The Nature of Business: Corporate influence over the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Global Biodiversity Framework

The report argues that corporate interests have systematically captured CBD processes to avoid stringent regulation and protect profits. It details how business lobby groups, such as Business for Nature and the WBCSD, use tactics like 'multistakeholderism', the promotion of vague terms like 'Nature Positive', and the advocacy for voluntary reporting over mandatory impact reductions to shape the Global Biodiversity Framework. The document highlights the role of the CBD Secretariat in facilitating this access and warns that the resulting framework fails to address the underlying economic drivers of biodiversity loss.

• Corporate interests use a variety of strategies to influence UN processes, including national-level lobbying of officials, the creation of purpose-built lobby groups with benign names, and the use of 'revolving doors' where staff move between UN agencies and the private sector.
• The CBD Secretariat has actively encouraged business engagement through the Business Engagement Programme and the Global Partnership for Business and Biodiversity, with Executive Secretary Elizabeth Mrema co-chairing the private-sector led Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD).
• Business lobby groups have pushed to replace the scientific term 'biodiversity' with the vaguer term 'nature' and promote the concept of 'Nature Positive' to facilitate greenwashing and avoid strict monitoring.
• The report identifies 'Nature-Based Solutions' (NBS) as a corporate-driven concept that allows heavy polluters to maintain a green image through carbon offsets while potentially encouraging harmful monoculture tree plantations.
• There is a documented shift in the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) from requiring actual reductions in corporate impacts to merely requiring reporting on those impacts, specifically within draft Target 15.
• The biotechnology industry, supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and groups like CropLife International, has lobbied the CBD to ensure minimal regulation of synthetic biology and gene drives.
• Corporate influence is often exercised opaquely by embedding business representatives within national delegations, including instances where private foundations paid for the participation of African country delegations.
• The report concludes that the GBF lacks the 'transformational' measures needed to address the economic drivers of biodiversity loss because it prioritizes voluntary action and market mechanisms over regulation.

APA

Counsell, S., Marien, N., & Paul, H. (2022). The Nature of Business: Corporate influence over the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Global Biodiversity Framework. Friends of the Earth International. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/20-FoEI-CBD-nature-of-business-rpt-ENG-rmr.pdf

Chicago

Counsell, Simon, Nele Marien, and Helena Paul. The Nature of Business: Corporate influence over the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Global Biodiversity Framework. Friends of the Earth International, 2022. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/20-FoEI-CBD-nature-of-business-rpt-ENG-rmr.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Counsell |first1=Simon |last2=Marien |first2=Nele |last3=Paul |first3=Helena |title=The Nature of Business: Corporate influence over the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Global Biodiversity Framework |publisher=Friends of the Earth International |date=December 2022 |url=https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/20-FoEI-CBD-nature-of-business-rpt-ENG-rmr.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{counsell2022nature, author = {Counsell, Simon and Marien, Nele and Paul, Helena}, title = {{The Nature of Business: Corporate influence over the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Global Biodiversity Framework}}, institution = {Friends of the Earth International}, year = {2022}, month = dec, url = {https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/20-FoEI-CBD-nature-of-business-rpt-ENG-rmr.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }