Introduction to the GBS – a tool to assess the
biodiversity footprint
of businesses and
financial assets
Introduction to the Global Biodiversity Score
Context and overview
A tool to establish and measure corporate and financial commitments for biodiversity
- Good governance - Financing
- Screen suppliers against deforestation
- Offset carbon emissions - Reduce water
consumption
- Zero net deforestation - Zero plastic
- Sustainable supply chains
Potential translations for businesses (examples)
Actions
Enabling
Apex goal
GBS assessments
- Reduced LUC & CC MSA loss - Cannot currently be assessed - Gains across several
pressures
- Reduced land use change &
climate change MSA loss - Climate change MSA gains - Freshwater MSA gains
Total footprint
Objectives
The prerequisites for a biodiversity footprint for businesses and financial institutions
❑ Quantitative
❑ Global
❑ Spatialized
❑ Transparent
❑ Cross-sectoral
Multiple needs, multiple tools
The GBS fits within this context
The biodiversity indicator : MSA for Mean Species Abundance
𝐌𝐒𝐀 % = 𝑂𝑏𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑒𝑑 𝐵𝑖𝑜𝑑𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 (𝑆𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑠) 𝑅𝑒𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝐵𝑖𝑜𝑑𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 (𝑆𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑠)
The unit of the GBS :
𝑘𝑚𝟐𝑀𝑆𝐴 = 𝑀𝑆𝐴% × 𝑆𝑢𝑟𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑒
The biodiversity metric: the Mean Species Abundance (MSA)
1 km² MSA loss is equivalent to the destruction of 1 km² of pristine natural areas
The Global Biodiversity Score (GBS) tool
❑ A corporate biodiversity footprint assessment tool: evaluates the impact of companies and investments on biodiversity at a corporate level
❑ Results expressed in MSA.km2with MSA the Mean Species Abundance, a metric characterizing the intactness of ecosystems
❑ Links data on economic activity to pressureson biodiversity, and translate them into biodiversity impacts
▪ Hybrid approach used, to take advantage of the best data available at each assessment step
❑ Covers the main pressures on biodiversity: Land use, Fragmentation, Encroachment, Atmospheric nitrogen deposition, Climate change, Hydrological disturbance, Wetland conversion, Nutrient emissions andLand use change in catchment
Frequently asked questions
❑ What is the reference used by the GBS for the biodiversity state?
▪ MSA = 100% refers to an “undisturbed” ecosystem (no historical baseline).
▪ Note that it is different than the reference in the context of a company’s footprint computation which refers to the biodiversity state at the
beginning of the evaluation period.
❑ Can a desert and a tropical forest both reach a MSA of 100%?
▪ Yes but in the future we consider introducing weightings to take into account biome’s species richness and abundance.
❑ Does the GBS consider that transforming a natural forest into intensive agriculture has the same impact in Cambridge and in the Atlantic forest?
▪ Yes but in the future we consider introducing weightings to take into account ecosystem’s scarcity and vulnerability.
FAQ
❑ Does the GBS take into account upstream and downstream impacts?
▪ At the moment upstream impacts are accounted for. The objective is to also take downstream impacts into account.
❑ Has the MSA been measured trough ecological surveys?
▪ Pressure-impact relationships were derived from a meta-analysis of scientific articles which are all field-based ecological surveys. Then MSA values are generally computed based on those relations.
❑ Are the models and data underlying the GBS regularly updated?
▪ Yes. GLOBIO for instance is regularly updated, in average every 4/5 years.
❑ Does the GBS take into account marine biodiversity and invasive species?
▪ Not yet as we couldn’t identify suitable data.
FAQ
A stepwise approach to use the best data
available
Stepwise approach
The "Scope" concept allows to take into account biodiversity impacts throughout the value chain
Lien entre approche par défaut et approche affinée
Illustration of the default approach for the assessment of the footprint due to the
production of EUR 1M worth of wheat in France
The B4B+ Club
The Business for Positive Biodiversity (B4B+) Club
3 annual meetings
- 2 meetings of each workstream - 1 plenary meeting
1 annual report through the broadcasting platform of the "Biodiversity and Economics Mission" (MEB)
A first reporton the work of the first year of the Club isavailable:
http://www.mission-economie-biodiversite.com/downloads/biodiv2050-outlook-no-11/
1 dedicated web page (in French):http://www.cdc-biodiversite.fr/laction-volontaire/en-savoir-plus-sur-le-club-b4b/
The Club contributes to the funding of the GBS’ technical development:
Yearly membership fee: 5 500€ (VAT excluded) Duration: until the end of 2020
The B4B+ Club in details
Members and partners of the B4B+ Club
Value chain workstream
Members and partners of the B4B+ Club
Finance workstream
Partners
Case studies - application of the GBS
Comparison of supply options for Solvay
Solvay produces natural vanillin obtained by bioconversion of ferulic acid, a natural organic compound found in rice bran.
