The Ecogain Biodiversity Index (EBI) this year examined how nearly 400 of Europe's largest companies report on biodiversity. Swedish Vattenfall tops the list. French Engie and Finnish Stora Enso OYJ come in second, followed by Louis Vuitton.
Last year, only the Nordic and Baltic countries were assessed. Again, Vattenfall came out on top. The company has continued its work on biodiversity both through direct actions and through research and development projects. The company aims to achieve a net positive impact on biodiversity by 2030 and has integrated biodiversity assessments into its business processes.
Being at the top of this year's Biodiversity Index is truly a recognition of long-term and persistent work by many Vattenfall colleagues. It is a top priority to continue to reduce our biodiversity footprint by meeting our climate targets and by creating positive impacts through our biodiversity projects and R&D investments. The energy transition is crucial to halting biodiversity loss and we are doing our utmost to ensure that our investments are made in coexistence with nature.
- Anna Borg, CEO of Vattenfall.
There is a strong tendency for industries that have a direct impact on biodiversity to have higher EBI scores than industries where the impact is further down the value chain. However, this year, more than 50% of the companies surveyed in the FMCG sector have set biodiversity targets. For example, Essity of Sweden is high on the list.
For this type of business, the impact and dependency on biodiversity is less obvious than for businesses with direct land impacts, such as in the forestry or mining industries. The relatively high figure we are now seeing in consumer goods therefore indicates that these companies have identified biodiversity as an important factor in their value chain. All organizations have dependencies on and impacts on biodiversity somewhere in their operations, and identifying and mapping these is the first step towards setting a strategy for their biodiversity work. It also means that you can take steps to secure your business model in the long term.
- Fredrik Höök, CEO of Ecogain.
The upward trend for biodiversity in business continues to rise slightly but steadily. In the 2020 report, none of the Swedish companies reviewed had set concrete targets in line with science for biodiversity. This year, that figure stands at 10% for Swedish companies and for Europe as a whole slightly higher at 14%.
The process of incorporating biodiversity into business is still slow. 31% of companies surveyed for this year's Ecogain Biodiversity Index have not mentioned biodiversity in their sustainability reports at all. This fall, the report will expand to include the largest US companies.
