Business activities are an important driver for the loss of biodiversity, but business also depend on nature and the goods and services it provides to operate. Therefore, business has a responsibility to adopt good practices to reduce their environmental footprint and promote the sustainable use of resources, as well as to contribute to the conservation of biodiversity.  

However, business cannot address these complex issues alone.  Civil society organisations (CSOs) have a role also to play in supporting -- and sometimes driving -- business to take action.

The PANORAMA theme on “Business Engagement” aims to help CSOs access the latest experiences and lessons learned, so they can engage more effectively with business and enable positive outcomes for the mitigation of impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem systems that people and communities rely upon.

For this purpose, PANORAMA seeks examples where CSOs have directly or indirectly (via governments, financial institutions, consumers) undertaken activities to change business practices that result in greater environmental, social and/or economic benefits.

In addition to PANORAMA’s general criteria, the solutions under the Business Engagement theme should:

• Demonstrate where an engagement with business has been effective, i.e. visible change in behaviour can be demonstrated and/or documented; and
• Originate from a CSO and/or be co-authored by a CSO. (In fact, this is encouraged, where relevant, to ensure shared understanding.)

Equally important, the PANORAMA business engagement solutions should not try to:

• Highlight philanthropy or sponsorship partnerships with companies; or
• Profile projects where NGOs have acted as consultants for companies.

Led by IUCN’s Business and Biodiversity Programme, this theme builds on IUCN’s on-going collaboration with the PANORAMA as well as its experience in business engagement programmes. It is also a key part of IUCN’s BioBiz Exchange Initiative, supported by the Agence Française du Developpment (AFD), under its work on "Entreprise, economie et finance. The initiative facilitates CSO training and peer-to-peer capacity building on business engagement.

For more information, visit the IUCN BioBiz Exchange Initiative website or contact us at biobiz@iucn.org