September 18, 2020
On Monday, September 21, 2020, 5:00-6:30 p.m. MST (8:00-9:30 p.m. ET), ASU Center for Biodiversity Outcomes Founding Director Leah Gerber will lead a group of panelists in a talk titled “Industry Partnerships for Biodiversity Outcomes: Measuring private sector contributions toward mitigating biodiversity loss.”
This talk is part of the United Nations Global Compact’s Uniting Business LIVE (September 21-23).
Global biodiversity loss is occurring at an unprecedented rate. The recent global assessment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services reports that approximately 1 million species are threatened with extinction.
The corporate sector has shown an increasing commitment to considering sustainability issues over the past decade. However, many companies lack mechanisms to measure, report and monitor biodiversity and incentive to rigorously consider biodiversity in operations.
Biodiversity materiality represents an enormous risk for companies but is difficult to quantify. Companies need access to data and technical support to ensure they have the expertise to implement effective biodiversity management plans across their core operations and value chains.
The ASU Center for Biodiversity Outcomes helps bridge this gap by engaging companies and governments in identifying important areas where resources should be allocated and how to report contributions toward the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 15, or SDG15.
Gerber will be joined by Christopher Barton, fellow, ASU Office of the President; Laura McConnell, University and Scientific Society Engagement, Regulatory and Scientific Affairs, BayerCrop Science; Christian Newman, Technical Executive, Endangered and Protected Species, Sustain Sustainability and Ecosystem Stewardship Research Group, Electric Power Research Institute; and Frank Hawkins, Director, International Union for Conservation of Nature – United States.
The panel will describe their theory of change for working with the private sector and best practices for achieving biodiversity outcomes in industry-academic partnerships. Following short presentations, panelists will facilitate a short Q & A session with the audience.
Registration for this event is by invitation only. If you would like to attend, please contact us at biodiversity@asu.edu.
Ocean Hope Spots
In addition to the biodiversity conservation talk to be led by Gerber, a panel discussion titled "Ocean Hope Spots: A panel discussion on marine protected areas with leading experts" will be held on September 22, 12:30-1:30 p.m. MT (3:30-4:30 p.m. ET) as part of the UNGC Uniting Business LIVE.
The expert panel is composed of Sylvia Earle from Mission Blue; ‘Aulani Wilhelm from Conservation International; and Lance Morgan from the Marine Conservation Institute.
The panel discussion will be followed by a conversation on innovative sustainability initiatives by Mark Kaplan from Envisible and an audience Q & A session facilitated by Gerber.
For more information about the Ocean Hope Spots presentation, please contact event moderator Jessie Kaull at jkaull2@stanford.edu.