Sagar Patel’s Post

Why Nature Matters As many of you know Watch & Jewellery Initiative 2030 is guiding its members to reach positive impacts to biodiversity and nature as whole. The first step on this journey for members is to develop a nature roadmap for their company. Last week we were at the JCK first ever sustainability summit to discuss this key topic and launch the Nature Roadmap for public consultation. We thank Marie-Claire Daveu for sharing her expertise and truly leading us forward. We were inspired by M Sanjayan for setting the scene. We received great support from some of our Board members Raj Mehta, Gaetano Cavalieri present there. It was so good to connect with many of our stakeholders that you can see on this picture. Only together we can move the needle. What concrete actions has Watch & Jewellery Initiative 2030 done till date?   - At the end of 2023 the WJI2030 Nature Primer the first introduction to the topic of business and nature was launched, a first step toward industry - level Nature Roadmap. - We organised an introductory webinar on biodiversity with the explanation of terms, biodiversity , crisis and implications for business. A special attention was given to the potential impacts of  the industry on biodiversity - We organised a webinar on the nature positive journey with review of all relevant frameworks, - We organised many helpdesk sessions with experts to help advance our members in their journey, initiatives and regulations. - We launched our Industry Nature Roadmap that is now open for public consultation. You can download it here https://lnkd.in/e_wMQzat           We need to keep learning together, formally and informally and create a safe space for collaborative action aimed towards nature positive future and for this reason, we collaborate with our other 2 pillars climate action and inclusiveness in developing aligned approaches and links between the pillars. This is a call for action. #Partnershipsforthegoals #Nature

Today, Watch & Jewellery Initiative 2030 joins the global community in celebrating World Environment Day, dedicated to raising awareness and taking action for the protection of our environment. This year's theme, "Land Restoration, Desertification, and Drought Resilience," resonates deeply with our mission. In light of the focus on land restoration, we are proud to highlight the launch of our Nature Roadmap, unveiled last week at the JCK Las Vegas Sustainability Summit. This framework is the first of its kind for the watch and jewellery industry, providing businesses with the tools and guidance needed to address the urgent nature and biodiversity crisis. Why the Nature Roadmap Matters: Ecosystem Restoration: Our industry relies on the rich biodiversity and natural resources that our planet offers. By implementing the recommendations in the Nature Roadmap, businesses can play a crucial role in ecosystem restoration and biodiversity preservation. Sustainable Practices: The roadmap outlines practical steps for integrating biodiversity into business strategies, fostering sustainable practices that benefit both the environment and business operations. Collective Action: As a living document, the Nature Roadmap will continuously evolve, adapting to new challenges and opportunities in the nature-business landscape. On this World Environment Day, we reaffirm our commitment to promoting sustainable practices and protecting our natural world. We invite all industry stakeholders to join us on this journey towards a nature-positive future. To download the Nature Roadmap, please visit: https://lnkd.in/dMvV7cAM Together we can make a difference in halting biodiversity loss and protecting the environment. 

Today, we celebrate the International Day for Biological Diversity, a reminder of the vital role biodiversity plays in sustaining life on Earth and achieving net-zero plans. Researchers at Bain & Company found win-win-win business opportunities clustered into five key movements: 🌾 Regenerative Agriculture: Transforming agricultural practices to boost soil health and sustainability can cut emissions by nearly 50% and enhance bird diversity. At IKEA, over 98% of the wood is now FSC-certified or recycled. The company's goal is to make high-deforestation-risk materials deforestation-free by 2025. 🌱 Nature-Compatible Products: Innovations like biofertilizers and bioherbicides, with revenues expected to grow from $400M in 2020 to $1.9B in 2030, show that biodiversity can drive innovation. 🦌 Nature-Positive Systems Design: Integrating nature into big projects is crucial. On World Earth Day 2022, the $90M Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing near LA broke ground to help wildlife navigate one of the busiest highways. 🔄 Circular Material Flows and Business Models: Keeping materials in use longer benefits biodiversity. Interface, a major carpet tile manufacturer, has reclaimed over 300 million pounds of carpet, with at least 20 million pounds recycled or repurposed. 🌳 High-Quality Nature-Based Solutions: Companies are now demanding carbon offsets that also benefit biodiversity. In Indonesian Borneo, reforestation efforts protect endangered species like the Bornean orangutan and proboscis monkey. We're curious: how is tracking impact on biodiversity incorporated into your company's business model or sustainability goals?  #Sustainability #Biodiversity #GreenInnovation #CircularEconomy #NaturePositive #RegenerativeAgriculture

