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COP16: Business and government must collaborate to reverse nature loss

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Continuing nature loss will threaten business and society. Thomas Lingard, Unilever’s Head of Sustainability (Environment), and Eva Zabey, CEO, Business for Nature, call on governments and business at COP16 to take urgent action to stop the decline.

A river winds through trees and hills.
Photo of Eva Zabey
Eva Zabey, CEO, Business for Nature
Photo of Thomas Lingard
Thomas Lingard, Unilever’s Head of Sustainability (Environment)

A recent scientific study showed that in 2023, trees and land absorbed almost no net CO2.[a] For too long, we have silently relied on nature to regulate the earth’s climate. This finding, that nature’s resilience is showing signs of collapse, has raised the alarm amongst scientists, policymakers and businesspeople alike. This is a code red warning that should be ringing in politicians’ ears as they gather in Cali, Colombia, for COP16, to work out a plan to protect and restore nature.

We are all too aware of the significant economic and socioeconomic risks associated with nature’s decline that require our immediate attention. Without a fast step-change in coordinated action, nature’s downward trajectory will impact the resilience of the global economy, the stability of our climate and the wellbeing of humanity.

That’s why, at COP16, Unilever and Business for Nature will work together to advocate for joint policies that require governments and businesses to protect, restore and ensure the sustainable use of nature and promote regenerative agriculture practices.

Unilever has been actively working on the nature agenda for over two decades. While it has found some success in specific areas of focus, the continuing decline of biodiversity and natural ecosystems is a grave and growing cause for concern.

As a result, Unilever – and the other members of the Business for Nature coalition community – are doubling down on the nature agenda with an ambition to send this trend into reverse for the health of the planet that sustains our businesses and the health of the people we serve.

Collective action is needed

Protecting nature is only possible through collaborative partnerships, be that tackling deforestation with suppliers and farmers, advancing the implementation of regenerative agricultural practices with our partners or working with ambitious businesses and coalitions to ensure the value of nature is better reflected in our economic system.

Businesses increasingly understand that resilient natural and agricultural ecosystems are essential for their operations. But individual company actions and value chains form interconnected agricultural systems and are part of wider landscapes. If we really want to prevent irrecoverable nature loss and scale up pro-nature practices, then more collaboration across industries and public–private sectors is critical.

Voluntary actions are not enough

While voluntary initiatives by progressive companies are crucial, they are not enough. COP16 must lay the groundwork for robust national regulatory frameworks that raise the floor for all businesses.

This is why the Business for Nature coalition has issued a call to action on behalf of more than 230 businesses – including Unilever – to governments at the UN Biodiversity COP16, asking them to adopt, implement or strengthen the policies, legislations and regulations needed to drive more business action to halt and reverse nature loss by 2030.

At COP16, governments should also agree on how to mobilise financial resources; this is a critical component in supporting the conservation, restoration and sustainable use of natural, including genetic, resources. Done well, this could ensure communities benefit equitably from the biodiversity resources that they have stewarded for centuries.

These are major challenges that must be urgently addressed. As laid out in its Climate Transition Action plan, Unilever is employing a mix of solutions to maintain its position of no deforestation across its primary deforestation-linked commodities. This includes making fundamental transformations within the supply chain, and directly investing in infrastructure, technology and innovation to enhance traceability and improve land use. Unilever is also working with farmers and smallholders to increase local support for regenerative and deforestation-free practices and provide alternative income streams.

But to be truly sustainable, every industry needs to transform, and we can’t afford to leave it to a minority coalition of the willing.

A group of yellow butterflies resting on the ground, surrounded by twigs and a few blades of grass.

Scaling impact and advocacy

An enabling policy environment coupled with regulatory certainty will create a level playing field for industry, helping to foster innovation, transform business models, mobilise investment and ensure all companies are held accountable for their actions and performance.

In return, businesses can show leadership by getting ahead of regulations, stopping harmful practices which drive unacceptable levels of often irrecoverable nature loss.

At COP16, we urge the adoption and enforcement of nature policies and regulations that will ensure business and financial actors can protect nature and restore degraded ecosystems:

  • promoting sustainable resource use and management to reduce negative environmental impacts;
  • valuing and embedding nature in decision-making and disclosure;
  • aligning financial flows to transition to a nature-positive, net-zero and equitable economy.

Nature is a foundation of our economies and communities, and we need to finance and scale the technologies and practices that actively regenerate and protect the natural assets that sustain life on this planet.

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