A Review of options to enhance business contribution to Ireland’s national biodiversity objectives

he continuing loss of biodiversity presents the risk that one million of the eight million species on earth are threatened with extinction within the next few decades. The global biodiversity crisis has received less attention as a policy priority than climate change, but is equal in the severity of its consequences and interrelated to a significant degree. It is an existential crisis in that biodiversity supports the many ecosystem services on which human beings depend, including food supplies, clean water and climate regulation as well as our quality of life. Business has a considerable role to play in protecting biodiversity by ensuring that any adverse impacts from business activity are avoided and by working towards a situation of environmental net gain. Just as human beings are dependent on biodiversity, so too are businesses for supplies of products, quality of products, water availability, health and safety, and avoidance of environmental risk. Many businesses are also embracing biodiversity and environmental sustainability as a means of differentiating themselves competitively with new products, new customer markets and enhanced access to finance.