During this webinar, you will hear from three experts on incorporating biodiversity into business operations, considering biodiversity when planning land-use change associated with expanding a business’s footprint, and reporting biodiversity impact figures to customers and investors.

This webinar will expose you to concepts and techniques that you can use to maximize your company’s environmental benefits.

You will learn:

  • How organizations audit and monitor biodiversity,
  • Popular techniques to incorporate biodiversity into your business’s operations and marketing,
  • Examples of biodiversity improvements done on small and medium farms and/or case studies involving ecosystem-level restoration,
  • Land management and agriculture techniques to improve or support biodiversity,
  • Biodiversity finance basics and frameworks,
  • Ways for SMEs to get involved in biodiversity value chains.

WRI will also send out the slides and a custom resources sheet to everyone who registers for the webinar.

Speakers

 

David Meyers is an environmental finance expert and entrepreneur with more than 25 years of experience in sustainability, business strategy and management, environmental economics, international conservation and development, environmental impact assessment, training, education and research in ecology and evolution. David has launched and managed various companies including a financial services company providing online marketplaces for impact investing and environmental assets, a triple-bottom-line bamboo-flooring manufacturer in Madagascar, and a technology incubator. David has spent well over a decade in Madagascar and has worked in 46 countries. In Madagascar, he helped the country plan and execute a tripling of the area under conservation, including establishing the Makira Natural Park 370,000 hectare protected area using REDD+ financing. He holds a Doctorate in Biological Anthropology and Anatomy from Duke University and an MBA from the Yale School of Management.

 

Joël Houdet is an expert on business and biodiversity, as well as on natural capital measurement, valuation, accounting and reporting. As an independent consultant and Senior Research Fellowship at the Albert Luthuli Centre for Responsible Leadership (University of Pretoria), he undertakes research, capacity building, policy analysis and advisory work in the governance and management of world’s natural capital, biodiversity and ecosystem services. He currently leads the Biodiversity Disclosure Project of the Endangered Wildlife Trust / National Biodiversity and Business Network, including the drafting of a Biological Diversity Protocol. He managed Integrated Sustainability Services (ISS) from 2011 to 2018, a consulting firm based in Johannesburg (South Africa), which offers integrated sustainability advisory, reporting and applied research services for firms facing strategic challenges. Joël earned his PhD by focusing on integrating biodiversity into business strategies.

 

Willemijn de Iongh is a Cultural Anthropologist by origin focusing mainly on sustainable land use, land and fishing rights, monitoring and evaluation and knowledge exchange. She has worked at Oxfam Novib to advocate with large businesses, investors, governments, and (local) NGOs for a more sustainable food system and promote alternative business models (e.g. Fair Finance Guide and Behind the Brands campaign). She currently works at Commonland, an organization specialized in supporting landscape teams and businesses set up and implement 20-year landscape restoration plans, with 3 zones and delivering 4 returns: inspiration, social capital, natural capital and financial capital. At Commonland, Willemijn connects knowledge exchange and monitoring within Commonland's Foundation, landscape teams and businesses. She is also creating a growing network around business-driven landscape restoration through the 4 returns returns learning platform.