Biodiversity loss is accelerating at an alarming rate, but could circular economy solutions help turn things around? In this episode of The Circular Economy Show, Lou speaks with Marianne Kettunen, Biodiversity Lead for Policy at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, and Bianca Brasil, Programme Manager at the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity. They explore why around 90% of biodiversity loss is linked to the way we extract and process resources, how circular business models can support the targets of the Global Biodiversity Framework, and what needs to happen before the COP17 Biodiversity Conference to accelerate action. The conversation also looks at the growing role of businesses in biodiversity discussions, why circular economy and biodiversity strategies must be better connected, and how global supply chains could help scale solutions worldwide.
Biodiversity loss is accelerating at an alarming rate, but could circular economy solutions help turn things around?
In this episode of The Circular Economy Show, Lou speaks with Marianne Kettunen, Biodiversity Lead for Policy at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, and Bianca Brasil, Programme Manager at the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity.
They explore why around 90% of biodiversity loss is linked to the way we extract and process resources, how circular business models can support the targets of the Global Biodiversity Framework, and what needs to happen before the COP17 Biodiversity Conference to accelerate action.
The conversation also looks at the growing role of businesses in biodiversity discussions, why circular economy and biodiversity strategies must be better connected, and how global supply chains could help scale solutions worldwide.
Explore the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s recent policy paper, Scaling action for nature.
Learn more about the Global Biodiversity Framework.
[00:00:00.080] - Marianne Kettunen
We have the material, we kind of have the know-how. How can we accelerate this now?
[00:00:03.520] - Bianca Brasil
How can I be viable, but at the same time more responsible? How can I rethink packaging? How can I rethink the way I use my resources?
[00:00:15.440] - Lou
Right now, the global loss of biodiversity is a crisis as pressing as climate change. But what if the way we design our economy is actually the best tool for protecting and regenerating our natural world? Today, we're diving into the essential link between circularity and biodiversity. I'm very pleased to introduce Marianne Kettunen, Ellen MacArthur Foundation's Biodiversity Lead for Policy. We'll be joined by Bianca Brasil, Program Manager at the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity.
[00:00:51.900] - Lou
The three of us are going to discuss how circular business models can deliver on nature goals, what the road to COP17 looks like, and how the business world can shift from being part of the problem to leading the solution.
[00:01:09.160] - Lou
Thanks to you both so much for joining me today. I guess we should just get straight on with the serious business of biodiversity. Marianne, if I may, I'd like to begin with you with the somewhat sobering statistic that 90% of our biodiversity loss is due to the extraction and the way we process our natural resources. Building on the Foundation's recent policy, Scaling action for nature, how can circular economy approaches and business models help us to deliver on the biodiversity objectives we currently need?
[00:01:48.340] - Marianne Kettunen
I'm obviously biassed because I'm the Biodiversity Lead, but I'm really enthused by this topic. To your question, “What can circular economy do for biodiversity and for nature?” The three words, Eliminate, Circulate, Regenerate, which of course is the slogan for circular economy, but if we look at that through the lens of biodiversity and nature, firstly, circular economy helps to eliminate pollution and emissions, which all are key threats to biodiversity. That is one key way that circular economy helps biodiversity target delivery. The example of plastics pollution is a key one here. Circular economy eliminates plastics pollution and that then helps less plastics, ideally no plastics to end up in our ecosystems.
[00:02:39.270] - Marianne Kettunen
Then circulating. Circular economy aims to keep resources in the economy at the highest value possible. Every mobile phone that gets refurbished and reused, every piece of clothing that gets a pre-loved life, every furniture that keeps on staying in the households, is that much less pressure on biodiversity because it's that much less virgin resources being used. It's a really key way for circular economy to support biodiversity.
[00:03:13.210] - Marianne Kettunen
Thirdly, regeneration, which might be, perhaps, the sometimes forgotten element of circularity. A truly circular economy also, where it can, helps to Regenerate. Regenerate nature, bring back nutrients into the soil and ecosystems, and also that way help biodiversity nature to thrive. Those are the ways that the 3 circular economy slogans work for biodiversity and nature. Then looking at the biodiversity targets, which we now have, we adopted them in 2022, and they now run until 2030, so we're midway of deliver those targets.
[00:03:54.570] - Marianne Kettunen
We looked at those targets in our policy brief. We concluded that circular economy approaches, circular economy business models, they can support the delivery of all those targets, directly or indirectly. They are targets on pollution, targets on sustainable consumption, targets on sustainable land management. Circular economy approaches can support all of that. Finally, first and foremost—and that is why I love that Bianca is here today—is that circular economy approaches and business models, they can help to make biodiversity everybody's business across different sectors. We call that biodiversity mainstreaming. What it means is that we are able to adopt more biodiversity-friendly, more regenerative practises by the help of circular economy.
