The role of business and
business solutions to
sustainable land management
Sustainable Land Management Business Forum
Monday 23 September
World Business Council for Sustainable Development
Agenda (16:30-18:00)
1. How can business contribute? (case studies)


James Griffiths, WBCSD
Juan Gonzalez Valero, Syngenta
2. What are the tools that can help?

Violaine Berger, WBCSD
3. What is the required policy framework?

James Griffiths, WBCSD
4. How can Action2020 support the scale-up of
solutions?

Michael Mack, CEO Syngenta, Co-Chair WBCSD-WRI Action2020
5. Discussion
3
Discussion question
Raise your hands if …
1) You think that business is part of the solution
2) You are not sure whether business has a role / is
willing to collaborate
4
Converting wastelands into croplands
Background
 State government: around 9% of acquired land to be allocated as a ”green belt” (i.e.
no infrastructure development)
 Reliance Industries Jamnagar oil refinery on the East Indian coast in Gujarat State
- largest single location for refining operations globally.
 Land surrounding the refinery was barren, with high salinity and very high pH
basaltic rocky and sandy soil, and low rainfall.
Project - Transformation of the land into fruit plantation
 Planted tree species that could provide crops, employment, soil
retention, biodiversity, a green working environment around the
refinery, and act as wind-breakers
 Used drip irrigation
 Total of 5.7 million trees planted on the biodiversity project land,
1.8 million trees on the refinery grounds and in its township.
 Along the coastline, over 1 million mangroves planted
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Land restoration via forests for conservation
and forest plantations for fiber
Background
 Fibria, Brazilian plantation forest and pulp company, owns 975,000 ha of land
operating Mid Atlantic, Cerrado & Pampas biomes
 Mandated that one third land holdings managed for biodiversity conservation
 Has established a target of restoring 40,000 ha of degraded land to original natural
forest by 2025 in conjunction with new fiber plantation development
 2012: 2,507 hectares being restored totaling 8,700 hectares in the past three
years: 2013 Objective: 4,771 hectares being restored
Practices – Sustainable Forest Mosaics Initiative
 Business/NGO partnerships for collaborative conservation
management
 In conservation areas, plant tree species that support biodiversity,
especially bird species
 Other practices to contribute to the target of reducing the amount of
land needed to produce pulp by one third: intensifying management,
fertilization practices and advanced harvesting favor the increase in
the annual production of pulp per hectare
 Intensive plantation and natural forest mosaic landscape
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Sustainable Intensification
• The challenge: agriculture has to produce for 9+ bn people by 2050
• The issue: the natural resources to provide for agriculture are limited
and we are losing a soccer field of fertile arable land every second
• Better soil and land management is a must if we want to preserve
biodiversity and achieve food security
• The consequence is that agriculture needs
sustainable intensification
to produce more from less
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Soil and WAter Protection - SOWAP
Project overview
• Basis – Conservation Agriculture (CA): minimum/no tillage, crop
rotation, cover cropping
• Aim - to assess environmental, ecological, economic and social
benefits of CA in arable cropping system
• Tenure - three-year project (2003-07) on four test sites in Belgium,
Hungary and the UK
• Objectives - monitor soil erosion and water quality on CA field
• Collaborative effort - several partners and sponsored by EU-Life+
Results
•
•
•
•
•
Maintain or even increase crop yields,
reduce soil erosion and run off, (chemical and nutrients)
enhance soil biodiversity and organic matter,
Increase soil carbon sequestration,
cost effective.
8
ProTerra – soil conservation
Project overview
• A multi-stakeholder initiative, 2001-06
• In collaboration with Spain, France, Portugal and the UK research
centres
• Purpose - to evaluate covering crops (CC) as a BMP in perennial
crops (grapes and olives)
• Location – seven test sites in Southern Europe in the
Mediterranean basin
Field Results
• Significant reduction in soil loss
• Reduction in soil organic matter and nutrients loss (e.g.
phosphorous, nitrogen and potassium)
• Higher losses under conventional tillage
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Agenda (16:30-18:00)
1. How can business contribute? (case studies)


James Griffiths, WBCSD
Juan Gonzalez Valero, Syngenta
2. What are the tools that can help?

Violaine Berger, WBCSD
3. What is the required policy framework?

James Griffiths, WBCSD
4. How can Action2020 support the scale-up of
solutions?

Michael Mack, CEO Syngenta, Co-Chair WBCSD-WRI Action2020
5. Discussion
10
What are the tools companies can use?(1/2)
1. Building
capacity
2. Sharing
best
practices
3. Understanding
existing tools
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What are the tools companies can use?(2/2)
4. Assessing
impacts and
dependencies
5. Valuing
impacts and
dependencies
6. Engaging with policy makers
12
Integrating natural capital in businesses
Financial
Capital
True cost,
True value
management
Natural
Capital
Traditional
management
Business
Management
Social
Capital
13
Why should business value ecosystems?
BUSINESS BENEFITS:
 Enhanced business decisions
 Maintain & Enhance revenues
 Reduce costs
 Manage risks
 Enhance reputation
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Valuation can help companies make better
informed decisions
Grey infrastructure
Tank scenario
 Estimated present cost over 20 years:
$1.2 million
Green infrastructure
Wetland scenario
 Estimated present cost over 20 years:
$981,000 cost
 Net present value:
15
$200,000
Agenda (16:30-18:00)
1. How can business contribute? (case studies)


James Griffiths, WBCSD
Juan Gonzalez Valero, Syngenta
2. What are the tools that can help?

