addition to its significant inhouse research through the Nestlé Institute of Packaging Sciences, the company will launch a CHF 250 million sustainable packaging venture fund to invest in start-up companies that focus on these areas.

These two initiatives come in addition to Nestlé’s major ongoing efforts in research, sourcing and manufacturing to make its packaging recyclable or reusable and contribute to its goal to achieve zero net greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. As part of the company’s packaging commitment and to increase transparency, Nestlé will continue to outline further initiatives and provide regular progress updates.

“No plastic should end up in landfill or as litter,” said Mark Schneider, CEO of Nestlé. “Making recycled plastics safe for food is an enormous challenge for our industry. That is why in addition to minimizing plastics use and collecting waste, we want to close the loop and make more plastics infinitely recyclable. We are taking bold steps to create a wider market for food-grade recycled plastics and boost innovation in the packaging industry. We welcome others to join us on this journey.”

“We are pleased to see Nestlé commit a CHF 2 billion investment toward creating a circular economy for plastics, alongside a reduction of its use of virgin plastic in packaging by one third by 2025. By eliminating the plastics we don’t need, innovating in areas like reuse models and new materials, and circulating the plastics we do need — also in more challenging food grade applications — we can create an economy where plastic never becomes waste. Achieving the commitments announced today will significantly contribute towards realizing this vision,” said Andrew Morlet, CEO, Ellen MacArthur Foundation.

Please find the official press release on nestle.com

Aluminium cans become lighter, a vision forming campaign is launched on the caps of plastic bottles

Coca-Cola Hungary reduced the weight of aluminium cans by thirteen percent. From 2020, for the packaging of canned soft drinks produced in Hungary and distributed in 19 countries, the company uses almost 170 tons less aluminium a year, significantly reducing the environmental load during production and delivery, as well as the total ecological footprint of the company. It also launches a campaign for the greatest possible recollection of soft drink packaging, as it believes that the cycle guranteed by the collection and recycling of packaging is the most efficient way to handle packaging waste.

The weight decrease of aluminium cans and the decrease in the use of pallet foil started last year means that the yearly weight of the amount delivered is reduced by more than 210 tons. As this makes the packaging much lighter, delivery requires less resources and energy.

The company improved the packaging of soft drinks several times in recent years. Taking environmental aspects into consideration, Coca-Cola Hungary is probably going to replace the plastic packaging of four- and six-pack cans with innovative cardboard packaging in 2021.

One of the aims of Coca-Cola’s global Zero Waste World strategy is to collect as many plastic bottles and aluminium cans by 2030 as the amount sold. To advocate selective garbage collection, the company launches a national vision forming campaign in the framework of which it is going to replace the cap of all soft drinks: the logo of the given brand will be replaced by a drawing encouraging the recycling of the bottle.

 

The plastic bottles distributed by Coca-Cola are already 100 percent recyclable; the proportion of recycled plastic used in bottles is an average 24 percent which the company undertakes to increase to 50 percent by 2030. The amount of plastic used in Hungarian production decreased by 15 percent in the last years, and this year, as a result of a 100 million forint technological development, the amount of plastic used for carbonated soft drink bottles will be further reduced by 4 percent. This single step in itself means that the company uses 600 tons less plastic a year, equivalent to the weight of 24 million PET bottles. PET bottles constitute only 3% of the total packaging waste in Hungary.

 

Action on sustainability: Daikin takes the lead

Mid-February saw over 500 delegates gather in Copenhagen for the Daikin VRV Summit, where the company outlined the major advances put in place to lower the environmental impact of climate control systems, in support of its goal to achieve CO2 neutrality by 2050. Daikin’s business partners were also introduced to a range of new products and initiatives including the high efficiency, low GWP Daikin mini VRV 5 and the pioneering L∞P by Daikin scheme which reuses refrigerant for new VRV systems.

