Helping entrepreneurs understand the challenges of biodiversity:

This biodiversity kit warns of the dangers facing biodiversity and natural ecosystems in the face of pressure from human activities. Biodiversity is under threat, with around 85% of wetlands disappearing and more than a million animal and plant species under threat. Yet these ecosystems are essential to preserve, and their disappearance could have a major economic cost. Half of the world’s GDP depends on the health of the environment, through its importance to sectors ranging from agriculture to energy and textiles.

It is therefore necessary for entrepreneurs to take up these issues and commit to the 5 major factors identified in the kit. We can limit the impact of human activities by limiting changes in land and sea use, reducing the exploitation of resources, limiting greenhouse gas emissions, combating pollution and invasive species, etc.

Practical, concrete tools for getting involved:

The biodiversity kit encourages entrepreneurs to get involved by showing that a company that makes an active commitment to biodiversity opens the way to new opportunities and reduces the risks it faces. The kit provides entrepreneurs with the tools they need to carry out a diagnosis of their business and define a realistic action plan. The kit presents more than 50 useful actions and tools, including the main ones for « putting yourself at the service of biodiversity »:

– Define concrete commitments and monitor their implementation by joining the OFB’s Companies Committed to Nature programme,

– Evaluate and guide actions with the Diag’ Biodiversité, which will be deployed by Bpifrance with the OFB in the near future,

– Supporting local nature-based solutions projects through participation in the Nature 2050 programme,

– Use inspirational resources and frameworks to guide the actions of entrepreneurs, such as the Enterprise and Biodiversity platform.

Inspiring advice and examples:

Lastly, the Biodiversity Kit presents powerful examples of companies that have taken action to reduce their impact on biodiversity. For example, an industrial company can rehabilitate wetlands around its sites to offset its ecological footprint. This approach illustrates the commitment of certain companies to integrating biodiversity into their business models. Similarly, an agricultural company can adopt crop rotation to preserve soil health and enhance local biodiversity. For its part, an energy group can finance reforestation projects to offset its carbon emissions.

To achieve this objective, Bpifrance will soon be making the ‘Diag Biodiversité’ available to VSEs and SMEs. Deployed in partnership with the OFB, the aim of the Diag Biodiversité will be to help businesses diagnose their level of dependence on ecosystem services and their direct and indirect impacts on biodiversity, and to build an action plan to reduce their impacts and better preserve and/or restore biodiversity.