JSE-listed companies not big on biodiversity, study shows

On average, the many companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) give little action to the incorporation of biodiversity considerations directly into their business strategies and activities. This was according to the results of a 2018 study conducted by the National Biodiversity and Business Network (NBBN) that is led by the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT).

The study reportedly used publically available information on the companies to determine whether they had a biodiversity policy, whether they had a biodiversity action plan, how effective any such action plan was, and whether they publically disclosed their biodiversity risks and performance.

Constant Hoogstad, the EWT’s senior manager for industry partnerships, said that “biodiversity produces a wide variety of goods and services on which businesses depend”. These included crop pollination, water filtration, flood attenuation, erosion control and raw materials.

“Businesses are critically dependent on these ecosystem services to produce their own products and services, and they also impact on biodiversity through their day-to-day activities, for example through deforestation for the production of timber,” he continued.

The EWT invited companies to join its Biodiversity Disclosure Project (BDP), which aimed to assist companies in implementing biodiversity mainstreaming. While the NBBN’s report did not give individual scores for each company on the JSE, it did name all of the companies. Allen Duncan, group operations manager for JSElisted agricultural company, Crookes Brothers Limited (CBL), said that while he had not been aware of the NBBN’s study and report, CBL placed great emphasis on implementing sustainable practices across its operations in various parts of Southern Africa.

“If we didn’t do this, our shareholders wouldn’t invest in CBL. A lot of our shareholders are community-type organisations that demand sustainable agriculture. They want to know that we are spraying responsibly and controlling alien plants.”

Duncan cautioned the BDP to avoid duplicating the efforts of other programmes that aimed to assist companies to implement biodiversity mainstreaming actions. – Lloyd Phillips