Biodiversity

Biodiversity loss is threatening the health of the planet, the well-being of future generations, and business growth and performance. The emergence of new standards and regulations has intensified the pressure on companies to urgently act on the biodiversity crisis. Taking action now reinforces your organization’s commitment to sustainability and enhances your reputation as scrutiny increases.

Save A Species

Our new Save A Species program finances the conservation and recovery of threatened tree species in the world, saving them from extinction. The program will help you deliver immediate, positive and measurable impact on biodiversity. The program enhances biodiversity at a level that everyone understands.

Action through our Save A Species program will position your company towards becoming nature-positive, actively contributing to biodiversity conservation and restoration.

From awareness to action

Companies are facing growing pressure to understand and address their negative impact on nature. Many are responding by beginning to measure their biodiversity footprint, developing biodiversity conservation and restoration strategies and setting nature positive goals to reduce their impact – often for the first time.

Established at COP15 in 2022, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) was adopted to introduce the 30x30 target, which aims to protect 30% of the Earth and restore 30% of degraded ecosystems by 2030. The GBF estimates that an investment of $700 billion every year in biodiversity is needed to achieve its long-term goals. Recent frameworks such as the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosure (TNFD) and Science Based Targets Initiative for Nature (SBTN), have been introduced to guide companies in integrating nature into decision-making, committing to biodiversity and reporting on progress.

Now is the time to take the lead, demonstrating your commitment and action to a thriving planet.

Act now to save the world’s most threatened tree species

The Save A Species program offers you a unique opportunity to deliver multiple benefits to your business while rehabilitating critical ecosystems:

• Demonstrate and communicate your commitment to nature and biodiversity by delivering measurable and monitored impact. Your brand can be at the forefront of the global call to act on nature.
  
• Have confidence in the credibility of your actions, working in collaboration with Climate Impact Partners and the leading global expert in plant conservation, Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI).
  
• Stay ahead of the evolving array of biodiversity solutions that can be complex to navigate and communicate. Focusing on a specific threatened tree species allows you to engage with your stakeholders with a simple, understandable message.
  
• Managing your environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks: Engaging now puts you in a leadership position in managing those risks.
  
• Integrate the program into your portfolio of climate solutions beyond your value chain: In addition to delivering biodiversity and community impacts, these projects will naturally sequester CO₂ through tree planting. It’s worth noting that our Save A Species program doesn’t measure carbon emission removal and won't qualify for carbon credits. If you are interested in carbon projects, find out more about our nature-based solutions that conserve and restore nature through afforestation and reforestation projects.

How the Save A Species program addresses the biodiversity crisis

Trees are the foundation of our ecosystems, millions of animal and plant species rely on them for survival. They are also crucial to mitigate climate change as they absorb and store carbon emissions from the atmosphere.

Delivered by Climate Impact Partners and Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI), the Save A Species program works globally to recover threatened tree species from extinction, providing you with quantifiable positive results on biodiversity. BGCI has already helped conserve 200 threatened tree species worldwide, trained 5,000 people in tree conservation and managed tree conservation projects in 40 countries.

Each tree species harbours distinctive values and benefits, influencing human life in diverse ways – from fostering biodiversity, offering medicinal properties, providing food for people, supporting local communities, serving as ornamental adornments and many other benefits.

How to save a tree species

Recovery plans have already been developed for many threatened tree species in the world – each uniquely tailored to the species’ location, characteristics, and context. The plans are designed to put the species on a pathway to recovery by reducing threats and promoting regeneration, via active planting and protection. Each species recovery plan is developed and delivered in collaboration with local communities and local botanical experts on the ground. 

Corporate financial support is critical in implementing these plans, preventing the irreversible loss of species.

Case study: How Malawi’s national tree was saved from extinction

Cedar forests on Mulanje Mountain in Malawi have declined drastically in the last thirty years and as a result, the Mulanje cedar was almost extinct, with only seven mature trees left.

The recovery project successfully saved the species by:

• Establishing 10 community nurseries, working with experts to improve protocols for the tree's propagation and restoration.
• Planting over 500,000 seedlings over a period of three years.
• Creating over 1,000 jobs in the local communities.
• Conducting training in nursery management and enterprise development.
• Raising awareness of Mulanje cedar as a potential source of sustainable commercial timber.

The project was completed in partnership with Botanic Gardens Conservation International, Mulanje Mountain Conservation Trust and the Forestry Research Institute of Malawi.

Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set 17 objectives for global sustainable development. Protecting and restoring biodiversity with the Save A Species program focuses on SGD 15 Life on Land while addressing other SDGs as co-benefits.

Get involved today

Your involvement in the Save A Species program will contribute to restoring our natural ecosystems, ensuring sustainable livelihoods and sequestering carbon emissions from the atmosphere.

Find out more about threatened tree species in need of action and invest to save them from extinction. Download the brochure of vulnerable, endangered and critically endangered tree species.