Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP)’s Post

Join this AM session at #Focali2023 December 7 in Stockholm 🌍 Corporate #Sustainability Due Diligence in the #EU How can it foster more sustainable global supply chains for #forests & people? 🌳 How can Swedish based actors contribute? 👉 Sign-up to secure a spot for this session or the full day https://lnkd.in/ewMvV3QN Over the past decade, there has been a new wave of regulations that aim to govern international business toward sustainability. Regulations based on human rights and environmental due diligence (HREDD) approach have been emphasized as particularly promising. The EU and European member states have taken a pioneering role in this new trend. For instance, the EU has recently agreed upon its regulation on deforestation-free products (EUDR) and is on the verge to adopt a directive on Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence (CSDDD). This session aims to enhance our understanding of what this development mean for Swedish stakeholders by addressing the following questions: 1) What are the potential and limitations of HREDD regulations for fostering more sustainable global supply chains; 2) What conditions and complementary measures are needed; 3) How can Swedish actors contribute to the implementation of HREDD? Speakers: Maria-Therese Gustafsson, PhD, Ass. Professor of Political Science, Stockholm University Sara Sundquist, Policy expert, The Swedish Food Federation Livsmedelsföretagen Per Larsson, Senior Advisor Forests, Världsnaturfonden WWF / WWF Sweden Mairon G. Bastos Lima , Senior Research Fellow at SEI — Stockholm Environment Institute & Trase - Intelligence for sustainable trade Moderator: Martin Persson Professor, Physical Resource Theory, Chalmers University of Technology #EUDR #HREDD #CSDDD #valuechains #trade #forests #deforestation #foodsystems Sweden in EU European Commission

Steering ‘green’ innovation policy toward sustainability? Lessons from implementing EIP-AGRI in Sweden This article critically examines the state's steering capacity of ‘green innovation’ programs using #Sweden's implementation of the agricultural European Innovation Partnership (EIP-AGRI) as a case representing part of the EU's Green Deal. The #innovations should promote the competitiveness of rural areas and contribute to national environmental protection and climate goals. Innovations are increasingly promoted by governments to steer societies in a more sustainable direction. Historically, however, innovations have primarily been viewed as means to create economic value, rather than to reduce human impact on the environment (Westley et al., 2011). Some technological and economic innovative solutions have even been found to be environmentally detrimental (van der Leeuw, 2010). A challenge facing states today is therefore to steer innovation capacity towards furthering sustainability concerns. If innovations are to contribute to #sustainability, a supportive institutional setup must be designed “to stimulate the kinds of innovation that solve rather than augment our #environmental challenges. The results indicate that the state´s steering capacity of ‘green innovation’ programs meets several #obstacles: the overall goals from the top tend to be both too many and too vague, leaving it to the administration to interpret what kinds of features should be prioritized from below. The state's steering in the case of EIP-AGRI relies mostly on internal agricultural expertise contrary to previous research that suggests a recent ‘de-compartmentalisation’ of European #agricultural policymaking. #europeanparliament #europeanunion #eugreendeal #climategoals #climatepolicy #parisagreement #environmentalresponsibility #greeninnovation #policymaking [Edited for the purpose of sharing] Authors: Katarina Eckerberg, Therese Bjärstig, Matilda Miljand (2023) https://lnkd.in/dQaXqi3C

New guidance for 12 sectors has just dropped - Business for Nature WBCSD – World Business Council for Sustainable Development & World Economic Forum offer sector-specific guides to help halt and reverse nature loss in a transition to a #NaturePositive economy. 📢 All businesses need to Assess, Commit, Transform and Disclose 💦 Sectors include agri-food, chemicals, water & tourism... Read more: https://ow.ly/3ru750PKTZI

The European Parliament has approved their commitment to the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (#ESRS). Of interest to those non-European companies subject to the CSRD and also looking to apply the TNFD framework, ESRS E4 explicitly references LEAP as the main approach for conducting materiality assessments and is structurally compliant with TNFD Recommendations, incorporating key content from the final recommendations published last month. So some relief there! #ESRS #EFRAG #LEAP #TNFD #ESG #esgreporting

