The nature and biodiversity crisis: what does it mean for universities and strategic planners?
Humanity’s impact on nature and biodiversity is “the other” planetary crisis, interacting with the climate emergency to drive loss, damage and growing risks to the environment, countries and organisations.
The natural environment provides the resources that sustain humankind. Everything we use and consume, down to the air we breathe and water we drink, depends on a healthy planet which can sustain a diversity of life.
Over the last 50 years human activities have decimated the natural world, creating a nature emergency of equal gravity to the climate crisis. The potential financial losses in the UK from risks resulting from the destruction of nature and biodiversity are estimated in hundreds of billions.
It is hard to imagine a more critical strategic driver for long-term prosperity.
To reach a world that can sustain life for future generations, every organisation will need to reduce its impacts on nature through its direct activities and value chain. The ultimate goal is a nature positive world economy, in which every organisation plays its role.
In this SIG meeting we will explore nature and biodiversity as strategic drivers, and how planners can support universities’ journey towards being nature positive institutions.
We are joined by Emily Stott from Nature Positive Universities, a global initiative affiliated with the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and Pippa Wisbey from SUMS Consulting, a nature specialist who has worked on nature risks and impacts across multiple sectors.
The meeting will include an update on the latest global policy developments from COP16 in Cali (the biodiversity counterpart to climate COPs), taking place this month.
Some (optional!) pre-reading
Speakers
Tom and Hannah will be joined by Emily Stott and Pippa Wisbey
Emily Stott works for Nature Positive Universities, coordinating a global network of universities signing up to start a Nature Positive journey, in collaboration with UNEP and the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. Emily is a biological anthropologist and has worked in sustainability for almost ten years, helping to develop the One Planet Living framework, low impact housing, and alternative paper and fibre sources, such as hemp textiles with environmental group Bioregional and a consortium of research partners. She also collaborates with the Oxford Treescapes project, working with Oxfordshire parishes and landowners to promote nature recovery on their land.
Pippa Wisbey joined SUMS Consulting in 2024 from McKinsey & Co., where she was a member of the sustainability practice specialising in nature strategy and climate policy. Previously, she worked for Vivid Economics, project managing cutting-edge initiatives to help make nature and biodiversity material to financial institutions. Pippa supports institutions to understand and navigate their sustainability challenges, specialising in nature related risks and impacts and their intersection with climate. She brings experience of the sustainability landscape across different sectors to help Higher Education Institutions fulfil their leadership potential in this space, supporting them to find suitable approaches.
Tagged : Sustainability in Strategy and Planning, Events
Type : Meeting