Nearly 40 companies take part in the workshop series on business and land stewardship
A total of 143 people from 37 companies took part in the five-workshop series “Business and Land Stewardship. Allies by Nature”, held between 30 April and 26 May. All participants showed strong interest in the application and development of land stewardship as a nature conservation tool based in voluntary agreements, regardless of company sector or size.
The series was organised by SEO/BirdLife as part of the LIFE STEWARDSHIP project, coordinated by the Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO), with the conservation organisation acting as a project partner.
Most participating companies are members of one or more of the collaborating platforms involved in the workshops: the Spanish Business and Biodiversity Initiative (IEEB), promoted by the Biodiversity Foundation of MITECO; Forética; the Business and Climate Foundation (FEC); the Spain Green Growth Group (GECV); and the Spanish Confederation of Business Organisations (CEOE).
Each of the five two-hour sessions included: a presentation on the LIFE STEWARDSHIP project; an in-depht discussion on the concept of land stewardship; a case study of a success story; and a participatory session to analyse the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) that land stewardship presents for companies.
ACHIEVINHG THE WORKSHOP OBJECTIVES
The workshops succeeded in advancing the stated objectives of improving knowledge and understanding of land stewardship, and highlighting companies´contribution to biodiversity conservation through support, promotion and engagement in land stewardship initiatives.
They also achieved positive results in identifying ways to integrate land stewardship into companies’ environmental performance objectives based on their specific needs and proposals, and in strengthening collaboration with business platforms to further develop the alliances envisaged by LIFE STEWARDSHIP.
In the participatory analysis, the most frequently cited weakness was the limited experience of companies in forming alliances with local stakeholders; among the main threats, participants noted the lack of a clear regulatory framework and the risk of actions being perceived as greenwashing. The key strengths identified included the opportunity to build long-term alliances with a variety of actors and of intervening in critical interfaces between business operation and the natural environment, such as water, soils, pollination, landscape and atmosphere.
Finally, one of the main opportunities emerging from the discussion was the potential of land stewardship to help reduce and offset the environmental impacts of business activities.
LIFE STEWARDSHIP
The overall aim of the LIFE Stewardship project is to use land stewardship-based approaches to boost collaboration involving public and private entities as well as civil society for nature conservation and restoration in Spain, in the framework of the Europe Biodiversity Strategy 2030 and international agreements.
The project is coordinated by the Biodiversity Foundation of the Spanish Ministry of Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, with the participation of Eurosite, the Forum of Land Stewardship Networks and Entities (FRECT), Global Nature Foundation (FGN),Fernando González Bernáldez/ Europarc-Spain Foundation, SEO/BirdLife and Nature Conservation Network (XCN) as partners. It has the financial contribution of the LIFE Programme of the European Union.
WORKSHOPS VIDEOS
For more information, you can access the recordings of each workshop (in Spanish):
Workshop 1, organised in collaboration with the Spanish Business and Biodiversity Initiative (IEEB) and featuring Nestlé´s experience applying land stewardship within its biodiversity integration plan for dairy farms and other sustainable sourcing initiatives, working with two stewardship entities.
Watch the workshop video here (in Spanish).
Workshop 2, organised in collaboration with Forética and showcasing featuring the Cajamar Cooperative Group, for which alliances and sustainability are defining values and differentiators. The group is particularly interested in stregthening its commitment to projects that integrate land stewardship approaches.
Watch the workshop video here (in Spanish).
Workshop 3, organised in collaboration with the Business and Climate Foundation (FEC) and featuring the experience of the Borges Group, which has designed a biodiversity conservation plan for its model estate Mas de Colom, and is already successfully applying it. The company works with a stewardship entity that has also developed a monitoring methodology applicable to other estates and suppliers.
Watch the workshop video here (in Spanish).
Workshop 4, with the collaboration of the Spanish Green Growth Group (GECV) and featuring the experience of Holcim, for which land stewardship represents an innovative and valuable lever to introduce, advance and multiply its restoration achievements. The company has signed agreements with five stewardship entities across its mining sites, as well as other alliances with universities, municipalities and local stakeholders.
Watch the workshop video here (in Spanish).
Workshop 5, organised in collaboration with the Spanish Confederation of Business Organisations (CEOE) and highlighting Redeia´s experience. In 2024, the company launched its Integral Impact Strategy, based on the same principles as land stewardship. The strategy aims to optimise the company’s social and environmental initiatives in its operating area, based on alliances with stakeholders, the creation of shared value with the local community, and environmental stewardship.
Watch the workshop video here (in Spanish).