Violaine Berger, WBCSD
3. What is the required policy framework?

James Griffiths, WBCSD
4. How can Action2020 support the scale-up of
solutions?

Michael Mack, CEO Syngenta, Co-Chair WBCSD-WRI Action2020
5. Discussion
16
Public policy innovation is a
key scale up strategy
Picking up the Pace – Accelerating
public policies for positive
outcomes
WBCSD input to the Convention on Biological
Diversity’s COP11 (Oct. 2012)
Public policy priorities – 5 best options to
leverage business
Investments
in natural
capital
Offsets and
no net loss
Feasibility
National
green
accounting
Protected/
managed
areas
Green public
procurement
Standards and
certification
Payments
for
ecosystem
services
Efficiency and effectiveness
Tax and
fiscal
incentives
Subsidy
reform
Red= high priority
Policy case studies with scale up potential in other
countries
1. Subsidy reform – fisheries management in New
Zealand
2. Tax and fiscal incentives – carbon tax and RM
Williams in Australia
3. Payments and markets for ecosystem services –
UK Environmental Stewardship scheme and
United Utilities
4. Mitigation hierarchy & biodiversity offsets –
National System of Conservation Units and
Anglo American in Brazil
Policy case studies with scale up potential in
other countries
5. Investments in natural capital – Symbiose
Initiative, BASF in France
6. Green public procurement – UK Government
Timber Procurement and Kingfisher
7. Expanding areas with conservation targets
beyond Protected Areas – Dairying and Clean
Stream Accord and Fonterra in New Zealand
8. National green accounting – ecosystem impact
valuation and Komatsu in Japan
Key messages on policy process
1. Involve business (and other stakeholders) early
during policy design phase
 Leverage pilots
 Discover commercial value/benefits
2. Consider full policy landscape and scope for
adjustments, reform, co-benefits, perverse
outcomes, optimize resources and impacts
3. Set clear goals across and within sectors to achieve
positive business and biodiversity outcomes at the
landscape level (spatial planning)
Key message on policy process
4. Mobilize the business sector
 Technical and financial support
 Clarify property and access rights
 Maximize value/business benefits
5. Coordination and dialogue with business and
stakeholders during implementation phase
6. Monitoring and feedback loops
 Give sufficient time for business to adapt
Agenda (16:30-18:00)
1. How can business contribute? (case studies)


James Griffiths, WBCSD
Juan Gonzalez Valero, Syngenta
2. What are the tools that can help?

Violaine Berger, WBCSD
3. What is the required policy framework?

James Griffiths, WBCSD
4. How can Action2020 support the scale-up of
solutions?

Michael Mack, CEO Syngenta, Co-Chair WBCSD-WRI Action2020
5. Discussion
Vision 2050
• A long-term vision for 9 billion people in
2050, all living well within the limits of the
planet.
• Nine aspirational pathways that lead to the
vision.
• A recognition of the need for radical change
to make Vision 2050 a reality.
• Significant opportunities identified for
business.
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From Vision 2050 to Action2020
Vision 2050
Action2020
• Long-term vision
• Pathways for
transformation of society
• Focus on qualitative
impacts
• Medium-term action at scale
• Must-Haves grounded in
science
• Business solutions and
associated policy requirements
• Focus on quantitative metrics
and monitoring process
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Original Science Priorities
27
Current Priority Areas
1
Climate change
3
Ecosystems
2
4
Harmful
substances
5
Water
6
Basic needs and
rights
7
Skills and
employment
8
Sustainable
lifestyles
9
4F’s – Food, Feed,
Fiber & biofuels
Nutrients
elements
Informed by Stockholm Resilience Centre-led scientific consultation
Informed by work of international organizations, research organizations and the Action2020 Project Team
Action2020 Architecture
Vision 2050
Measurement/ Reporting
Tracking/Verification
Priority Areas
Societal Must-Haves (2020 Goal)
Business Solutions
Technologies, Practices, New Business Models, Standards/Certifications
Actions by Companies
Enablers of Scale
Policy & Institutional Requirements
Company
Sector
Value
Chain
Financing &
Investment
Partnership &
Collaboration
Action2020 Architecture
Restore at least 12
million hectares per
year of degraded
lands
Restore productivity
to degraded land “go
zones”
Vision 2050
Measurement/ Reporting
Tracking/Verification
Priority Areas
Societal Must-Haves (2020 Goal)
Business Solutions
Technologies, Practices, New Business Models, Standards/Certifications
Actions by Companies
Enablers of Scale
Policy & Institutional Requirements
Company
Sector
Value
Chain
Financing &
Investment
Partnership &
Collaboration
Agenda (16:30-18:00)
1. How can business contribute? (case studies)


James Griffiths, WBCSD
Juan Gonzalez Valero, Syngenta
2. What are the tools that can help?

Violaine Berger, WBCSD
3. What is the required policy framework?

James Griffiths, WBCSD
4. How can Action2020 support the scale-up of
solutions?

Michael Mack, CEO Syngenta, Co-Chair WBCSD-WRI Action2020
5. Discussion
Discussion question
Raise your hands if …
1) You think that business is part of the solution
2) You are not sure whether business has a role / is
willing to collaborate
Discussion questions
Within the UNCCD context, how do you think we
can bring sustainable land management
solutions to scale?
 What is the role of land owners/managers?
 What is the role of business?
 What is the role of governments?
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