IUCN, the International Union for Conservation of Nature

The calls on IUCN to engage Business date back to the creation of the Union in 1948. IUCN members passed nearly 200 Resolutions relating to the private sector throughout the history of IUCN – on agriculture, tourism, mining, finance, among others. As a response:  

• The Economics Unit was created within the Secretariat in 1997
• The Business & Biodiversity Initiative was created in 2000
• The Business & Biodiversity Programme was established in 2003 
• IUCN's Strategy for Private Sector Engagement was issued in 2004
• IUCN's Operational Guidelines for Private Sector Engagement were first published in 2006 and then reviewed and republished in 2009, for more information on these click here 

The priority is to engage business sectors in which change is most important and urgent, due to the scale of their negative impacts on the environment and social equity. These businesses are likely to fall in one of the following broad categories:

• Large 'footprint' industries (mining, oil and gas, construction, automotive and energy suppliers)
• Biodiversity dependent industries (hunting, wildlife trade, fishing, agriculture and forestry)
• Financial services (banking, insurance investment and other financial intermediaries)
• `Green' enterprises (organic farming, low-impact logging, renewable energy, nature-based tourism, ethical traders)

From the Private Sector Strategy to the Operational Guidelines for Private Sector Engagement

To support the implementation of the Strategy for Enhancing IUCN Interaction with the Private Sector (endorsed by IUCN Council in 2004), IUCN members called for the development of guidelines for private sector engagement (World Conservation Congress, Bangkok (2004) Res. 3.060 and 3.061).

A first version of the Operational Guidelines for Private Sector Engagement were issued in 2006, and built on an extensive survey of IUCN members and private sector entities, and included a combination of required actions and guidance material.

The 2009 version of the Operational Guidelines

At the Barcelona World Conservation Congress (2008), IUCN Members requested “ … IUCN’s Council as soon as possible, in consultation with the Director General, to approve the Operational Guidelines by which the IUCN Secretariat and the Commissions interact with the private sector ..” (Res. 4.086). IUCN Secretariat used this as an opportunity to capture the lessons learned in applying the 2006 version of the Guidelines and review them accordingly.

The 2009 Operational Guidelines for Private Sector Engagement draw upon:

1. The review commissioned by the Global Programme and carried out by Emma Duncan and Nicolas Bertrand between November and December 2009, and based on interviews conducted to 52 stakeholders - IUCN Members, councillors, Commission members and staff (Review of the application of the Operational Guidelines for Private Sector Engagement, E. Duncan and N. Bertrand, December 2008);
2. An Internal review process led by the Business and Biodiversity Programme;
3. The recommendations issued by Council on private sector engagements (Final review of existing agreements between IUCN and the business sector compared to IUCN’s private sector Strategy and Guidelines, D. Shand, 2008).

The revised version of the Operational Guidelines for Private Sector Engagement (version 2 – February 2009) was approved by the IUCN Council at its 72nd meeting (February 2009).

The 2009 version of the Operational Guidelines is also available in French and Spanish.

The implementation of the Operational Guidelines

The implementation of the Operational Guidelines is a priority for IUCN. Two main systems will be developed to support IUCN staff in implementing the guidelines:

• A web based system that will mirror the Operational Guidelines and help users to implement each step. This system will include a public interface with members to share information and a database of all current agreements.
• A “Companion” handbook that will provide additional information on the “how to”. The handbook will be a live document allowing anybody to share their experiences.