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Goal A2: Step 1

Unpack your Business Model

Business activities, inputs and outputs

Every business impacts and depends on nature. These impacts and dependencies will vary relative to your position in the value chain. Every business will have certain natural capital inputs, like water and energy, and accessing these inputs has an impact on biodiversity.

Business activities can also contribute to negative impacts. Every business will have outputs, like emissions and waste, and these outputs can also have a negative impact on biodiversity.

High level mapping of business impacts on biodiversity (developed by BFBI, 2024).

Biodiversity: Your Organisational Context

A note on the BFBI Template – Biodiversity: Your Organisational Context

BFBI has developed this template to help businesses map out their businessmodel in terms of inputs, activities and outputs so that the interface withnature can be fully explored. The template was developed within a communityof practicing businesses in Ireland and cross referenced with prevailingmethodology and standards, such as GRI 2: Material Topics and the TNFDLEAP approach.

This is an evolving document and any feedback on its use is welcomed

Follow a manual added link
BFBI EVALUATION TEMPLATE
DOWNLOAD

Guiding Questions

Business Model

  • What is your purpose, value or mission statement?
  • What sector are you active within?
  • What type of activities are carried out by the business? Geographically, where does it carry out these activities?
  • What raw materials does your business procure? Geographically, where are they procured from?
  • What is the land footprint of your business? How much land is owned or leased by your business and how is that land used?
  • What is the water footprint of your business or entity under assessment?
    – Signpost: How to calculate your water footprint
    Water Footprint Calculator for SMEs  –  www.waterfootprint.org
  • What type of products and services does your organisation offer? Where does it offer these products andservices?
  • What are the key outputs of your business in terms of solid, liquid and gaseous waste, noise and light and emissions?
    – Signpost: How to calculate your carbon footprint
    Carbon Footprint Calculator
  • What markets does the business serve?

People

  • How many employees does the business have?
  • How many agency workers, contractors or volunteers work within the business?
  • What is the contractual relationship with the business and what role do they perform?
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