News in the Framework of the European Business & Biodiversity Campaign

EU taxonomy: NGOs sue EU Commission over forest-damaging assessment criteria

After several NGOs left the EU Platform for Sustainable Finance in protest, the next bang follows a few days later: NGOs from seven EU countries are suing the EU Commission over what they see as illegal criteria for bioenergy and forestry projects in the EU taxonomy.

European consumption threatens tropical forest

Will EU laws stop the destruction? From 1990 to 2020, the world lost an estimated 420 million hectares of forest, 90% of which was tropical forest. The expansion of agriculture is the main cause of forest loss worldwide: according to a recent FAO evaluation, nearly 90% of deforestation is due to it. After China, the European Union is the second largest importer of deforestation.

Save the date: Quarry Life Award 2022 

The winners of the Quarry Life Award will be announced on 17th October 2022 at the Egg in Brussels. The 5th edition of the competition by HeidelbergCement will bring together ideas from more than 70 projects in 16 countries for the protection of nature and biodiversity management in quarries.

Together for species protection: Global Nature Fund helps companies become more biodiversity-friendly

– Next to climate change, species extinction is the biggest environmental problem of our time
– Global Nature Fund supports companies in making their premises fit for biodiversity
–European Green Premises Conference in September 2022 offers forum for exchange between business and politics

Flowering areas, but the right way! Expert discussion for insect-promoting regions reaps encouragement

– In mid-July, a guided tour of flowering areas took place in the Bliesgau Biosphere Reserve as part of the project "LIFE Insect-Responsible Sourcing Regions".
– Representatives of agriculture, authorities and nature conservation discussed the possibilities and limits of flowering areas as an insect protection measure.
– Native wild plant species are an important component for the conservation of our native insect diversity.

German Chambers for Industry and Commerce: Preparing for Biodiversity Coaching for Companies

A dialogue and coaching process planned by the DIHK Service GmbH is intended to increase the importance of biodiversity in German SMEs. For this purpose, in particular, the network of German Chambers for Industry and Commerce (IHK) will be involved.

EU Reporting Standard: Biodiversity and Ecosystems

In April 2022, the European Commission published the draft for a directive on new requirements for companies in the EU as to which topics must be disclosed in the context of sustainability reporting in the future.

Protecting biodiversity with deforestation-free supply chains

How can we bring the private sector and environmental protection – and biodiversity conservation in particular – closer together and motivate companies to conserve our natural resources? The UBi Dialogue Forum in Berlin provided answers.

International Day for Biological Diversity: Food for Biodiversity supports food industry in biodiversity-friendly cultivation

- On May 22, the UN celebrates the International Day for Biological Diversity
- The association Food for Biodiversity helps companies in the food sector to work for biodiversity
- First pilot projects are already successfully implementing the "basic set of biodiversity criteria"

Eagles fly for sustainability: Mannheim ice hockey club commits to eco-friendly merchandising

Purchasing is a key aspect of a company's sustainability strategy. One club in the German Ice Hockey League is currently demonstrating how companies can align it with the times: On Sports Day, the DEL club Adler ("Eagles") Mannheim is sending out a signal for the improvement of working conditions and the reduction of the environmental impact of textile production along the supply chain by opting for sustainable procurement supported by the FAIR WEAR WORKS project.