Finland best at biodiversity out of the 100 largest Nordic companies
Ecogain, one of Sweden's leading knowledge-based company on biodiversity and sustainable business models, has for the second time reviewed and evaluated Sweden's, and this year also Norway, Denmark and Finland's 100 largest companies and their sustainability reports, focusing on biodiversity. The outcome of the evaluation is now presented in the Ecogain Biodiversity Index report and shows that Sweden is at the bottom while Finland ranks at the top.
“Once again, the major companies’ reporting on biodiversity this year is still lacking in many ways. Next year the UN will set new global biodiversity targets. Wildlife’s equivalent to the climate’s 1.5-degree target could be to completely halt the loss of wildlife and ecosystems by 2030, and to rebuild natural capital by 20 % by 3050. Businesses will be expected to formulate targets in line with this. It is worrying that only 4 % of the Nordics’ largest companies have targets for this”, says Anders Enetjärn, CEO and founder of Ecogain, who have compiled the 2020 Biodiversity Index.
The companies that rank at the top of the 2020 Biodiversity Index are the Danish energy company Ørsted and Finnish energy company Fortum. The latter made it to the top of the ranking since the company is actively working on biodiversity and has set an ambitious target for Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG).
“Fortum has a Biodiversity Action Plan and is actively working with these issues in its value chain, among other things they describe how biodiversity is one of the aspects being evaluated when purchasing raw materials such as coal. Fortum also reports on various habitat restorations carried out during the year. All in all, this puts them at the top in the ranking of the largest Nordic companies”, says Anders Enetjärn.
The Biodiversity Index asks a number of questions on which each company is evaluated and scored on. A country-wide summary of the scores for the five highest-ranked companies in each country shows Finland ranks highest (73 points), followed by Denmark (60), Norway (59) and Sweden (49).
The biodiversity index primarily measures how companies report, which gives an idea of how the issue is prioritized. How companies actually perform will evolve as biodiversity metrics eventually become a reality. The overall purpose of the Biodiversity Index is to help companies understand how biodiversity is relevant to them, so that they can incorporate the issue in their sustainability work and thus in their business as a whole.
“Just like the climate issue, the issue of biodiversity needs to be a natural part of every company’s strategic sustainability work, from the operational level to the farthest link of the supply chain”, explains Anders Enetjärn.
The report in its entirety is available at https://www.ecogain.se/biodiversity-index and comes attached with this press release.
For further information and further comments regarding the analysis contact:
Anders Enetjärn, CEO of Ecogain, tel: +46 (0)10 405 90 01, e-mail: anders.enetjarn@ecogain.se
Christian Sjöland, Business Development Consultant, Ecogain, tel: +46 (0)10 405 90 10,
e-mail: christian.sjoland@ecogain.se
Lars Sjögrell, Ecogain Press Manager, tel: +46 (0)70 269 53 00, e-mail: lars.sjogrell@perspective.se
The whole report and pictures for free publication:
Emelie Ousbäck, Marketing Manager Ecogain, tel: +46 (0)10 405 90 03, e-mail: emelie.ousback@ecogain.se
Close to 20 years’ experience in developing fair approaches to nature and business has gained Ecogain a reputation as one of Sweden’s most cutting-edge knowledge-based companies in ecology, species and ecosystems. We work vertically, from strategy to the execution of direct actions on the ground, which is an entirely unique way of working.
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