Strategic Corporate Conservation Planning

A Guide to Meaningful Engagement

By Margaret O'Gorman

Island Press

Industries that drive economic growth and support our comfortable modern lifestyles have exploited natural resources to do so. But now there’s growing understanding that business can benefit from a better relationship with the environment. Leading corporations have begun to leverage nature-based remediation, restoration, and enhanced lands management to meet a variety of business needs, such as increasing employee engagement and establishing key performance indicators for reporting and disclosures. Strategic Corporate Conservation Planning offers fresh insights for corporations and environmental groups looking to create mutually beneficial partnerships that use conservation action to address business challenges and realize meaningful environmental outcomes.

Recognizing the long history of mistrust between corporate action and environmental effort, Strategic Corporate Conservation Planning begins by explaining how to identify priorities that will yield a beneficial relationship between a company and nonprofit. Next, O’Gorman offers steps for creating ecologically-focused projects that address key business needs. Chapters highlight existing projects with different scales of engagement, emphasizing that headline-generating, multimillion dollar commitments are not necessarily the most effective approach. Myriad case studies featuring programs from habitat restoration to environmental educational initiatives at companies like Bridgestone USA, General Motors, and CRH Americas are included to help spark new ideas.

With limited government funding available for conservation and increasing competition for grant support, corporate efforts can fill a growing need for environmental stewardship while also providing business benefits. Strategic Corporate Conservation Planning presents a comprehensive approach for effective engagement between the public and private sector, encouraging pragmatic partnerships that benefit us all.

Grounded in recent germane cited research and at the same time readable, the book is upbeat and helpful. Choice

Under Margaret's leadership, the Wildlife Habitat Council helped General Motors streamline our conservation efforts across our global facilities, putting a strong framework in place to create measurable environmental results, as well as business value. In this book, she gives everyone the tools to create beautiful and sustainable corporate lands, offer opportunities for employee engagement, and support the communities where we live and work. Dane Parker, Vice President of Sustainable Workplaces, General Motors

Our economy and society depend on a healthy, natural world. This book tells a powerful story about how critical the business community, with its vast land holdings, is to solving the dual crises of biodiversity loss and rampant climate change. O'Gorman then shows us how to build a strategic program of conservation that works for business and the planet. This well-written and enjoyable book is an important read for those who want to leverage business to build a thriving world. Andrew Winston, advisor to multinationals and author of "Green to Gold" and "The Big Pivot"

Again and again, business is called on to be part of the solution to environmental, climate, and community problems. Margaret O'Gorman presents a practical approach to mainstream nature into industry, and in so doing, bring benefit to communities and address climate concerns. Mary Robinson, former president of Ireland; Chair, Mary Robinson Foundation–Climate Justice; Chair, The Elders

Margaret O'Gorman's masterful book is an encouraging revelation: a wonderfully written, thoughtful analysis and compilation of the little-heralded world of corporate effort at better environmental behavior. Complete with thoughtful commentary and recommendations, it should be required reading for corporate leadership and the environmental leaders who work with them. Thomas E. Lovejoy, University Professor of Environmental Science and Policy, George Mason University

Margaret O’Gorman is the president of the Wildlife Habitat Council. She consults with multinational corporations to develop integrated strategies to implement conservation projects that meet business needs and also enhance ecosystems, connect communities, and engage employees. She has worked with Toyota, Owens Corning, Exelon, CRH Americas, General Motors and many more, and led the design of WHC's signature Conservation Certification® recognition, a voluntary sustainability standard which defines corporate conservation worldwide.

Preface

Chapter 1. An Evolving Relationship
Chapter 2. Understanding Business Drivers
Chapter 3. Scale and Perspective
Chapter 4. The Process
Chapter 5. Obstacles and How to Overcome Them
Chapter 6. Monitoring, Metrics, and Recognition
Chapter 7. Education
Chapter 8. Climate Change
Chapter 9. Building a Culture of Corporate Conservation

Acknowledgments
Notes
Index

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