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Biodiversity is the life support system for our planet. There are more than six billion people and the world is heading for eight or nine billion by 2050. Their livelihoods depend on our planet’s biodiversity, in the form of ecosystems, species and genetic material. There may be differences of opinion about the rate of loss, but there is no doubt that ecosystems, species and genes are being lost or damaged faster than ever before. Such a loss undermines the natural richness of our planet and threatens our future sustainability. Therefore it is utmost important to acknowledges for business and society in general to share responsibility for the current deteriorating situation as well as for solutions to improve it. Businesses can play a positive role in biodiversity conservation
The good news is that there is a strong business case for integrating biodiversity considerations into core management systems.
The bad news is that, to date, not enough companies have done so.
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Business is all about survival. In order to survive, businesses need to generate
profits. But today, many businesses have recognized that long-term sustainable development requires good environmental performance and good social performance as well.
Around the world, companies are taking pride in turning green. Even energy majors like Chevron and Shell have made conservation the central theme in their external communication. Our own Tata group companies are ahead in Indian corporate sector eg partnership of Tata Steel and IUCN at Dhamra port in Orrissa for turtle conservation , Tata Powers saving biodiversity of northern western ghats at Mulshi, and beautiful lakes and bird sanctuary at Tata Motors Pune are some of the torch bearers. Indian companies need to take cognizance of this fact and align their global strategies to become ‘green’. This will help Indian companies build a brand image across the world and prepare for worldwide regulations like the Kyoto Protocol
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To assist companies in this direction, AERF has come-up with the Corporate Conservation Programme (CCP). The unique feature of the programme is that it can be customized to the needs of companies in different sectors. This is done by using the strong research base that AERF possesses. Conservation on the ground is the hallmark of this programme which engages local communities.
Companies can get involved in CCP through a combination of the following popular initiatives. Since the programme can be tailor made to suit a particular company and an industry, AERF can offer customized solutions, outside the scope outlined below, to a company to transform a conservation initiative into a competitive advantage.
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There is a lot of unprotected forest cover which needs immediate attention. AERF has been conserving these natural habitats of biodiversity in Maharashtra for more than 14 years. AERF applies scientific methodology along with a sound knowledge base to produce tangible and measurable results.
By sponsoring a forest, a company can help AERF expand the area under protection to other states of India. Sponsoring a forest is also known to increase the awareness of a company in the rural parts surrounding the forest. Hence a company also gains with respect to market penetration and awareness. |
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Ecological Footprint assessment and Biodiversity Assessment: AERF has been providing these services to some of India’s best known companies for many years now and has helped these companies to proudly use these results in their communication, in the form of annual reports, promotions, public relation events, etc.
What sets AERF apart is the fact that all projects have an underlying scientific basis and the results can almost always be quantified in the form of metrics that can help companies in a measurable way. |
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AERF has many ongoing projects at all times, for which help, in whichever form, based on the strengths and availability of resources in the corporate firm, is welcome. AERF can design the sponsorship in a manner that is mutually beneficial. |
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Businesses whose activities lead to conservation benefits. e.g. renewable energy, sustainable and organic agriculture, nature based tourism, ethical trade are considered as green enterprises as pert he IUCN Business and biodiversity norms. It is a new concept in India to assess whether a business is green or not. AERF offers a certification programmes based on thorough assessment using international criteria and in collaboration with international conservation NGOs like Forest Trends and IUCN. AERF has launched India’s first green certificate, to honor companies that are pioneering the cause of conservation, while making business sense.
The ‘Green Thumb’ certificate is awarded to a corporate company based on the tangible and measurable impact that the company makes towards conservation efforts. To qualify for these certificates, a company has to adhere to the strict guidelines and processes that have been prescribed by AERF. The Green Thumb certificates that are awarded by AERF are:
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The Green Thumb Numero Uno: This certificate is awarded only ONCE every year to honor the company that has played a pivotal role in all-round conservation in the country. |
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The Green Thumb Innovation: This certificate celebrates the spirit of innovation that promises to change the way we conserve. |
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The Green Thumb Best Practices: This certificate awards a company based on the conservation relevant practices prevalent in the company. |
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The Green Thumb Maximum Impact: This certificate acknowledges the impact that a conservation initiative has made, on the ground. |
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The Green Thumb Corporate Conservation Programme: This certificate is awarded to all companies that enrol for the CCP, to help them publicly acknowledge the effort they are putting, to turn ‘green’. |
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ACC is the leading manufacturer of cement in India. In order to enhance ACC’s environmental performance, AERF will develop a biodiversity management system for the ACC staff. ACC site at Gagal is being assessed for its biodiversity and a detailed inventory for the site is being prepared through GIS and ground truthing. A long term monitoring and management system for the site is being developed by AERF. This will be brought under implementation after carrying out capacity building programmes with the ACC staff. CCR (Corporate Conservation Responsibility) solutions for ACC are also being designed which will be taken up eventually with the community participation and facilitating interactions between ACC staff and Local Communities. Separate workshops have been planned wherein ornithologists, wildlife experts, plants experts etc would take sessions with the staff and apprise them of the basic ecological issues facing them. |
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A unique initiative called ProSeed began with HCL in 2008, when we started a plantation drive on the behalf of the company. ProSeed is a little endeavour to involve businesses to contribute to the cause of a greener, healthier and sustainable environment. So far 2000 saplings have been planted in forest fragments in Ratnagiri. About 30 species of rare and endemic trees were carefully chosen for the purpose of plantation. We plan to spread the campaign to more sites in the Northern Western Ghats in the coming year. |
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