Biodiversity loss is recognised as one of the two major challenges facing our world today along with climate change. Despite the recognition at the international level of the important role that business can play in tackling the loss of biodiversity, an effective collaboration between business, governments and other relevant stakeholders, needs to be established.
The fashion and cosmetics industries’ biodiversity platforms aim precisely at going beyond the current impasse and establish concrete and meaningful actions to structure an effective collaboration with governments, other industries and other relevant stakeholders. Through the work of the platforms, companies that are leaders in sustainability thinking will provide the business leadership needed to support the development of a business case for the sustainable use of biodiversity, as well as the policy frameworks needed to maximise the business contribution.
The objective of the first advisory committee meeting is to evaluate the process made to date on the creation of the two industry platforms, take stock of the ongoing international process regarding biodiversity and define a strategy for continued work in this area.
The international mandates that UNCTAD has received in the area of trade and investment in biological resources create a window of opportunity to place the ideas and recommendations coming from the industry at the centre of the policy debates.
