This metric is intended to capture if the operations or activities of the organization negatively affected any biodiversity-sensitive areas during the reporting period.
Operations and activities refer to the processes and actions that an organization undertakes in order to produce goods or services and achieve its goals and objectives. This can include everything from product development and manufacturing, to marketing and sales, to supply chain management and logistics. Business operations can affect biodiversity-sensitive areas in several ways, including:
Habitat destruction and fragmentation: Business operations such as agriculture, logging, mining, and urbanization can result in the destruction and fragmentation of natural habitats, which can have negative impacts on the plants and animals that depend on them.
Pollution and contamination: Industrial activities can lead to the release of pollutants and contaminants into the environment, which can harm the health and well-being of the species living in and around the affected areas.
Overexploitation of natural resources: Extraction and use of natural resources such as timber, water, and minerals can lead to overexploitation of these resources, which can harm the species that depend on them.
A biodiversity-sensitive area can be defined as a location that has a high concentration of biodiversity, unique species, or rare ecosystems that are particularly vulnerable to human impacts. These areas can include natural habitats such as forests, wetlands, and coral reefs, as well as areas of high species richness or endemism. Please refer to the following resources to identify biodiversity-sensitive areas:
Natura 2000 network of protected areas: Natura 2000 is a network of core breeding and resting sites for rare and threatened species, and some rare natural habitat types which are protected in their own right. It stretches across all 27 EU countries, both on land and at sea. Please use the following site to discover key information on designated species and habitats: https://natura2000.eea.europa.eu/#
UNESCO World Heritage Sites: The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) seeks to encourage the identification, protection and preservation of cultural and natural heritage around the world considered to be of outstanding value to humanity. The full list of protected sites can be found here: https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/
Key Biodiversity Areas: The KBA Programme supports the identification, mapping, monitoring and conservation of key biodiversity areas to help safeguard the most critical sites for nature on our planet. Source: https://www.keybiodiversityareas.org/kba-data