During the 19th Sustainability Summit organized by CESD and CII, Rinika Grover, Head of Sustainability & CSR at Apollo Tyres, pointed out the rising significance of corporate social responsibility. She talked about the decline in biodiversity linked to climate change and proposed nature-based strategies and policies to minimize environmental effects. Following are the key insights.
In modern corporations' sustainability efforts, CSR serves as an essential strategy. The issues that businesses encounter need to be analyzed through several angles focusing on biodiversity. In the last decade, biological diversity has significantly decreased due to factors like deforestation and climate change. Firms need to identify these issues and implement actions that lessen their ecological footprint while benefiting the neighborhoods they support.
Climate change is the main reason for species loss and a powerful answer is decarbonization. Cutting emissions and moving to renewable energy are important actions but they fail to offer a comprehensive solution. Nature-based solutions and biodiversity credits have become a favored tactic for companies and governments. These strategies focus on addressing negative environmental results by pursuing positive measures such as developing ecosystems or protecting wetlands. Companies and organizations must approach climate change and biodiversity loss with caution; mere offsets do not serve as the entire solution.
At global conferences such as the World Economic Forum, firms concentrate on eco-friendly approaches while striving to reduce their ecological effect. In Europe, managing natural resources has become vital for addressing deforestation problems. A key effort from businesses is necessary to end deforestation in their supply chains.
Achieving new goals requires the creation of unique systems and a solid link to supply chains for executing sustainability plans. Companies struggle with this initiative yet it is crucial for maintaining sustainability. To move beyond basic compliance with environmental requirements, firms must grasp the value of biodiversity in their operations.
In the context of CSR strategy, Apollo highly values biodiversity. To enhance its sustainability goals, Apollo has expended considerable resources on mangrove conservation situated in coastal zones that are integral to these ecosystems. Due to their high biodiversity level known for carbon sequestration and shoreline protection, mangroves play crucial roles. This continuous expenditure proves that a long-term sustainability plan is vital because temporary actions yield insignificant outcomes. Funding and focus on biodiversity projects need to be reliable over the years.
To increase their reach, organizations must unite with governments and different groups. Collaboration with government agencies on biodiversity projects shows that joint efforts lead to significant outcomes. Although a single firm cannot resolve the biodiversity issue alone, combined efforts and partnerships can bring about monumental change.
Efforts to promote biodiversity cannot be limited to specific departments but have to spread throughout the entire business process. For instance, Apollo has incorporated sustainability into its production line since it acknowledges the environmental effects of supply chain operations, including sourcing natural rubber. Through membership in bodies such as the IBBi, Apollo assesses its activities in relation to impacts on the patterns of biological diversity.
This integrated approach shows that corporate sustainability is about more than CSR budgets, but about changing the company’s fundamental strategic plan to incorporate sustainability. For Apollo, this has entailed starting agriculture at its centers and looking at other activities that will make the environment around its operations sustainable and healthy.
A report published earlier this year found that there is a significant funding deficit for nature-based solutions; if the 500 largest companies dedicated 1% of their profits to such initiatives, the funding shortfall would be 20% covered. This underlines the fact that there has to be a much stronger focus on what they are doing to support it. In countries like India, there is a growing consciousness about the problems of biodiversity but there is not much corporate responsibility.
It is crucial to compare themselves with other companies because many times it is impossible to reinvent the wheel. Apollo has evaluated the major business organizations in India for their conservation measures and discovered that most of them have policies, but few have plans in action. Apollo understands that it needs to formalize its commitments to meet the standards of international sustainability.
Even though more and more companies are incorporating biodiversity into their sustainability plans, there is still a lot to be done. For firms such as Apollo, the process has started but it is not easy to attain sustainable change. The efforts for managing biological diversity have to be cross-functional and cross-geographical rather than being limited to certain geographical locations or functional areas. Nature-based solutions require significant capital, time and effort, and cooperation. But the gains are worth the effort, the gain being healthier ecosystems, better business practices, and a sustainable future.
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