This rice can be sourced from various suppliers/ and locations
As of now, Solvay sources its rice in Japan. On the long run, the
objective is to understand and measure the biodiversity footprint of the various supply options in order to test different suppliers
Solvay - Business Case: introduction
• Dynamic footprint for Japan is the smallest with 3 MSAm²/ton, almost 4 times less than the world average mix (11
MSAm²/ton)
• 2 main patterns:
➢ For countries where pressures from land conversions are
expected to remain low (Japan or USA), main driver is climate change
➢ For countries where pressures from land conversions are
expected to be high (Vietnam, Myanmar…), spatial pressure is Solvay - Dynamic footprint per ton and pressure
breakdown varies significantly among supply options
Solvay – land conversion forecast varies greatly among countries
Solvay – A expected, for static footprint yield is the main driver
• Yield is the main driver for static footprint
➢ United states static footprint (1,100 MSAm², yield=8,5
t/ha) is 2,8 times smaller than Thailand’s (3000 MSA.m², yield=3,0 t/ha), inline with yields ratio
• Results are consistent with ecoinvent
Solvay – conclusions & next steps
Dynamic and static footprints vary strongly depending on the origin of the rice purchased
➢
Embedding biodiversity indicators into business decision-making process (supply chain) can allow better decisions because being more sustainable and answers Solvay’s stakeholders expectations.
Pressure breakdown varies significantly among countries depending mainly on land conversion forecast, leading to very different situations.
➢
Solvay can investigate supplier practices to better understand their
impacts (location in the country, GHG emissions, water
consumption…)
Footprint of a listed equity portfolio for BNP
Paribas Asset Management
Case study – assessing the footprint of 5 businesses in a listed equity portfolio (1/2)
Case study – assessing the footprint of 5 businesses in a listed equity portfolio (2/2)
Towards a common standard for biodiversity footprint – work
with ASN Bank, ACTIAM and Finance in Motion
❑
On metrics
▪
DC1 - Measure biodiversity as a whole
▪
DC2 - Use a common metric across industries
▪
DC3 - Use a common metric across countries
❑
On attribution
▪
Follow the money as far as possible to understand and account for the biodiversity impact in the real economy.
▪
In principle, include scope 1, 2 and relevant categories of scope 3 of the investee.
▪
Include all financial flows (i.e. equity and debt) to the investee as much as possible.
Common ground principles
❑ On scope
▪ DC4 - Cover the entire value chain
❑ On pressures on biodiversity
▪ R1 - The footprint should cover the most important pressures: habitat change, overexploitation, invasive alien species, pollution, and climate change.
▪ R2 - The footprint should be susceptible to changes in the activity.
▪ R3, R4, R5 - The information, data and methods used should be technically robust, transparent and fit for purpose.
▪ R6 - The use of the footprint methodology should enable a comparison of footprinting results over time and between different datasets.
Common ground principles
❑ On the analysis of impacts
▪ R7 - Changes in the intensity of pressures must be
translated into footprint changes and the links need to be explicit and quantitative.
▪ The spatial and time dimensions should be part of the biodiversity metric.
▪ R8 - A high degree of compatibility between impact assessment methodologies should be maintained. No single assessment tool can cover the variety of needs of all the stakeholders.
Common ground principles
Antoine Cadi
Directeur Recherche et Innovation Mail:
antoine.cadi@cdc-biodiversite.fr Tél. : +33 (0)1 80 40 15 16 Mobile : +33 (0) 6 21 63 18 00
Joshua Berger
Chef de projet B4B+
Mail:
joshua.berger@cdc-biodiversite.fr Tél. : +33 (0)1 80 40 15 41 Mobile : +33 (0) 6 21 86 16 81
