Zhang Ra Bridge
Executive Council member
Macau Institute for Corporate Social Responsibility in Greater China (MICSRGC)
Recent estimates indicate that species are dying at least 1,000 times faster than without human intervention. Since 1970, the populations of mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, amphibians, and various species have declined significantly. Scientists and conservationists call the current era of mass extinction the “sixth mass extinction,” and even the decline of biodiversity today, even “biological destruction.” Biodiversity contributes not only to ecosystem productivity, but also to food security and human adaptation to climate change. Despite the importance of biodiversity, rapid global socio-economic development is increasingly straining the environment.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is generally considered to outline a company’s responsibility for social and environmental impacts, as well as the economic impact of its activities. This is called the “triple bottom line approach” because it takes into account the economic, social and environmental impacts of corporate operations. Therefore, social and environmental reporting is seen as an important way to mitigate the environmental crises caused by human intervention. Scholars in the field of CSR advocate the concept of “biodiversity and extinction accounting” to better understand the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem services, economic activity and human well-being. The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) has another section, GRI 304, aimed at helping businesses, governments, and other organizations understand and communicate their impact on biodiversity. Specifically, GRI 304 encourages organizations to report owned, leased, and managed operational sites within or adjacent to a protected area, and areas of high biodiversity value outside the protected area. doing. Significant impact of activities, products and services on biodiversity. Protected or restored habitat. IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red List species and nature conservation list species of countries inhabiting areas affected by operations.
To increase the specificity and effectiveness of the Biodiversity and Extinction Disclosure Framework, scholars have an innovative extinction accounting framework that enables businesses to disclose the efforts made to prevent species impact and extinction. Developed by. Professor Jill Atkins (University of Sheffield, UK) and Professor Warren Malone (University of the Witwatersland, South Africa) have proposed an overview of an extinction accounting framework that describes a six-element process that incorporates: Why you want to deal with this risk. Report on the actions and plans the company takes to reduce the risk of extinction. Complements reports (including partnerships) that focus on actions formed to combat extinction. Evaluation of extinction prevention initiatives. Audit of affected species / populations / biomes; and description of progress. The extinction accounting paradigm should be able to easily include an integrated capital report to help organizations manage their “natural capital” and show how to prevent extinction in the areas where they do business.
Biodiversity and extinction accounting also provides insights for practical applications in the region. Macau, for example, is densely populated and urbanized, yet has many diverse wildlife and ecologically valuable wetlands. Researchers commented that Macau’s ecosystem is relatively fragmented and that endemic species of Macau face persecution from urban development and pollution. Current efforts to conserve biodiversity and prevent extinction in Macau are ad hoc, question-oriented, and the government’s limited biodiversity and extinction disclosures are open to the public. It has been. Therefore, a set of disclosures and initiatives can be implemented to manage the local ecosystem, species, and genetic diversity. Companies, NGOs and governments are encouraged to consider the use of biodiversity and extinction accounting as an active means of mitigating species extinction and promoting biodiversity, based on solid evidence. To do.
It is generally believed that CSR reporting has the potential to drive positive change, as it is a communication practice that can lead to improved society. As the endless costs of humanity’s endless claims to nature reach irreversible highs, it is time for bold collective action. This article argues that it is important to establish a close relationship between active species extinction and our global capitalist system before it is too late. The loss of biodiversity will ultimately bring about an unparalleled catastrophe for humankind. Therefore, explaining biodiversity is a prerequisite for long-term sustainable development. By emphasizing the cost of biodiversity loss, the biodiversity and extinction accounting model builds a preliminary discussion to prevent species extinction and ecosystem collapse, and uses it to build species. It can motivate broader research and reporting on extinction. Hopefully this article will inspire more collective efforts from companies and various types of organizations to identify species loss and report their relentless efforts to prevent extinction. ..
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