SDG #15 - Life on Land - celebrating the amazing, endangered world around us

In April, the United Nations turns its attention to SDG# 15 – Life on Land.

‘Life on Land’ is a huge subject and one which is both easy to understand (we see the world is all around us) and easy to forget about (we simply take our physical environment for granted).

Most of the SDGs are clearer to understand from the get go; SDG 7 for example, ‘Affordable and Clean Energy’ or SDG 2 ‘Zero Hunger’. They are written as statement of intent whilst ‘Life on Land’ is more of a statement of fact with no context around what might need to be done.

Its sub-heading is far more informative: “Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation”

The way we read it at ESGmark®, ‘Life on Land’ is a celebration of the complexity that makes up the living world. It’s about so much more than the animals and birds we see - taking into account everything that is alive from enzymes to elephants, soil to sparrows - the habitats that support them and the connections between them.

The pandemic has re-awakened us to the reality of our lived environment. Nature is all around us and reminds us that humanity lives as part of it rather than as a distinct or superior entity. Whilst there are plenty of theories as to how the pandemic started, the most compelling and seemingly most scientifically robust is that the virus jumped from an animal to a human being – a zoonotic disease. Our effect on the climate, encroachment on wildlife habitats and global travel help circulate such zoonotic diseases further than ever before. According to the Pulitzer Center, these factors combined “with urbanisation, overpopulation and global trade…(have) created the ideal world for pandemics to thrive”. Indeed, this didn’t happen by accident, we have created the ideal world for pandemics to thrive in.

It seems a shame that the pandemic has called into question our treatment of the planet in a way that no other event or statistic has had the power to do. The sobering facts around SDG 15 are overwhelming.

We have lost 100 million hectares of forest since 2000, 41% of known species of amphibians are threatened with extinction, a UN report estimated that all of the World’s topsoil could become unproductive within 60 years if current rates of loss continue. Amongst all this, in 2019 financial assistance from global Development Assistance Committee members provided to support biodiversity and regeneration amounted to $6.6 billion - a decrease of 14% in real terms compared to 2018.

As with all the SDGs, SDG15 is a call to action.

‘Life on Land’ is a call to action for the regenerative steps we as a global community need to take to ensure the health, vibrancy and diversity of the natural world around us.

why does this all matter?

It can be easy for us to cocoon ourselves away, hoping that technology will save us – AI will create ever more production-intensive ways to feed us whilst the metaverse will provide asafe place to enjoy the world without having to leave our own homes. But the stark reality is that nothing can survive in a world of broken ecosystems and destroyed biodiversity.

Everything matters. Take bees for example - we all have a vague awareness that bees are important. Do most of us know why? The majority of our nutritious foods are bee-assisted – they pollinate 1/3 of our daily food supply and over ½ of the world’s fibres and raw materials. Yet the pesticides and monoculture farming used to produce these crops are decimating those very pollinators they need to survive.

Mundane decisions we take at the supermarket or department store ripple through the supply chain and make themselves felt in ecosystems thousands of miles away. That tub of own-brand margarine you might pick up for tomorrow’s toast likely contains palm oil produced in Malaysia or Indonesia, using farming methods that are destroying ancient jungle habitats for orangutangs, tigers and rhinos.

That cheap summery t-shirt bought on a whim was probably produced in either India or Bangladesh using techniques that render ground water undrinkable and ruin local farmland.

It may be a cliché, but it is powerfully true to say that every decision we make has consequences far beyond what we see.

How can we help as a business?

As dislocated as it may feel to be sitting at your desk trying to repair global biodiversity loss, there is so much we as a business community can do to help.

This plays out in two ways – taking action on a very personal level with something important to you and your team, and targeting your business’ own direct environmental impacts.

First and foremost, raise awareness amongst your teams and colleagues about the issue. We are all responsible for the world around us. Lunchtime discussions, a resource page on your intranet and volunteer groups are a great way to start.

Life on Land is fundamentally a question of the outdoors so ask how your organisation is supporting the outdoors on your doorstep? Does your office space have a shared garden you could get involved in, or is there a local community space you could sponsor or offer up some volunteer hours? Our very own members Creating Tomorrow’s Forests work on regenerating and rewilding parts of the UK whilst US based Gallant Gold Media has founded their own non profit – Climate Action Now – working to rewild pockets of suburban America.

Looking further afield, is there a cause that might be close to you or your staff’s heart that your company could champion? There are innumerable regeneration schemes that need both cheerleading and financial support. Friends of the Earth has an amazing range of causes you can choose from, as does the Worldwide Fund for Nature.

Demonstrating your respect for the living world will play out in different ways for different industries.

A digital payments platform will have a very different physical impact on the world to – say – a furniture factory. You need to tailor your efforts to your business. For those of us working only in the online space, the key to your success will be responsible stewardship of your digital footprint. We’ve written about this extensively before and there are very meaningful ways you can change your working habits to temper your footprint on the physical world.

For many product-based organisations, their suppliers and supply chain will have a very direct environmental impact. The key is to do your research and work out how you can partner with your suppliers to mitigate this impact. If you use raw materials, have you considered where they are sourced? This same question applies to any secondary materials you might buy, or processed goods? The devil is in the detail so get curious about where you buy things from and how they are brought to market.

One thing we realised as we wrote this piece is that what you do needn’t always be stopping doing something. There are so many wonderful things we can start doing.

Are you brave enough to start to keep a small hive of bees on your roof? (We’re thinking of you, Hatch) Can you start thinking regeneratively in terms of the purchases you make – taking a second look at the margarine and t-shirt examples we used earlier. With a bit of time and research you can start using your buying power to support more responsible alternatives? Finally, perhaps you could start talking to your clients about SDG 15? It might not be central to what you do but given how important it is to us all, it’s a conversation worth having.

We publish our SDG blog monthly, focusing on the UN’s chosen goal for that month. Find out more about #13 Climate Change, #7 Clean Energy or #16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions. For the full list see our guide to the UN Sustainable Goals.