Part of a sustainability project I am working on using materials that would otherwise end up in landfill #sustainability #repurpose #reuse #mosaic 

Nature is always "Gives Back" for sustainable practices. Nature maintains ecological balance through a complex web of interconnected processes where organisms take and, in return, give back in various ways. How Nature plays significant roles in our everyday life in the land of Bangladesh which is directly interlink with IPAO's Smart_ Agri Project: Nutrient Cycling: Decomposers like bacteria and fungi break down dead plants and animals, returning nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus back into the soil. These nutrients are then taken up by plants for growth, fueling the entire food chain. Predator-Prey Interactions: Predators help keep prey populations in check. If prey becomes too abundant, they can overgraze on plants, disrupting the ecosystem. Predators naturally target the weak or sick, allowing healthy prey populations to survive and maintain plant diversity . Pollination: Animals like bees and butterflies transfer pollen between flowers, enabling plants to reproduce. We also found that in return with these animals receive nectar or pollen as food. Symbiotic Relationships: Many organisms live in symbiosis, meaning they benefit from each other's presence. For example, some legumes (pea family plants) have a symbiotic relationship with bacteria in their roots. These bacteria fix nitrogen from the air, making it available to the plant, while the plant provides the bacteria with carbohydrates. Natural Disasters: Events like wildfires or floods may seem destructive, but they can also play a role in ecological balance. Because east southern areas of Bangladesh are landslide affected by flood, droughts and other natural disasters. Fires can clear out dead brush, promoting new plant growth. Floods can replenish nutrients in floodplains and create new habitat areas. It's important to remember that this is not an exhaustive list, and ecological balance is a dynamic process. Human activities can disrupt these natural cycles, so understanding how nature "gives back" is crucial for sustainable practices. www.ipaongo.org

With more than a third of their materials sourced from land-based ecosystems, fashion, textile and apparel companies play a key role in protecting biodiversity. That’s the key finding of the Textile Exchange’s 2023 Biodiversity Landscape Analysis report. The goal of the Biodiversity Landscape Analysis report is to clarify the process of taking action to restore and protect biodiversity by helping companies in the textile industry make moves to lessen their impact on ecosystems.

Turning over a new leaf in sustainability: Find out how hemp is paving the way for a greener, more sustainable world. #HempRevolution #SustainableDevelopment 🌱🔄 https://lnkd.in/dA86nPgt

🐝 Biodiversity: A business imperative for a sustainable future The World Economic Forum assesses that biodiversity loss over the next decade will be among the biggest risk areas in the global economy, therefore integrating nature-positive practices into business strategies is crucial for long-term success. Many Danish companies are actively working to reduce their CO2 footprint. However, an increasing number are also recognising the importance of incorporating biodiversity into their innovation and sustainability efforts. One of them is the Danish design company GUBI, which has set an ambitious goal to reduce CO2 by 30% by 2030 and simultaneously make strategic choices based on how sustainability initiatives impact biodiversity. “There is a risk that our efforts to reduce our CO2 footprint might actually have a negative impact on biodiversity. Therefore, we have chosen to make biodiversity a part of our strategy, equal to CO2, so we can make better decisions,” says Klaus Th. Høeg-Hagensen, CEO at GUBI. Biodiversity is increasingly incorporated into business models, value chains, and product development and initiatives span a broad variety of businesses and sectors: 🐝Architectural firm Henning Larsen has created BESTSELLERs new logistics hub that not only embraces biogenic building materials such as wood and straw, the building also aims to increase the site’s biodiversity by 10%; with a meadow cultivated on its roof and artificial wetland surrounding the building. 🌿 The design company Søuld makes acoustic panels from eelgrass and is committed to sustainable production by incorporating natural materials into their design, promoting environmental balance and innovative business practices. 🏗️ The landscape architectural firm SLA has together with Andel and Aaen Engineering created an ambitious property development biodiversity strategy for Denmark’s largest labor-market pension fund PensionDanmark. The strategy covers the entire real-estate value chain and makes biodiversity a key criterion when selecting construction sites, prioritising areas with low natural value to minimise the potential damage to existing ecosystems. To inspire companies with knowledge, ideas, and experiences from Danish and international businesses, Danish Industry, WWF Verdensnaturfonden / WWF Denmark, and Industriens Fond joined forces to raise awareness on the importance of increasing biodiversity in the Danish business sector and help Danish businesses start working more business-oriented with nature promotion. Companies will be equipped with methods and processes that can integrate nature-positive initiatives and processes into their strategies and subsequent strategy implementation. #LetCreativityDrive #Sustainability #Biodiversity #GreenTransition #CreativeDenmark Danish Industry / DI Kreative Erhverv, Dansk Erhverv, Realdania, Kulturministeriet, Ministry of Industry, Business and Financial Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark💚

𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐋 𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐔𝐒 𝐅𝐀𝐊𝐄 𝐂𝐇𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐌𝐀𝐒 𝐓𝐑𝐄𝐄𝐒: 𝐖𝐇𝐈𝐂𝐇 𝐈𝐒 𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐄 𝐄𝐍𝐕𝐈𝐑𝐎𝐍𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐘 𝐅𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐋𝐘? _________________________________________________________________________ The debate over real versus artificial Christmas trees and their environmental impact has been ongoing for decades. Gary Chastagner, a professor of plant pathology at Washington State University, has conducted extensive research on this topic. According to the search results, real Christmas trees are generally considered more environmentally friendly than fake ones. Here are the reasons: 1. Real trees help fight climate change by absorbing carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen during their growth. 2. Christmas tree farms provide habitat for wildlife and help preserve green space. 3. Real trees are recyclable and biodegradable, and some tree farms offer tree recycling programs. 4. In contrast, artificial trees are often made of non-biodegradable materials, such as PVC and steel, and are not easily recyclable. 5. Potted trees (with roots) are able to be re-used and are, by far, the most environmental friendly solution. This spreads the carbon footprint over multiple years and potentially avoids transport emissions by keeping the tree at the same property year-round. This makes them a more sustainable option if you’re after a real Christmas tree. 𝐈𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧: While some claim that using an artificial tree for many years can lower its environmental impact, the overall consensus is that real Christmas trees are the more sustainable choice. Real trees are considered more environmentally friendly if they are sourced sustainably and recycled properly. In contrast, artificial trees have a larger carbon footprint due to their production using non-biodegradable materials. #Tree ; #ChristmasTrees ; #Christmas ; #Environmental

Dear Environmentalists/Scientists/Researchers/Sustainability Enthusiasts, Welcome to a new week and another episode of things that keep me awake at night. Last year, I read an article expressing that seaweeds could be an alternative to furniture foam. I was fascinated by it because it was inventive. Sometimes, I wish I could peep into the minds of some Scientists because their brilliance can't go unnoticed. What the human mind can conceive? It's magnificent! Back to my point - In case you don't know, seaweeds are macroscopic (i.e. you can view them with your naked eyes), multicellular (having many cells), and marine algae. They are generally benthic (meaning bottom-dwelling aquatic organisms). Seaweeds serve many ecological, commercial, and medical functions. Some of which are providing protection services to some sea creatures and food provisioning. Some seaweeds are also used as fertilizer, in wound dressings or burned to make soda ash. To me, questions not answers create knowledge hence some of the questions that popped up in my head after reading the article were - Are bioproducts completely sustainable? What is the growth rate of seaweeds like? (I would like to think that their growth rate must be intense to ensure they aren't depleted as overconsumption could become a thing, since it can be used for diverse purposes). However, in my search, I realised that their growth rate can be relatively fast depending on variable factors - not a definite stance. The same thing goes up in my head for other bioproducts. For instance, trees. They provide a lot of ecosystem services we can't even do without as humans and the same trees produce papers which are used as packaging materials as opposed to single-use plastics. I think all these bioproducts are great, show progression and signify innovative ways of helping us to sustain our planet but I'm intrigued and here is still my question- How sustainable are some of these alternatives (particularly in the case that they could lead to resources overexploitation due to the never-ending human needs and our population explosion)? - More population = More need for furniture foams = More harvesting of seaweeds - More population = More consumption/shopping = More production of papers as packaging materials = More felling of trees P.S.: I know these raw resources (seaweeds, trees, etc.) are renewable but as of last year, the United Nations reported that Nigeria has the highest deforestation rate in the world. Hence, sustainability advocates like me have been canvassing for afforestation. The obvious issue is that we are most times using/destroying these resources more than their replacement rate. P.S.: I am open to learning from you all or reading any contrary view. #theopeyemiogundeji #environmentalsustainability #innovation #research #mondaythoughts #science #bioproducts