Creating a sustainable future together

Reflecting the Summit’s focus on sustainability theme, Copenhagen – named ‘Europe’s Green Capital’ in 2014 – was the aptly chosen venue, where delegates enjoyed the full ‘Green Experience’. This involved going completely paperless, as well as the use of local public transportation and locally sourced food. All CO2 emissions resulting from participants’ arrivals and departures were offset by Daikin, making this a fully carbon neutral event. The donations for the offset go to a project in Rajasthan, India, to support farmers who send their harvest waste to a biomass plant for power generation. reducing CO2 emissions and generating more jobs in the region.

Under the umbrella theme of ‘Creating a sustainable future together’, the Summit explored a wide variety of products and services that contribute to reducing CO2 emissions and avoid the depletion of natural resources, through a series of informative lectures, workshops and displays.

New products such as the new VRV 5 with over 70% lower GWP, the adoption of a circular economy through the reuse of refrigerant and the use of intelligent controls such as the Daikin Cloud were among recent innovations profiled by Daikin.

 “On the one hand, we have reduced our own CO2 footprint and on the other we are putting on the market solutions that reduce the CO2 footprint of our customers. The key visual representing the VRV Summit consists of three leaves, which together highlight the three most important fields of action: innovation, circular economy and smart control.” – explained Bernard Dehertogh, head of commercial DX products at Daikin Europe.

LeasePlan’s survey shows a direct link between government incentives and increased number of electric vehicles

Across Europe, the number of new EV registrations increased with an average of 60% between 2018 and 2019. Improvements in EV readiness were due to a combination of the increased availability of public charging infrastructure and to the extension of a wide range of government incentives. Support for environmentally friendly driving is particularly strong in Hungary, Austria, the United Kingdom and Portugal. These are the conclusions, among others, of the latest EV Readiness Index by LeasePlan, the market leader in fleet management.

Almost all countries in the EV Readiness Index showed an improved score compared to the previous year, but the Netherlands, Norway and United Kingdom are now the best prepared countries in Europe for the electric vehicle transition. In overall, Hungary moved from last year’s 16th place in the rank to the 14th.

The number of new EV registrations increased with an average of 60% on the continent. In Hungary, 586 new electric cars were registered in one year, which is an increase of 71%.

According to LeasePlan, this development is primarily due to the increased availability of public charging infrastructure and to the extension of government incentives which are key requirements for stimulating EV uptake:

  • Across Europe, there was a 73% increase in public charging stations. There are over 4,000 fast charging locations across the countries surveyed. According to the research, there are 679 public charging points in Hungary, which is by 90 more than last year, and there are more than 100 fast rechargers among. It is estimated that more than 2000 charging points will be created in 2020.
  • The government subsidies for green number plate cars (e.g. purchase subsidies, registration and ownership tax benefits, company benefits and lower VAT rates) are the highest in Hungary, Austria, the United Kingdom and Portugal.

The following subsidies are available in Hungary

  • Until 24 February 2020, state subsidy was available to incite purchase of new, battery electric passenger cars and light commercial vehicles up to HUF 1.5 million. Until 31 March 2020, SMEs and corporations can still leverage this subsidy in the form of operational leasing through LeasePlan which not only handles the administration of the application, but also provides a more favorable monthly fee by integrating the amount of the subsidy into it.
  • Tax (motor vehicle, company car and registration tax) and fee exemption (acquisition and transcription)
  • Third party liability: resulting in a 15% average savings
  • Free parking in several parts of the country
  • Free access to protected areas (according to local regulations)

LeasePlan is committed to take a leadership role in the transition from internal combustion engines to alternative powertrains, therefore the company’s goal is to shift all its employee vehicles to battery electric vehicles (BEVs) by 2021 and to achieve net zero tailpipe emissions across in its entire global fleet by 2030. As part of this ambition, the company launched its Green Bond Framework in 2019, which aims to involve financial actors to help LeasePlan finance and refinance BEVs in its fleet, thereby accelerating the transition to e-driving. In the pursuit of sustainability, the company also finds fundamental to report regularly on its activities in a transparent way and with an actual action plan. Thus for the first time this year LeasePlan has published its sustainability report, detailing the company’s aspirations and goals for a more viable future.

