The biodiversity crisis is one of the most pressing challenges on our planet.

As the world faces an unprecedented biodiversity crisis, with ecosystems under immense pressure and species disappearing at alarming rates, global efforts to protect nature have never been more urgent. Biodiversity is critical to human survival, providing essential resources like food, water, and medicine.

The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, adopted in December 2022, set an ambitious target: protecting 30 percent of the world’s land and marine areas by 2030. Yet, addressing the biodiversity crisis requires not just government action, but significant contributions from businesses and financial institutions.

Recognising this, Denmark has launched the Biodiversity Partnership, a collaborative initiative aimed at turning biodiversity commitments into concrete actions.

Denmark’s public-private biodiversity partnership

In August 2023, the Danish government, alongside key private and public stakeholders, launched the Biodiversity Partnership to tackle the biodiversity crisis through collaborative action. Bringing together 22 members from business organisations, NGOs, research institutions, and government bodies, the partnership aims to inspire and guide businesses in integrating biodiversity into their operations. This public-private approach draws on Denmark’s successful history of tackling climate challenges through collaboration, providing a model for biodiversity efforts.

The Biodiversity Partnership focuses on helping companies understand their impacts and dependencies on nature. The aim is for businesses to not only mitigate negative effects but also actively contribute to biodiversity preservation and restoration. A set of recommendations for companies, authorities, and knowledge institutions has been developed to support effective corporate biodiversity efforts. These guidelines help companies act on biodiversity loss across their value chains and promote alignment with global biodiversity goals such as those set by the EU Biodiversity Strategy and the Kunming-Montreal Agreement.

Boosting corporate and financial biodiversity action

The recommendations from the Biodiversity Partnership offer practical steps for both non-financial companies and financial institutions to enhance biodiversity efforts. For non-financial companies, the key actions include mapping their biodiversity impacts, contributing to global conservation targets by protecting natural habitats, and setting aside land for nature. Larger companies are encouraged to use internationally recognised frameworks like Science-Based Targets for Nature (SBTN) and the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) to structure their efforts.

For example, Ørsted’s innovative ReCoral project showcases how corporate biodiversity action can align with renewable energy development. The initiative seeks to cultivate coral growth on offshore wind turbines, creating new marine habitats while generating clean energy.

The publication also showcases cases of biodiversity initiatives and projects from Ramboll, Slow, Danske Bank, and Finance Denmark.

As the focus on biodiversity and the involvement of companies and financial organisations continues to grow, the approach and recommendations offer a clear pathway for businesses to take tangible steps in addressing the biodiversity crisis, setting a benchmark for public-private collaboration that can inspire global action.