Start your week with State and Local Government Review - Farmer (2022) analyzes how state policy sets the stage for local sustainability. https://lnkd.in/eK7Zpv2n

Introducing genuine, impactful, and long-lasting sustainability/circular initiatives in work and production processes begins with in-house education and cooperation followed by measurement and action (i.e.: the ability to measure and record results). Take a look at our illustrated slide presentation then click on the following article published in 'Global Focus' for more in-depth information about how we're doing all that and more on the Green Front-Line: https://lnkd.in/etMY4GZ3 (globalfocusmagazine.com) The introductory methods we're using to eliminate and prevent waste on the Green Front-Line are similar to how sustainability/circular are successfully introduced into many of the businesses that are highlighted in universities and/or portrayed in the media as pioneers that are setting good examples. And the businesses you work for (and with) can do this too! Just about everything you need to start your journey is explained in our free 'The Sustainable Business' portfolio (courtesy of EFMD Global and the Taylor & Francis Group): https://lnkd.in/eanTdug Lever for Change Environmental Defense Fund Europe #sustainabledevelopment #agriculture #wasteelimination #wasteprevention #circulareconomy #foodsecurity

The #GlobalEconomy is waking up to its dependency on nature, with over half of the world's GDP tied to it. This newfound awareness has sparked concern among financial market participants about the economic consequences stemming from #BiodiversityLoss and ecosystem degradation. To address these challenges, two key approaches are emerging. On one side, businesses and policymakers are assessing the financial risks associated with biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation. Simultaneously, regulators are working on legislative measures, such as the EU's Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 and the #NatureRestorationLaw, which includes legally binding targets for rehabilitating habitats and species. However, as these market-led initiatives and regulatory efforts progress, coordination and coherence between the two are essential. The European Union must ensure a harmonised set of policies and standards to guide the real economy towards a #NaturePositive future. By aligning market initiatives with robust corporate regulations, we not only mitigate #FinancialRisks but also make the European market more attractive for global investments in nature. It is time for policymakers and politicians to recognise the importance of nature for the EU economy and take ambitious action to build a nature-positive framework for the economy. Read more by David Nemecek and Daniele Ciatti ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/eiFp98A9

The future of Europe is bio-based   🎉On Friday, the Ecofin Council adopted the European Investment Bank (EIB)'s Strategic Roadmap for 2024-2027. This comprehensive plan outlines eight key priorities, and we are particularly pleased about the inclusion of bioeconomy.   📈 The Roadmap emphasises boosting European resilience in agriculture and the bioeconomy. It outlines more financial support for adaptation and mitigation of the impact of climate change in the agricultural sector. Furthermore, it states that large investments are needed to make the sector resilient and sustainable as well as develop the bioeconomy and the circular economy.   🔬 This strategic focus will not only enhance food security and sustainable agriculture but also drive innovation in the biosolutions industry, contributing significantly to Europe's green transition.   🌍 The Strategic Roadmap is another important step towards a bio-based future of Europe, but we need to keep moving and supplement investments with regulatory reforms – and the European Biosolutions Coalition is ready to help make this happen! #EUbiocoalition #eu #bioeconomy #circulareconomy #agriculture #greentransition #sustainability

The EU is leading globally on implementing meaningful ESG reporting standards. Biodiversity risk and materiality is an area of crucial importance which is often subordinated to climate related disclosures. It's great to see inclusion into the ESRS. #esg #nature #ecology #biodiversity

🌍 📝 The European Parliament has approved their commitment to the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (#ESRS), which will apply to over 50,000 companies from January 2024 onwards. We are delighted to have worked closely with the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) in the development of their environmental standards. The ESRS standards explicitly refer to LEAP as the main approach to conducting materiality assessments. With ESRS E4, the standard on biodiversity and ecosystems is consistent with the TNFD Recommendations, incorporating key content from our final recommendations published last month. 👐 TNFD and EFRAG will continue their close cooperation including to further incorporating our Recommendations in EFRAGs future work on sector standards. EFRAG ESRS 👉https://www.efrag.org/lab6 TNFD Recommendation 👉 https://lnkd.in/eYppdX-U TNFD LEAP Guidance 👉https://lnkd.in/gtQttgqR