GSS EU Science Funding Gateway

Successful proposals will help integrate biodiversity into business decisions to improve:

• public health and well-being and to tackle inequalities, create new jobs and sustainable growth in rural, post-industrial and coastal areas; strengthen resilience against environmental and climate stressors; minimise the risks of future diseases linked to business activities, with disastrous health, economic and social impacts, and
• corporate decision making and business resilience and to minimise investment risk and thereby play a key role in the sustainable transition of the economy;
• from the perspective of the private sector companies, integrating natural capital and biodiversity impacts and dependencies will enhance corporate decision making and business resilience as well as minimise investment risks.

Key expertise is needed in accounting, ecology, business management and organisation, social, political and environmental economics. This topic does not cover developing natural capital accounts or measuring biodiversity footprints.

The proposals should cover all of the following points:

• identifying criteria and indicators for measuring dependence, impact and contribution to the recovery of biodiversity and ecosystem services;
• developing methods to reduce adverse impacts and related material and reputational risks, and to develop the business case for long-term sustainability, for business sectors in addition to forestry, agriculture and fisheries, tourism, energy and mining, infrastructure and manufacturing and processing, that are directly dependent upon ecosystem services;
• developing a tool box to measure, assess and monitor the dependence and impact of the business sector on biodiversity, improved risk management linked to biodiversity, and the contribution of business to biodiversity recovery; etc. (p.88 of the work programme).