Session Description: This Special Session will consist of a panel of private sector ecologists, engineers, and corporate representatives working with or for companies who have begun incorporating biodiversity and sustainability into their Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) plans. The Special Session will open with a group of short presentations to provide context for the panel discussion to follow. The short presentations will discuss what ESG and corporate sustainability goals are, why they are financially important, how companies go about meeting those goals, and the roles ecologist play in these efforts. The panel discussion will then be used to provide real world examples, offer topics for further discussion, and broadly, to generate questions from the audience for the Q&A session to follow.
The impetus behind this Special Session is that up until recently, corporate ESG plans have been largely focused on reducing carbon emissions, reducing waste, and the circular economy; however, biodiversity and sustainability have emerged as key factors that many companies are now focused on addressing which opens a new field for ecologists interested in careers in the private sector.
The World Economic Forum’s (WEF) 2022 Global Risks Report documented that sustainability has become a critical element for organizations to remain both relevant and competitive, with 90% of executives saying that sustainability is important. The UN Global Compact notes that to be sustainable, companies must operate responsibly, take actions that support society, commit to report on their efforts, and engage locally. With demands from regulatory agencies, consumers, and investors, prioritizing sustainability is becoming integral in developing corporate strategies.
The World Economic Forum’s (WEF) 2022 Global Risks Report also noted that climate action failure, extreme weather, and biodiversity loss are the three most severe risks to people and the planet over the next decade. Further, the World Wildlife Fund’s Living Plant Report 2022 is based on the inextricable link between climate change and biodiversity loss and also notes that global wildlife populations have dropped by 69 percent on average since 1970.
The Special Session is anticipated to draw interest among all ESA conference attendees, those within academia, as well as those in the private and public sectors. It also offers a unique opportunity for students who desire to better understand the ecological applications of practitioners in the private sector and how private industry is responding to the biodiversity crisis.
