South East Technological University hosted a Business of Biodiversity seminar at its Summerhill Road Campus in Wexford recently.
Aimed at raising awareness of the potential linkages between business and biodiversity, the event featured speakers from Teagasc, Allied Irish Bank and Castlebridge.
Key initiatives
Iain Campbell and Mick Redmond, outlined initiatives in Allied Irish Bank, aimed at supporting biodiversity, and the implications of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). Francesca Sarenas, a consultant for Castlebridge, a boutique consulting firm in Ireland, outlined some of the data protection and governance issues that business needs to consider. Amanda Stewart, CEO of the High Performance Building Alliance (HPBA), closed the seminar, highlighting the linkages between the work of the HPBA and biodiversity and the steps they are taking to incorporate sustainability in their organisation.
Collaboration
The event was organised by Dr Eamon Nolan and Ailish O’Brien at SETU’s Wexford Campus and funded through the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (SATLE). The seminar was run in conjunction with an SETU final undergraduate assessment involving students and staff from programmes in Sustainable Farm Management and Business.
WWETB’s Bridgetown College kindly shared their handcrafted beehive and upcycled biodiversity props for the event.
Embodying biodiversity
Dr Saorla Kavanagh, Research Officer in Farmland Biodiversity with Teagasc, summed the event up succinctly in her talk: ‘Biodiversity is essential for the processes that support all life on Earth, clean air and water, healthy soil, and pollination’.
“Despite the many benefits of biodiversity, it is being lost. We need to work together to stop biodiversity loss and by ensuring biodiversity is embodied in all businesses strategies and operations is one positive step towards achieving this,” said Dr Kavanagh.
For further information about this event, contact Ailish O’ Brien at [email protected].