By Jerome Onoja
As part of its activities around the International Biological Diversity Day, Schneider Electric, a leading firm in energy management and automation has made commitments to actualize its pledge of combating the global loss of biodiversity by achieving a net-zero loss of biodiversity from its operations, with a specific target of 2030.
This statement was captured in a press release that included highlights of planned actions towards enhancing protection and restoration of biodiversity.
As countries and corporates continue with inaction, the damage done to biodiversity become irreversible. Some of the effects include serious peril not only to animals going extinct but to the world’s economies and to the health of human beings.
The pledge made by Schneider Electric to stem the negative tide saw it commit to quantifying and regularly publishing its impact on biodiversity; achieving net-zero biodiversity loss in its direct operations by 2030; and developing solutions and technologies that contribute to the preservation of biodiversity.
Others include partnering with suppliers to eliminate the use of single-use plastics from packaging; and partnering with NGOs and investment funds, and engaging employees and partners on local initiatives, such as ensuring that all of its sites deploy biodiversity conservation and restoration programs.
Olivier Blum, the Chief Strategy and Sustainability Officer at Schneider Electric said: “We urgently need to take stock of the impacts we have on nature and biodiversity but it will take much more than that to preserve and restore our ecosystem.
“Quantifying resources utilization and setting up bold ambitions are key, but success will come from concrete and immediate actions that do not compromise on our needs or those of future generations.”
The commitments made by Schneider Electric are captured as part of the Act4nature International, an alliance of international companies, NGOs, academic bodies and public institutions that aims to accelerate business action in support of nature.
The release noted that, the Act4Nature steering committee has described the Schneider Electric commitments as Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely (SMART).
Due to human activities leading to habitat destruction, climate change, over-exploitation of natural resources, and pollution, there is a high rate at which biodiversity is being lost. As a consequence, modern times are often referred to as the 6th mass extinction.
A new study looking at extinction rates in freshwater ecosystems explained that species are disappearing faster today than they did during the end-Cretaceous extinction which killed the dinosaurs. It also noted that, the damages being witnessed would take millions of years to undo.
The year 2021 will be remembered as one with great mobilization for biodiversity with programs like One Planet Summit which held in January, while the IUCN World Conservation Congress is scheduled for September and COP15 Biodiversity is due in October 2021.