Biodiversity advice for your organisation

Organisations increasingly realise that contributing to biodiversity restoration is essential. Not only for nature, but also for their own future. How do you translate this ambition into concrete actions? Many companies struggle with a lack of knowledge, time and/or resources to effectively integrate biodiversity into their business operations. IUCN NL, as a leading knowledge partner, offers tailor-made advice to firmly anchor biodiversity in your strategy. Our expertise helps you to comply with legislation, to reduce risks and strengthen your sustainability profile. Together, we make biodiversity restoration a tangible reality within your organisation.  

Does your organisation want advice on biodiversity?

We see it as our role to better and more broadly embed biodiversity in business, civil society organisations and government bodies. As an independent knowledge partner, IUCN NL supports, among other things:  

• development of corporate biodiversity strategies  
• practical solutions with Nature-based Solutions  
• development and improvement of biodiversity policy with laws, regulations, guidelines and standards  
• investments in biodiversity
• making value chains more sustainable and reducing ecological footprints  
• monitoring and reporting on biodiversity impacts and relevant risks.  

Corporate biodiversity strategy  

As part of their sustainability policy, more and more organisations are developing a biodiversity strategy. IUCN NL supports this and helps to define relevant indicators and set measurable goals. The emphasis is on a results-oriented approach that enables organisations to measure their biodiversity performance across all their activities.  

Deploying Nature-based Solutions  

Restore degraded peatlands to reduce the effects of climate change. Restoring soil life to make agricultural land resilient again. These are two examples of nature-based solutions: using the power of natural processes to solve societal problems. This approach is increasingly used and seen as a catalyst for achieving the SDGs, the UN’s Climate and Biodiversity Goals, and the EU’s Green Deal, among others. Based on the IUCN Global Standard for nature-based solutions, we advise and train employees of organisations to deploy it appropriately.  

Investing in biodiversity

The loss of biodiversity and the ecosystem services that nature provides, such as pollination and carbon storage, carries significant financial risks. By putting the value of nature and the link between financial and ecological risks into financial decision-making, companies can support the planet’s natural capital instead of damaging it. IUCN NL brings together the world of finance and the world of nature conservation. We advise companies and government bodies on designing projects around biodiversity conservation and restoration, and can also look at how to make this more financially attractive.   

Ecological footprint and sustainable value chains

Dutch companies and financial institutions are key players in international trade chains of, for instance, soy, palm oil and raw materials for the energy transition. Both ecologically and socially, these value chains should and can be a lot more sustainable and fairer. IUCN NL advises companies and governments on this and works as a bridge-builder that enables joint steps based on knowledge and experience.

Monitoring and reporting on impact on biodiversity  

More and more companies and governments want to know how they can contribute to preventing biodiversity loss and how they can make a positive contribution to protecting and restoring biodiversity. This starts with making their species conservation actions measurable. The Species Threat Abatement and Restoration (STAR) method can be used for this, for example. This is an accessible measuring method, co-developed by IUCN NL, which helps companies and governments to determine and quantify their impact on biodiversity in one number, comparable to CO2 equivalents for climate. We would be happy to help you think about how methods such as STAR can be deployed within your organisation.  

Advice on biodiversity policy

In December 2022, a new global biodiversity agreement was concluded in Montreal. 196 countries, including the Netherlands, signed this agreement. In Europe there was already a solid biodiversity strategy, the EU Biodiversity Strategy, and in June 2024 the Nature Restoration Act was approved by the European Parliament. To ensure that the set targets are met, countries will make their own national plans in the coming period, including a National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) for the national contribution to achieving the global biodiversity targets. Laws and regulations will also be adjusted accordingly, and it is obvious that subsidy flows will be adjusted.  

Both nationally and internationally, several new laws are being drafted to better protect biodiversity, such as the EU Forest Act and the Dutch CSR Act. IUCN NL advises organisations on implementing biodiversity policy.  

Our support can range from guiding a workshop or knowledge session on a particular topic to conducting a study or drafting a biodiversity strategy for the organisation.