19 February 2017, Manila. FEED signed the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)’s Business & Biodiversity Pledge, which “provides an opportunity for business leaders to call attention to the importance of biodiversity and ecosystem services for businesses and to reaffirm their commitment to take positive action in support of biodiversity. The timing is urgent, given the findings by the Global Biodiversity Outlook 4 that efforts are not on track to achieve the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 and the Aichi Biodiversity Targets. The enhanced engagement of all stakeholders, in particular businesses, is critical in order to achieve the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020.”

Our Commitment and Call for Action

We pledge to take concrete actions that deliver solutions for the conservation of biodiversity, its sustainable use, and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits from genetic resources, by:

Understanding, measuring and, where feasible, valuing our companies’ impacts and dependencies on biodiversity and ecosystem services;
Taking action to minimize negative impacts and optimize positive impacts on biodiversity;
Developing biodiversity management plans, including actions to address supply chains;
Regularly reporting on our companies’ impacts and dependencies on biodiversity and ecosystem services;
Promoting awareness about the values of biodiversity among our employees, managers, shareholders, partners, suppliers, consumers, and across the business and finance communities;
Acting as ambassadors for responsible stewardship of biodiversity, focusing on the economic opportunities and solutions, and helping to strengthen and disseminate the business case for better integration of biodiversity considerations into decision-making by businesses;
Engaging in opportunities to share our companies’ experiences and progress made, with a view to encouraging other companies and organizations to act as well;
Taking steps to mobilize resources to support such concrete actions on biodiversity and assist, as appropriate, in accounting for and tracking these resources; and
Providing information on actions undertaken and achievements in addressing the above.

We call on:

governments and policy makers to engage with businesses as they implement their obligations under international biodiversity conventions, and to create the necessary policy conditions that will encourage the mainstreaming of biodiversity and sustainability considerations into their day-to-day activities, business models and risk frameworks;
businesses around the world to join us, and · the global community to work with us in achieving this pledge.

Click here for the full pledge (Signed by FEED): UNDB Pledge (Signed, FEED, Inc)

Click here to learn more about “How the Forest Heals People”: https://vimeo.com/187181616