BirdLife and Business Work Together for Environmental Sustainability

International companies have an increasing impact on biodiversity as the world's economy grows and becomes more globalised. At the same time, forward-looking businesses are ever more aware that the use of natural resources must be sustainable.

The principles and goals set by the Earth Summit ten years ago, and further refined by the Summit for Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in 2002, provide a framework and opportunity for businesses and conservation organisations to work together for long-term environmental sustainability. Maintaining, restoring and enhancing biodiversity are essential to this goal.

What is BirdLife?

BirdLife International is a Partnership of independent conservation organisations in more than 100 countries, linking birds, habitats and people to make a difference to the quality of life on earth. The BirdLife Partnership works on shared priorities, policies and programmes for conservation action, exchanging skills, achievements and information. BirdLife works with local communities to promote sustainable living as a means of conserving birds and all other forms of biodiversity.

Over the last decade, BirdLife has built an unparalleled dataset of the distribution and trends of biodiversity across the globe using birds as indicators. Birds are popular in all cultures, and are an excellent focus for bringing people together and promoting awareness and interest in the environment. The BirdLife Partnership is a unique force that fuses these attributes - popular appeal and highly credible data - through a global network that works nationally and locally. This network includes 103 national NGOs with a combined membership of 2.7 million, a professional conservation staff of over 4,000 and a combined annual turnover of US$269 million. It is the largest international conservation network in the world.