Futureproof Business – How do we get traction with sustainability

Exclusive CEO Breakfast organized by BASF Hungary

As a company investing in making our economy fit for the future, BASF is dedicated to support sustainable development globally, in Europe and also in Hungary. On the sidelines of the visit of former BASF EMEA president, Prof. Dr. Markus Kramer to Hungary on Dec 10th 2019, BASF Hungary organized an exclusive CEO business breakfast with the participation of Csaba Kőrösi, the Head of Directorate for Environmental Sustainability at the Office of the President of Hungary and H.E. Elizabeth Ellison-Kramer Ambassador of the Republic of Austria to Hungary. The host of the event was Dr. Thomas Narbeshuber, the leader of Country Cluster South-Central Europe (EUN/S). The business breakfast focused on concrete actions along with highlighting the importance of the legislative framework, and welcomed CEOs from Hungarian, German and international companies as well as many other local partners of BASF besides the representatives of the most important policital decision maker bodies, such as the Ministry for Innovation and Technology. After the presentation of Mr. Csaba Kőrösi and Prof. Dr. Kramer, a panel discussion was held featuring the keynote speakers as well as Dale Martin (Siemens), Anita Simon (Alteo) and Ekkehard Philipp (Fox Automotive).

As it was stated in the title of the event, the presentations and the panel discussion focused on how sustainability is reshaping business and how decision makers can or should cope with this fundamental transformation.

In his presentation, Mr. Csaba Kőrösi gave an insight on global sustainability developments and drew a sustainability vision for Hungary. In his view, sustainability cannot be regarded separate from economic and social developments but needs to consider all aspects. Therefore, we need to set new priorities, develop plans and change rules, institutions and mechanisms.

„The world (including the business scene) is currently in the largest transformation we have ever embarked on, much bigger than the industrial revolution was. The traditional perception is prompting that we shall have the current system continuing, we add some more money for sustainable solutions and that additional money will save our lives and businesses. But this is wrong.” – said Mr. Kőrösi. „The markets are undergoing a trajectory change nowadays. We need to reconsider our economic activities with careful view to the overall balance of all assets, including the social, human, natural, built and financial capitals. The integrated approach is inevitably redefining and will restructure markets. In the upcoming 15 years, USD 90-100 trillion of investment is expected to come into projects, solutions, new technologies if we really want to achieve our agreed sustainability goals. In 20 years, 40% of the global GDP will be generated by companies that do not exist today or are still in embryonic forms. There will be new winners and new losers. Where do we want to be as countries or companies? The time is now to decide.” – he added.

Representing the business, Prof. Dr. Markus Kramer called the political decision makers to action. He stated that industry has a huge role in shaping the future of mankind, but business alone cannot solve the problem, optimal framework is needed for fulfilling the needs of the society.

In his closing sentences the host of the event, Dr. Thomas Narbeshuber, pointed out that for reaching our common goals that were expressed in the speeches and the panel discussion, open, non-dogmatic dialogues like this are needed much more often. This is why BASF Hungary organizes forums and events for stakeholders with the topic sustainability regularly.

The future is determined by what we do now, and the window of opportunity is closing fast – Regional Management Consultation in Hungary on the situation of sustainability

Budapest, February 25, 2020 – At the invitation of BCSD Hungary hosted the Central and Eastern European Regional Executive Consultation at which corporate leaders, regional executives, and leaders of professional organizations, under the professional guidance of Filippo Veglio, Director of WBCSD, discussed the role of companies in the implementation of Vision 2050.

The key message of Vision 2050 issued by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) in 2010 is that business as usual is not sustainable. The report examined what a sustainable world could look like in 2050 with over nine billion people living well and within the boundaries of the planet, and the role that business life can play in realizing this vision. BCSDH’s now closing Action 2020 Hungary program is the domestic action plan of Vision 2050.

