Together for species conservation: Global Nature Fund helps companies become more biodiversity-friendly

Radolfzell, 04.08.2022: Up and down the country, industrial estates always present the same picture: lots of gray, lots of sealed surfaces, little life. The Global Nature Fund (GNF) and its partners in the current LIFE BooGi-BOP project (“Boosting Green Infrastructure through Biodiversity-Oriented Design of Business Premises”) show that this can and must be done differently. The EU-funded project has been successfully supporting companies since 2019 in making their company premises greener and therefore more biodiversity-friendly. Parking lots are unsealed, roofs are greened and wetland biotopes are created. GNF project manager Dr. Thomas Schaefer explains why this is so important: “Species extinction is the biggest environmental problem of our time, more so than climate change. Biodiversity on company premises means natural climate and species protection. More and more companies understand this and are not only redesigning their company premises in a modern way, but are also making a contribution to climate protection and climate adaptation.”

Simple measures with a big impact

According to a report by the United Nations World Biodiversity Council (IPBES), around one million species are acutely threatened with extinction, and three quarters of insect biomass has been lost in Germany alone over the past 27 years. One of the main causes of this is the destruction of natural habitats. “We must act now to stop the mass extinction of species. In addition to protecting large ecosystems, every smaller measure is valuable. A company pond or a flowering area in the parking lot can become an important habitat and thus make a contribution”says Dr. Schaefer. But it’s not just nature that benefits from greener company premises – employee satisfaction also demonstrably increases. In a study published in 2021, scientists from the Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Center came to the conclusion that an increase in biodiversity in the environment makes people just as happy as a pay rise.

From September 14-15, 2022, the “European Green Premises 2022” will take place in Wiesbaden (and online). The two-day conference presents best-practice approaches and success stories and offers representatives from local and federal politics, science and business a forum for exchange. Participation is free of charge, registration is requested: https://www.biodiversity-premises.eu/de/Konferenz.html

Learn more about the LIFE BooGi-BOP project

Contact us

Global Nature Fund (GNF) – Radolfzell office
Dr. Thomas Schaefer
Head of Nature Conservation & Living Lakes
Phone: +49 7732 9995 89
E-mail: schaefer@globalnature.org