Business For Biodiversity Ireland is delighted to announce the appointment of a new Board of Directors to guide and inform our work to ensure Irish businesses are ready to join the global push for a transition to a nature-positive economy.
With a climate and biodiversity emergency declared by the Government in 2019, the BFBI platform was seed-funded by the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage in 2021, in recognition of the urgent need for Irish businesses to address their impacts and dependencies on nature. The platform has now developed the Nature Strategy Accelerator Programme to get businesses on track to a nature-positive way of working with up to date guidance on emerging sustainability frameworks and comply with EU directives on environmental reporting.
New Board Chair Susan Rossney, Sustainability Advocacy Manager with the Institute of Chartered Accountants Ireland, said: “A nature-positive economy is vital to our long-term economic resilience – 55% of the world’s GDP is moderately or highly dependent on nature. Despite this, many businesses are unaware of their dependence on and impact on biodiversity, a risk made all the greater now that larger companies are legally bound to disclose information on their environmental impact via the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive or CSRD.”
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- Susan Rossney
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- Lisa Davidson
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- Jane Stout
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- Catherine Farrell
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- Ken Whitelaw
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- Kirstie McAdoo
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- Edward Pollard
The BFBI Board of Directors also includes:
– Secretary Lisa Davidson, experienced finance and banking professional
– Vice President for Biodiversity and Climate Action and ecology professor at Trinity College Dublin, Jane Stout
– Dr Catherine Farrell, former Bord na Mona ecologist, now Trinity Professor and pioneer of innovative environmental projects including ReFarm and Natural Capital Ireland
– Ken Whitelaw, Sustainability Manager of IDA Ireland
– Asst Prof Kirstie McAdoo of University College Dublin, formerly Airfield Estate
– world-leading biodiversity consultant Edward Pollard, director of the UK Business and Biodiversity Forum, a specialist in demystifying nature for business.
Welcoming the new Board, Executive Director Lucy Gaffney said: “We are thrilled to have such an accomplished team of experts with a wealth of knowledge and experience in business, sustainability and nature restoration.”