“Almost 10 years on, the key concepts of Vision 2050 have largely stood the test of time. It accurately identified the importance of systems transformation and predicted the key action areas for initial progress, including new concepts, such as the circular economy, which have since become firmly established as part of the broader business landscape” – said Filippo Veglio, Director of WBCSD in his introduction. – “However, the world that business is operating in continues to change, social tensions and environmental impacts are on the rise, leading to fundamental questions being asked about the role of business and the economy as a whole within society. A number of topics have either increased in importance or emerged as critical new areas. Vision 2050 needs to be updated.”

“In 2020, a chapter is closing. We are also summarizing our Action 2020 program. Now comes the decade of action and fulfillment” – said Attila Chikán Jr., president of BCSDH. “This is why it is important to identify key “must-solve” challenges that business will have to tackle in the coming years. This ‘revisiting’ offers the opportunity to analyse social, economic, and political shifts and to incorporate new critical elements that have emerged. Through this process, we can create a renewed, collective, positive business action and leadership agenda for the decade to come. The future is determined by what we do now, and the window of opportunity is closing fast. BCSDH will continue to play an important role in launching real action in the next decade that leads to a genuinely sustainable world.”

“Appreciation of our work so far is shown in the fact that we are the only Central-Eastern European venue in a global negotiation process with more than three dozen companies from 16 countries, representing more than ten industry sectors, over four million employees, and a combined $2 trillion in annual revenue, having come together around the ambition to refresh Vision 2050. The opinions of our member companies and partners will be incorporated into the updated Vision 2050, expected to be released in October 2020” – added Irén Márta, Managing Director of BCSDH.

Photogalery, about the event.

 

Filippo Veglio

Managing Director, People Program & Outreach, WBCSD

Filippo Veglio is Managing Director, People & Senior Management Team. Engaging senior representatives of member companies across various industry sectors, business organizations, multilateral institutions, NGOs and academia, Filippo oversees the World Business Council’s work in the following People Program (encompassing Social Impact, Sustainable Lifestyles, Sustainable Development Goals) and three Outreach functions (Communications, Events, and Global Network of partner organizations).
Filippo joined WBCSD in 2005. He holds an M.A. in International Relations from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva. A Swiss national and fluent in six languages, Filippo was formerly a professional tennis player and has been a member of the Swiss Davis Cup team.

Leading global businesses call on governments to adopt bold actions on nature

Davos, Switzerland, 21 January 2020 : Today at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Business for Nature -a global coalition of influential organizations and forward-thinking businesses – is calling for concrete action from governments to deliver a new deal for nature and people. 2020 provides a historic opportunity as world leaders and governments come together at several key moments to determine the planet’s future.

According to the World Economic Forum’s Nature Risk Report launched a few days ago, businesses are more  ependent on nature than previously thought. Around $44 trillion of economic value generation – more than half of the world’s total GDP – is moderately or highly dependent on nature and is therefore exposed to nature loss.

More than 360 companies from the Business for Nature community have already made commitments to help reverse nature loss. By doing so, they are responding to the very real and significant risks that are posed to economies, communities and livelihoods.
There is action, but it’s not enough. Businesses need to urgently scale and speed up efforts, and require ambitious policies to encourage the transformative change that the world’s scientists tell us is necessary to mitigate climate change, promote sustainable growth and halt the decline of biodiversity.

To develop these robust policy recommendations, Business for Nature engaged hundreds of companies from 15 sectors, operating in five continents, as well as many other organizations.

The five recommendations call on governments to:
1. Provide direction and ambition: adopt global targets informed by science to reverse nature loss by 2030 and recognize a planetary emergency.

2. Align, integrate and enforce policies for nature, people and climate: bring greater coherence to UN governance, make nature part of mainstream government policy and ensure effective enforcement of environmental laws.

3. Go beyond short-term profit and GDP: value and embed nature in decision-making and disclosure so that governments, companies and financial organizations can make better long-term decisions.

4. Finance a socially fair transformation: reform subsidies and incentives to reward positive action on nature alongside innovative and circular business models and; promote financial solutions that support nature.

5. Engage, enable and collaborate: join forces for nature so that the public and private sector can
implement solutions and empower society to act.

