Tiffany & Co. Joins Business For Nature’s Call To Action
Tiffany & Co., one of the most popular luxury jewelry companies ever, has joined Business For Nature’s Call To Action. I follow them on LinkedIn (for the jewels) and came across their announcement:
“Tiffany & Co. has been committed to responsible sourcing and to sustaining our natural environment. That’s why we’re proud to sign Business for Nature’s Call to Action, urging governments to adopt policies to reverse nature loss. Protecting our planet has always been at the heart of our brand values and we promise to continue to do so now and in the future. #NatureIsEveryonesBusiness“
The link they provided took me to the Business For Nature’s homepage. Business for Nature is a global coalition that is focused on uniting influential organizations and forward-thinking businesses to demonstrate business action while amplifying a powerful business voice that calls for worldwide governments to reverse nature loss.
More than 560 companies with revenues of $4 trillion in US dollars took the stand with Business for Nature and are calling on governments to adopt policies now to reverse the loss of nature that will occur this decade if no action is taken. Together, these companies made a powerful statement on the same day as the UN General Assembly chose to adopt its 75th declaration recognizing the urgent need for the member states to take action to protect our planet:
“Healthy societies, resilient economies, and thriving businesses rely on nature. Governments must adopt policies now to reverse nature loss in this decade. Together let’s protect, restore, and sustainably use our natural resources.”
The press release noted that this was the first time that so many businesses have stepped up with the ambition to influence discussions in the run-up to delivering a Post 2020 Global Biodiversity Framework. These actions taken by these companies follow numerous and more recent demands for action to protect nature by conservation, development and humanitarian organizations, faith groups, cities, Indigenous peoples, and youth groups.
“It is exciting and unprecedented to see so many businesses urging for bold government action to reform nature policies. Many businesses are making commitments and taking action. But for us all to live well within the planet’s finite limits, we need to scale and speed up efforts now, not tomorrow. We need to see positive political ambition to address nature loss, climate change, and inequality which will drive more even more action by business.” —Eva Zabey, Executive Director, Business for Nature
These 560 businesses span 54 countries and employ 9.5 million people across all areas and are taking a stand in favor of protecting nature and our world. By acting with courage and urgency to put nature as the top priority of policymaking, these companies are using their voices and power for good.
“The science is clear — nature is everyone’s business and the next 10 years are critical. At P&G, we’re working with Conservation International, the World Wildlife Fund, and others to fund projects that protect and restore critical ecosystems will help the communities and the environment.” —David Taylor, CEO, Procter & Gamble.
Some of these companies include Procter & Gamble, Chanel, S&P Global, Citigroup, Burberry, Ikea, Coca-Cola, Timberland, and Tiffany & Co. You can see the full list of companies that signed here. The press release also noted that by signing this call to nature, these businesses recognize that protecting nature is top priority. “Before Covid-19, the need to create more resilient economies and societies were clear, now it is inescapable,” the press release stated.
Without taking this action, the world may not be able to meet its 1.5°C climate target that was agreed upon in the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement. The World Economic Forum also noted that industries highly dependent on nature create 15% of the global GDP — or $14 trillion — while those that moderately depend on nature create 37% or $31 trillion.
These numbers are significantly larger than the costs of climate change. Natural disasters that are linked to the degradation of the ecosystem and climate change cost over $300 billion annually. And 40–60% of small businesses never reopen after such catastrophes.
“At Ageas, we do not invest in coal tobacco and weapons and we commit to being fully divested by 2030. We need ambitious policies on nature to create a stable environment in which we can all prosper long-term. We owe it to our stakeholders and the next generation of stakeholders to protect nature and help secure the future of our planet.” —Bart De Smet, CEO, Ageas.
My Thoughts
Many of the companies on that list have contributed to climate change in several different ways. Actually, every human on this planet has. However, seeing these businesses team up to create a voice that will hopefully influence the powers that be to care about our world enough to take action is hopeful.
When you have a well known company that is practically a household name stand up and speak on a topic, that influences people. When you have several unite and back up an idea or movement, these voices have more of an impact — especially if they keep their promises and continue to advocate for nature while also trying to do their own parts to diminish their impacts on our climate. This requires more than nicely built webpages and blog posts about how a company is giving back or what they are doing to help.
Climate change is real. Hopefully these companies will be able to help wake those up who still need a push.
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