Biodiversity

Biodiversity refers to all aspects of life on earth, including humans, animals, plants and microorganisms. In its complexity, biodiversity touches upon social, cultural, economic and ecological dimensions of life. Biodiversity – meaning a rich diversity of species and genetic resources coexisting within diverse, healthy ecosystems – performs crucial functions that life heavily depends on. For Jungbunzlauer, the relevance of biodiversity results not only from the fact that natural products and processes are at the core of our business: we also understand that it is our responsibility to protect and restore biodiversity as part of a global effort by humanity, in which corporate enterprises must take on a leading role.

We rely on intact ecosystems, as imbalance and destruction of ecosystems can have negative impacts on our own business. For example, a loss of biodiversity can cause lower corn yields or water scarcity, leading to higher production costs.

The global commitment to the protection and restoration of biodiversity is outlined in the strategic plans agreed on by the Convention on Biological Diversity. The development of regulatory frameworks and reporting guidelines is an on-going process which aims to put these strategies into action. Within this dynamic situation, Jungbunzlauer has committed to monitoring and understanding both current and future requirements around safeguarding biodiversity. The central elements we keep track of in this context are the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, the new ESRS E4 under the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), the Science Based Targets (SBTs) for nature of Science Based Targets for Nature (SBTN), and the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD). We strive to act in line with these globally recognised standards and guidelines.

The focus on biodiversity has been assigned to dedicated personnel within the Sustainability Team. In addition to sharing knowledge internally, we seek to network with industry peers. For example, our biodiversity expert actively participates in the regular stakeholder meetings of the Chemie³ sustainability initiative created by the German Chemical Industry Association (Verband der Chemischen Industrie, or VCI). Regular internal and external exchange of knowledge and communication of updates on biodiversity frameworks ensures visibility of this topic in the Jungbunzlauer corporate agenda and enables long-term planning.

Furthermore, Jungbunzlauer has decided to engage as one of three pilot companies in the development of a sector-specific biodiversity check for the German chemical industry through its German subsidiary. This effort is part of the project Unternehmen Biologische Vielfalt (UBi), a German national programme initiated by stakeholders from government, industry and Non Profit Organisations (NGOs) to support the implementation of the German National Strategy on Biological Diversity (NBS). Within the project, an analysis of Jungbunzlauer’s direct and indirect impacts on biodiversity along the value chain will be performed by help of professional consultants, followed by round table discussions on the main findings. Upon finalisation of the project at the end of 2024, learnings will be shared. The ultimate goal is to jointly shape the content of the sector-specific biodiversity check, and to provide an efficient tool for companies to take first steps in analysing their biodiversity-related risks, opportunities and impacts.

Our aim is to protect the environment, and therefore biodiversity. This means using natural resources efficiently and managing biodiversity risks along the supply chain. We want to minimise any negative effects on ecosystems. We aim to better understand our impact on biodiversity in our area of influence, in order to set appropriate targets and implement meaningful measures.

Based on currently available guidance from SBTN, we embarked on a first-steps journey to lay the foundations for establishing a nature-positive corporate strategy on biodiversity in the long term.

The first step was to perform a materiality screening at sector level and a value chain assessment at company level according to Step 1 (ASSESS) as outlined by SBTN. This evaluation takes into account the main drivers of biodiversity loss (land and sea use change, direct exploitation, climate change, pollution currently excluding invasive species). Clearly, one focus for Jungbunzlauer is on evaluating the impacts resulting from corn cultivation. This is because we recognise that agriculture is one of the most significant drivers of biodiversity loss, but also the one with the highest potential to bring about positive change, as we use large amounts of corn as our raw material for fermentation.

Regarding the impact of agriculture on the pressure category climate change, SBTN refers to the SBTi’s framework for setting FLAG targets. (More information on our FLAG-related emissions assessment can be found in chapter 4.1. in our report.)

Our materiality assessment according to SBTN revealed that all pressure categories (land use, resource use, climate change, pollution) are material for our purchases of corn and packaging materials based on wood. Therefore, our focus will be on investigating and reducing the pressures arising from these goods.

Additionally, we screened location-specific data for the pressure category land use and land use change, with a focus on the indicator deforestation in the regions our Austrian production site sources corn from. For all production sites, we mapped the proximity to key biodiversity areas (KBAs) and protected areas, using the Integrated Biodiversity Assessment Tool (IBAT).