These bold actions on nature – if adopted – have the potential to unleash new opportunities and support
business to do even more, which in turn leads to greater policy ambition. Businesses are pushing for
governments to adopt these policies because they understand that social and economic prosperity, and the
success of their businesses, rely on a healthy natural world. And that to resolve the climate and biodiversity
crises and reduce inequality we must protect, conserve and restore nature.

Speaking at the launch event in Davos, Eva Zabey, Executive Director of Business for Nature said, “Financial
performance is irrelevant on a dead planet. Businesses are uniting behind and calling on governments to support these recommendations to create a level playing field and a stable operating environment. By demonstrating the hidden value of nature and the economic consequences of our failure to protect ecosystems, we can incorporate nature into the heart of mainstream business, finance and government decision-making.”

Dr Anne Larigauderie, Executive Secretary, IPBES said, “The IPBES Global Assessment Report made it clear that properly protecting nature’s contributions to people requires a globally sustainable economy. The necessary evolution of financial and economic systems can only be achieved in partnership with responsible decision-makers, in Government but also critically, with the private sector. IPBES therefore welcomes engagement and initiatives, such as these important policy recommendations from Business for Nature, as vital contributions to the growing wave of awareness and more ambitious action for biodiversity.”

This year provides a unique opportunity to forge international agreements as leaders did for the Paris Climate Change Agreement in 2015. A new deal for nature and people would put environmental and social development at the heart of our economic, political, social and financial systems. Businesses are uniting and appealing to world leaders and governments to adopt the policies announced by Business for Nature today – and they are ready to help. Many businesses have already made commitments to not only protect, but restore nature. Business cannot solve these challenges alone; political leadership is needed to catalyze more business action.

Karl-Johan Persson, CEO, H&M Group said, “We have set Science Based Targets and are working towards our ambition to become fully circular and climate positive, but it is not enough. Biodiversity is key for the future of the planet. All actors need to take their responsibility seriously to drive the change needed. Companies need to commit and act, governments need to facilitate the process through ambitious laws and implementation thereof. It is only through collaboration that we will solve the challenges with the loss of nature we face today.”

Roberto Marques, Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors and Group CEO, Natura &Co said, “The planet cannot wait. At Nature &Co we strive to balance economic, environmental, and social goals across all
aspects of society, and scale our collective efforts without delay to tackle the climate crisis. The responsibility is on all of us to work together to protect the world’s natural resources, and ultimately the well-being and future of our communities.”

Svein Tore Holsether, President and CEO, Yara International said, “The window of opportunity to reverse nature loss is closing fast. Decisive action is needed to transform our economy into one that comprehends the environmental, societal and business value of protecting nature. Inaction is not an option.”

Alan Jope, CEO, Unilever said, “The science on nature loss is terrifying. Nature underpins everything on this planet. A New Deal for Nature and People in 2020 that brings transformative change to our relationship with our planet is absolutely critical. Business should be at the fore of calling for this change.”

Wiebe Draijer, CEO, Rabobank said, “ We believe that the transformative change needed to reverse nature loss, climate change and inequality cannot be achieved without proper incentives and financial mechanisms. That is why as a globally operating specialised food and agriculture bank, Rabobank wholeheartedly support this concerted effort to work in effective public-private partnership to protect nature as part of our mission. ”

Rodolfo Lacy, Environment Director, OECD said, “The loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services is costing our economies trillions of dollars a year. Government and business must scale up action to protect and restore nature. Governments need to reform the financial support they provide that is harmful to biodiversity. Business also has a key role to play including by understanding its dependence and addressing its impact on biodiversity. These Business for Nature recommendations provide valuable guidance on how to implement transformative changes.”

Only together will business, governments and civil society be able to unlock new opportunities to deliver the global systemic and transformative change for everyone and everything to live sustainably on a healthy planet.

****
– Link to full policy recommendations
https://www.businessfornature.org/policy

Business for Nature – we catalyze business leadership to drive policy ambition Business for Nature is a global coalition bringing together influential organizations and forward-thinking businesses. Together, we demonstrate business action and amplify a powerful business voice calling for governments to reverse nature loss.
https://www.businessfornature.org/

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