On Sunday (27), CEBDS brought together business and government leaders from Brazil and Colombia at a dinner organized in partnership with EY to address the joint actions of the business sector and the government to drive the bioeconomy agenda.
Bioeconomy in the Spotlight
The meeting discussed the opportunity to fill the current gap in financing the bioeconomy through partnerships between the public and private sectors, such as the creation of mechanisms for blended finance, to support the growth of this market.
The event was attended by the Secretary of Green Economy, Decarbonization and Bioindustry of the MDIC, Rodrigo Rollemberg and Rafael de Sá Marques, General Coordinator of Genetic Heritage of the MDIC, as well as representatives of the Government of Brazil and Colombia, the WBCSD, and companies associated with CEBDS.
The discussion addressed important topics such as the challenges to be overcome for the development of the bioeconomy, the financing of the bioeconomy in partnership with the private sector, and the launch of the publication “Recommendations of the Brazilian Business Sector for the Development of the Bioeconomy”, which you can access by clicking here.
In the document, delivered to MDIC representatives, CEBDS makes its contributions to the National Bioeconomy Plan, with the aim of promoting sustainable development in Brazil and reinforcing the country's role on the global stage.
In addition to the bioeconomy, the participation of the private sector in the preservation of biodiversity has been a central topic of this COP16, ranging from the production line of products to the creation of reports that demonstrate the actions of companies. Regarding this, Ricardo M. de Asumpção, Chief Sustainability Officer at EY, says that:
“Companies operating in Brazil not only have the obligation to include nature in their corporate strategies, but also to understand the potential for value generation that exists there.”
– Ricardo M. de Asumpção, Chief Sustainability Officer at EY
Goal 15 on the Agenda
Also at COP16, CEBDS organized the event “Collaborative approaches to implementing Goal 15”, which featured the presentation of practical experiences from the private sector and the governments of Brazil, Colombia and countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
At the meeting, CEBDS President Marina Grossi highlighted the need to develop strategies adapted to megadiverse countries such as Brazil and Colombia, emphasizing the importance of the means of implementation, a theme that CEBDS and other institutions have been promoting.
The event featured two panels, the first moderated by economist Vassilis Gkoumas, from WWF, representatives of governments and organizations discussed examples of implementation of Goal 15 in different countries: Brazil (with Bráulio Dias, Director of Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biodiversity, Ministry of Environment), Colombia (Juan Camilo, advisor for Private Sector Affairs) and Southeast Asia (Oliver Agoncillo, Director of Biodiversity Integration, ASEAN).
CEBDS’s Director of Nature and Society, Juliana Lopes, moderated the presentations of the second panel, which focused on the private sector and the implementation of Target 15, with contributions from four experts: Vanessa Pereira, Head of Biodiversity at CEBDS, detailed the engagement of the private sector in Brazil, highlighting the pilot group focused on the TNFD; Ana Luci Grizzi, from EY Latam, shared lessons from the Pilot of Collective Finance and the Development of the TNFD in the country. Representing Colombia, María Alejandra Reyes, from CECODES, presented specific practices for the implementation of Target 15; Warwick Mostert, Director of Biodiversity at Anglo American, addressed the engagement of the private sector in South Africa in relation to Target 15.
During her presentation, Vanessa discussed the launch of the publication on the results of the pilot project aimed at the Taskforce for Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD). You can check out the document “Nature Disclosure in a Mega-Diverse Country: A Case Study of the Finance and Development Sector” clicking here.
Private Sector and COP16
CEBDS's work is directly linked to Goal 15 of the Kunming-Montreal Agreement, which defines the role of the business sector in the search for biodiversity conservation, highlighted in this COP with great participation from the Private Sector.
About this, Vanessa Vlnieska, Environmental Sustainability Auditor at Rumo, associated with CEBDS, talks a little about the company's participation in the event that takes place in Cali, Colombia.
“We know that our responsible and sustainable actions towards the environment and biodiversity are of significant importance in the territories where we operate. Therefore, adopting more sustainable, more innovative practices and participating in discussions to implement public policies that can be put into practice is important for us to be able to act effectively and prioritize the issue increasingly in the sector.”
– Vanessa Vlnieska, Environmental Sustainability Auditor at Rumo
To learn more about private sector actions at COP16, access the #CEBDSNACOP16 HUB, updated with business sector news, publications, and other important details about events and participation of CEBDS and associates at this year's Biodiversity Conference.
Access by clicking here.