[00:04:44.580] - Lou
It's back to the basics of the circular economy principles, Eliminate, Circulate and Regenerate. Bianca, you've been working in this space since 2009—quick maths—coming up 17 years, if not already. We are in nearly February. How have you seen the level of business engagement in biodiversity discussions and negotiations, perhaps, change over those years?
[00:05:14.230] - Bianca Brasil
Fifteen, seventeen years ago, biodiversity loss was hardly ever mentioned in boardrooms. It was all about climate, corporate social responsibility. Then in 2012, our convention, the Convention on Biological Diversity, held the first ever business and biodiversity forum during its COP11, which was a small-scale event, around 60 people in the room. Lots of interest, but still small-scale. If you fast-forward to our last COP, where we had over 3,000 business representatives flocking to Cali to follow the negotiations and join the forum, it's visible, and it's palpable to see that not only the business sector, but also the financial sector, now, have understood the scale and the relevance of biodiversity loss to their businesses and to their portfolios. There has been tremendous growth in interest in biodiversity from private sector in the past few years. That's really encouraging.
[00:06:10.190] - Bianca Brasil
The Global Biodiversity Framework also reflected the need to engage and to send a strong signal to the business and financial sectors about their role in achieving the biodiversity global goals and targets. The framework has a dedicated target, for example, calling on businesses to assess, monitor, and disclose on their impacts on biodiversity, and to also reduce them over time. With that, there's been visible interest and work done in the space. We now have various reporting and disclosure frameworks that are indeed looking into biodiversity and nature closely, offering guidance on how businesses can measure, but also reduce the impacts. It's a process, and we are yet to see the concrete results of it, the reduction of impacts by economic activities.
[00:06:52.470] - Bianca Brasil
For us to collectively move the needle really, we need the mission of halting and reversing biodiversity loss. We have to act at a much, much faster pace. It's great that there's all these materials, guidance, frameworks available, but now we really need businesses to make use of them, to use the information that they receive throughout the reporting exercise, and start acting on reducing their impact on biodiversity.
[00:07:19.010] - Lou
I was actually going to say to you, “What's needed to move the needle forward?” Clearly we need to go a further and a lot faster. I was wondering if I can ask both of you, what can the business sector do to elevate circular economy approaches and bring them forward as part of urgent biodiversity discussions?
[00:07:44.270] - Marianne Kettunen
Thanks, Lou, indeed. Bianca, wonderful that you highlighted the urgency. We have the material, we have the know how, so how can we accelerate this now at the midway towards the 2030? I'll give it a start, and then I'll hand over to you, Bianca. I have a one immediate low-hanging fruit in my mind and then two other, bit of longer-term things that businesses could start to work on.
[00:08:08.890] - Marianne Kettunen
My low-hanging fruit is really to use the disclosure process that Bianca mentioned, that specific target that businesses are now delivering towards showing their dependencies, risks related to biodiversity, and also the impact on biodiversity, using that process and bringing it closer to the circular economy approaches and business models that they are also, many, adopting, making that joint narrative—because currently what I am observing, and we are observing, is that those two are moving forward in different parallel tracks—to simply bring that narrative together. Even if it can't be perhaps quantified, but even a qualitative manner it would make a difference because it creates a message towards governments' policies that we can work synergetically with these together.
[00:08:58.570] - Marianne Kettunen
The 2 other ideas, which we've been thinking on, biodiversity framework is now there. Countries, stakeholders are implementing it at the national level, and they are doing that in the context of national biodiversity strategies and action plans. We also looked at those sanitation action plans and the targets at national level in our policy brief, and we concluded that only around one-fourth of them actually recognises that circular economy can be a delivery mechanism tool to the targets. There's clearly some potential there, that we need to tap into to encourage countries to really see these synergies. Business sector can really help because they can invigorate, they can inspire, they can even push, perhaps, international stakeholders to create incentives, create initiatives where circular economy helps to deliver towards biodiversity targets. That's one thing that businesses could be a very useful ally, working at the national level with the governments towards the governments on that, create that enabling environment.
[00:10:10.880] - Marianne Kettunen
My final thought is a global one. Businesses nowadays, work with global supply chains. Circular economy has, perhaps in the past, been perceived a lot more of a Global North developed-country-agenda, which also sometimes have left the developing countries, the Global South, to think, “What is in it for us?” We would really love to change that type of thinking. Maybe businesses working with the global supply chains could be a helpful actor here because they could showcase how circular business models can help to deliver with business partners from the Global South to Global North. That's also something that business partners could be very helpful in supporting the circular economy for biodiversity.
[00:11:02.630] - Lou
Bianca, what's your take on this?
[00:11:06.150] - Bianca Brasil
I think Marianne managed to cover the essence of it. There is a role for different sectors of society here. Governments need to understand the challenges that lie ahead and use the tools that are available to build stronger and smarter policies. Circularity can be a powerful tool to support economic development while being smart about the use of natural resources. It's not reinventing the wheel. The wheel is there, it's just how to make the best use you can of the tools you have at hand.
