At the European Business & Nature Summit taking place on 11 and 12 October in Milan, Italy, over 350 companies, financial institutions, governments and representatives from academia and civil society are convening to discuss how businesses will deliver on the commitments of the Kunming Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. This historic framework sets out an ambitious pathway to reach the global vision of a world living in harmony with nature by 2050.
The fall in biodiversity threatens not only the environment, but also our wellbeing, as well as our economic, political, and societal structures. The European Business & Nature Summit is a renewed opportunity to spur further business action towards nature positive business models.
Launch of the European Business and Nature Charter
The event will launch the European Business and Nature Summit Charter for a nature-positive economy. The EBNS Charter is an accreditation that all businesses participating in the European Business and Nature Summit can simply sign via a QR code. By signing the Charter, businesses recognise the need to address biodiversity loss and show willingness to take action and contribute to a nature positive economy.
Virginijus Sinkevičius, European Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries said
An impressive number of businesses and financial institutions now favour strong and ambitious EU policies for nature. We need more of them in order to deliver on our commitments under the Global Biodiversity Framework. We need everyone on board to continue benefitting from nature’s invaluable and threatened services.
The European Business and Nature Charter, open to all organisations from micro-businesses to large corporates, provides a structure to companies and financial institutions to start implementing the Global Biodiversity Framework. The Charter sets out 10 principles to guide collective and transformative business action to halt and reverse nature loss by 2030. Principles are in line with the goals of the Global Biodiversity Framework and include, for example, corporate and financial responsibility, engaging the value chain, transparency, reporting and accountability and many other aspects.
The European Business and Nature Summit
The European Business & Nature Summit (EBNS) is a long-standing annual high-level event aimed at driving the transformation towards biodiversity-friendly business models. This year’s edition is co-organised by the European Commission, the EU Business and Biodiversity Platform, Etifor, the Italian Foundation for Sustainable Finance and the Region of Lombardy and is supported by 26 organisations working on business and biodiversity.
The Summit takes place against the backdrop of the global biodiversity crisis and the growing common understanding that nature is foundational to our survival and our economic prosperity. Following the landmark global agreement reached in the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), the focus is now set on aligning business and finance actions with global ambitions, while also working towards target specifications for the upcoming COP16 negotiations.
The journey from ambition to action requires a strong level of engagement and commitment. The Summit shall contribute to this journey, as both a political and a technical forum fostering collaboration and engagement. It offers guidance to facilitate businesses, financial institutions, and other stakeholders to better comprehend the role of nature across the spectrum of their operations, from high-level strategy to daily activities.
Testament to the positive spill-over effect of the Summit in its rotating host countries, this edition also marks the birth of the Italian Business and Biodiversity working group. This working group, established by the EBNS co-organizers Lombardy Region, Etifor | Valuing Nature and ItaSIF, aims to raise awareness of the links between business and nature among Italian businesses and build bridges to the EU B@B Platform and the global network of companies and financial institutions collectively striving toward a nature-positive future.
More information
United Nations Global Biodiversity Framework Kunming-Montréal
Details
- Publication date
- 11 October 2023
- Author
- Directorate-General for Environment
