World Wildlife Fund Sustainability Works

To the business community: pay attention to this next statistic because it has critical ramifications for your company and livelihood.

According to WWF's latest Living Planet Report, we’ve seen a 73% decline in the average size of wildlife populations since 1970.

Sad, right? But what does wildlife have to do with you? You may be thinking that this is a problem for conservationists and scientists—fewer fish in Brazil won’t make a difference to your company one way or another. I’m sorry to tell you this, but that couldn’t be more wrong.

Every two years, WWF releases a state-of-the-planet report chronicling the health of our natural world, the drivers of biodiversity loss, and solutions. That shocking statistic—an average 73% decline in wildlife populations—is the canary in the coal mine. Biodiversity loss is inextricably linked with other aspects of planetary health, including our climate and availability of natural resources. In short, this is not just about animals; this is a human problem, and a problem for business. Take it as a warning sign about our planet’s ability to support life and provide the resources on which we depend. This is a red flag so big and bright you could see it from outer space.

The global food system is complex, shaped by the unique cultures, traditions, and environmental contexts of different regions. The newly launched Great Food Puzzle report introduces a groundbreaking approach to addressing the biodiversity, climate, and health crises through sustainable food systems. Rather than promoting a one-size-fits-all solution, this report helps countries identify actions that can be adapted to their specific contexts. By creating a typology of six Food Systems Types, the Great Food Puzzle reveals high-impact solutions for each group of countries, considering both environmental and socioeconomic factors.

One of the report’s most compelling findings is the unrealized potential of public education on healthy and sustainable food consumption. Raising awareness and changing behaviors are universal challenges, and some of the most innovative examples of food system transformation are already occurring within schools.

A Conversation With Josefina Braña Varela and Lucas Black

At last year’s Climate Week NYC, WWF formally launched the Nature-Based Solutions Origination Platform (NbS-OP), a novel tool designed to create large-scale positive change for people, nature, and climate across priority tropical forest landscapes. To mark the anniversary, we sat down with WWF’s Josefina Braña Varela and Lucas Black, platform co-leads, to reflect on 12 months of progress and their recent trip to Madagascar—one of the NbS-OP landscapes.

For our Rising Stars series, we're featuring the next generation of leaders who are working toward a more sustainable world. We recently spoke with Jessica Beal, manager of sustainability at American Beverage Association, to learn about her role, her inspiration, and advice for those new to the field.

Food systems are the number one threat to nature and a major contributor to biodiversity loss. Feeding a growing world population while protecting nature and reducing GHG emissions is the imperative of our time. While the challenges are universal, solutions must be tailored to local contexts, as food systems are deeply influenced by culture, heritage, and local context. This means that what works in one place may not be effective in another.

The Great Food Puzzle series adapts solutions to the unique needs of countries by clustering countries with similar socioeconomic and environmental factors. This classification helps identify key actions to drive the shift toward healthier and more sustainable food systems—offering an opportunity for countries to learn from each other and emulate the successes of peers. The US has a similar type of food system to that of the U.K., the Netherlands, Germany, and Japan.

Investor interest in financing nature-based solutions is burgeoning, but given the $711 billion funding gap, you wouldn’t know it. With over half of the global GDP reliant on nature, and the global ambition to achieve goals set in the 2016 Paris Agreement and the Global Biodiversity Framework, financing nature-based solutions is smart business. And yet, the sector struggles to secure the necessary investment to combat nature loss.

The overwhelming majority of capital allocated to climate and nature is directed toward energy, transport and infrastructure- food systems receive only 4%. Underinvestment in agriculture, especially in the transition of global food systems toward regenerative and nature-positive production practices, stands out given the sector’s profound impact on nature. Agricultural production and food systems are the main drivers of biodiversity loss, deforestation, conversion of natural habitats, and topsoil loss. They consume 70% of freshwater and generate one third of global greenhouse gas emissions. 

The Challenge

With each passing day, the plastic pollution crisis grows more urgent. As the world generates 400 million tonnes of plastic waste each year, studies reveal the toll that plastics are taking on our health, bodies, and environments. Yet, plastic remains deeply integrated in our lives and routines – it makes our hospitals safer, helps our food last longer, and our packages ship more easily. We must all come together to find solutions to fix the broken system that has landed us in a world of plastic dependence, and consequently, plastic pollution. Business in particular plays an essential role and must take bold and effective action now to ensure a more sustainable future.

It’s true that sustainable investments, such as those in product design, innovation, and manufacturing, require large upfront costs. This can be especially hard to justify when the financial benefits are not guaranteed and the ROI may not be seen for years. However, if done effectively, the potential gain is worth the investment. For instance, research estimates that converting 20% of plastic packaging to reuse offers a $10 billion opportunity for businesses.

[Note: In 2023, Megan Torgerson from Reframing Rural, a podcast with a mission to share stories of people and places in rural America in an effort to celebrate culture, preserve history and cultivate curiosity and conversation across geographic, class and cultural divides, had the opportunity to attend WWF’s inaugural Sustainable Ranching Initiative gathering. What follows is Megan’s account of her experience at the event, and what participants can expect at this year’s gathering, which will take place on Sept 10-11, 2024 in Spearfish, South Dakota. This is the final post in four-part series. You can read the previous posts here: Post 1 | Post 2 | Post 3.]

A difficulty producers face today is the rising price of land. With inflated land prices now reflecting the value of land’s recreational rather than agricultural potential, absentee landownership is on the rise making it harder for ranchers, young and old, to purchase pastureland and hay ground. This makes it more challenging for new producers to get into the business and for senior ranchers to pass down their operations (Reframing Rural). One way ranchers are adapting to this challenge is through the recent innovation of virtual fencing.

[Note: In 2023, Megan Torgerson from Reframing Rural, a podcast with a mission to share stories of people and places in rural America in an effort to celebrate culture, preserve history and cultivate curiosity and conversation across geographic, class and cultural divides, had the opportunity to attend WWF’s inaugural Sustainable Ranching Initiative gathering. What follows is Megan’s account of her experience at the event, and what participants can expect at this year’s gathering, which will take place on Sept 10-11, 2024 in Spearfish, South Dakota. This post is the third of four in a series. The previous posts are here: Part 1 | Part 2.]

A widely-discussed challenge impacting the agriculture sector is the aging population of farmers and ranchers. The Quivira Coalition is addressing this concern by helping steward the next generation of ranchers through their New Agrarian Program. The New Agrarian Program provides first-time ranchers the opportunity to learn from skilled practitioners of regenerative agriculture.

[Note: In 2023, Megan Torgerson from Reframing Rural, a podcast with a mission to share stories of people and places in rural America in an effort to celebrate culture, preserve history and cultivate curiosity and conversation across geographic, class and cultural divides, had the opportunity to attend WWF’s inaugural Sustainable Ranching Initiative gathering. What follows is Megan’s account of her experience at the event, and what participants can expect at this year’s gathering, which will take place on Sept 10-11, 2024 in Spearfish, South Dakota. This post is the second of four in a series. Read the first post here.]

The Farm Bill plays an integral role in conserving grasslands and keeping families like the Stoltzfuses on the land. This critical piece of legislation, which is reauthorized around every five years, also heavily impacts the lives of all Americans.

"This is an industry that's important, not just to those of us who live in rural America.” said House Agriculture Committee Chair Glenn Thompson during a 2023 Farm Bill listening session with farmers and ranchers in Pennsylvania . “It touches the lives of every American family more times a day than any other industry.” (NPR).