[00:11:35.570] - Bianca Brasil
The private sector will have to take a hard look at the business models and understand that circularity can help them reduce the use of raw materials, natural resources, building a more resilient and responsible value chain. Looking also into opportunities to generate revenue for the workers that can help recycling the materials, reusing the materials and so forth. And consumers, society at large, will have the opportunity to make better and informed choices about the products and services that they are making for everyday purchases, and to favour those that are less harmful for the planet and for their health.
[00:12:14.830] - Bianca Brasil
I think it's… There is a role for everyone in there, and I think we are often trying to look for new solutions, innovation, but circular economy has been around for a long time. It's just the way of countries looking how, in their national realities, circular economy can help them in which processes, and adapt their policies. It's the businesses also, looking to, “How can I be viable, but at the same time more responsible? How can I rethink packaging? How can I rethink the way I use my resources?” I think overall, all of us, we all have also, this major role into knowing what's good for us, knowing what's good for the planet, making those choices every day. I think, with time, it will become easier, and the opportunities will be a lot more broader.
[00:13:14.100] - Lou
You made a really good point there. It is so important, too, that we do look locally to expand globally and how that can go out and work for everyone. If we're building up to COP17 Biodiversity, in October, what would a successful outcome look like for both the circular economy and the biodiversity agendas?
[00:13:43.110] - Marianne Kettunen
I'll give you the first go, and again Bianca, look forward to your really insightful ideas here, and thoughts. From our perspective, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, success will look like countries becoming, after COP17, more enthused, more aware about circular economy helping to deliver biodiversity targets. As I said, at the moment it seems that there is a synergy, important synergy, being missed there. If we can help to do that in partnerships with others, that would be wonderful. And the more concretely we aim and hope to do that, is host events, host panels, co-create with partners at COP17, to make this circular economy biodiversity agenda more on the front frame in the biodiversity discussions. That would be the first step moving forward.
[00:14:38.290] - Marianne Kettunen
As a second step, countries are currently also implementing a lot of bioeconomy strategies, or strategies for biomaterial use. That really sits at the centre of how circular economy can help to deliver towards nature targets because bioeconomic strategies, bio-based resources are the ones that create the key pressure on biodiversity and land use. If we can then create circular economy approaches and business models that help to make our bio-resource use, our bio-economies of the future, more sustainable and more biodiversity friendly, that will be a wonderful demonstration of how circular economy approaches, business models in practise, can deliver biodiversity.
[00:15:25.760] - Marianne Kettunen
Really bringing that as a one… Food for thought, as something that countries will take more concretely forward in the future. Truly, discussions that will be held at COP17 would be absolutely fantastic as what would success look like. Bianca, what do you think?
[00:15:42.280] - Bianca Brasil
I think if we understand the role of COP, COPs are where all these 196 countries come together, and they look at what's been accomplished, they look at the challenges ahead, and they either decide on a different path, or they adjust the current trajectory, and so forth. I think in that sense, COP17 will have a critical importance in our process. At COP17, we will have the midterm review of how countries are doing versus the four goals and 23 targets of the Global Biodiversity Framework. It will be, I think, a moment of understanding, and hopefully it will be the moment where we ignite the urgency we need to address the biodiversity loss challenge at scale. I think countries will have a reckoning, in a way, of how they're doing.
[00:16:31.820] - Bianca Brasil
Maybe some countries are doing really well in some of the targets and maybe not so much in others. Then it will be a moment where they can reflect on that, and they can chart the path to accelerating action, to really coming together as a community, as a global community, to deliver on those. In the current geopolitical reality, with all the tensions and conflicts around us, it will be important also that COP17 can send a positive message to the global community, that the countries recognise biodiversity loss as a threat, and that they are willing to come together to identify the solutions, share the knowledge and support collective action.
[00:17:09.480] - Bianca Brasil
I think having these tools represented showcased there, demonstrating success stories in one part of the world that can be replicable and scalable and others, can be useful and have a lot of credit to that. I think that's why we actually promote these events. We have a Business and Biodiversity Forum, we have a Finance Day. We have several opportunities where negotiators, the private sector, the organisations that develop the tools that we need, they come together and they share the knowledge. I think there's a lot of beauty when all of these players come together to understand about the challenges that they are facing, but also to share the solutions that they have developed and to share the results, the positive results, so we can all move forward together.
[00:17:59.690] - Lou
You're both basically going in to generate dialogue that accelerates action and implements solutions. I think this has been such a positive talk, and I'm really looking forward to welcoming you both back, after COP17, to tell us exactly how it went. Thanks so much for joining me today. It's clear from our conversation that to really take momentum forward, we need to identify what a Regenerative circular business case looks like and what kind of policy frameworks and incentives are required to fund that change. A huge thank you to Bianca and Marianne for joining us and helping us map out the road to COP17.
[00:18:45.270] - Lou
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