Why Biodiversity Is a Hot Topic for Companies in Switzerland

The term “biodiversity” is understood to mean a richness of animals, plants, fungi and micro-organisms. It encompasses the genetic diversity within different species, the diversity of ecosystems, and the interactions between them. Generally speaking, biodiversity describes the variety of life.

The broad definition of the word already suggests that the benefits of biodiversity are extraordinarily far-ranging. Biodiversity ensures the functioning of all “ecosystem services” that are indispensable to humans. It plays a role in providing people with drinking water and sources of energy, forms the basis for the production of food, helps regulate the climate, and offers natural protection against natural hazards.

Biodiversity is, therefore, not only of central importance to nature – it is also a foundation of society and the entire economy. A large proportion of businesses are directly or indirectly dependent on it and its functions. This may seem obvious in the case of farming and food production. The dependency, however, goes much deeper. Many medicines, for example, are produced from natural resources such as plants, fungi and bacteria – meaning that pharmaceutical companies and the entire health sector rely on biodiversity. The same applies to cosmetic products and their manufacturers. Furthermore, the construction and textile industries are significantly influenced by its benefits. Biodiversity also contributes substantially to Switzerland’s attractiveness as a business location and thus sustains tourism. In short, biodiversity is relevant to everyone.

In light of its fundamental role, it is obvious that conservation of biodiversity is essential from an economic – as well as ethical – point of view. This makes it all the more worrying that biodiversity is rapidly declining worldwide. In Switzerland alone, a recent report by the Federal Office for the Environment revealed that more than a third of the approximately 11,000 plant, fungus and animal species studied are considered endangered or have already become extinct. The steadily advancing loss of biodiversity is largely due to human activities such as deforestation, urbanisation, overfishing and emissions.

According to the Global Risks Report 2023, declining biodiversity is now considered one of the greatest global risks alongside climate change, given that the decline in biodiversity and climate change are closely linked and mutually reinforcing. However, while the issue of climate change is on everyone’s lips, the loss of biodiversity receives less publicity – despite its momentous impact on the economy and society. One reason for this may be that biodiversity loss is only partially visible.

Biodiversity does not stop at national borders, so combatting the ongoing loss of habitats and species is a global task. At the legal level, there are various international agreements regarding the conservation of biodiversity. One of the most important international agreements is the Rio 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), which has been in force in Switzerland since 1 February 1995.

With the signing of the CBD, the signatory states committed themselves to developing a national biodiversity strategy. Accordingly, the Federal Council adopted the Swiss Biodiversity Strategy in 2012. This was concretised in the 2017 Swiss Biodiversity Strategy Action Plan, which contains measures aimed at:

The Federal Council recently decided to extend the first implementation phase of the action plan (2017–23) until 2024.

The conservation and promotion of biodiversity is also a cross-sectoral task, which means that its legal reference points are especially diverse. At a national level, the authoritative framework is the Federal Act on the Protection of Nature and Cultural Heritage (NCHA). Article 1 of the NCHA lists the conservation of biological diversity and the promotion of the sustainable use of its components, among other things, as an explicit goal.

Important regulations on the protection of biodiversity can also be found in the Agriculture Act, the Water Protection Act, the Spatial Planning Act, the Forest Act, the Hunting Act, and associated ordinances. There are also various regulations at the cantonal and communal level that affect biodiversity, particularly – albeit by no means conclusively – in the area of spatial planning.

More and more companies are actively addressing the issue of sustainability. However, the protection of biodiversity in Switzerland has not (yet) found its way into the list of companies’ ESG reporting obligations (Article 964a et seq of the Code of Obligations). This differs from the EU, where biodiversity and ecosystems are considered a partial aspect of ESG reporting obligations. It is by no means impossible that Switzerland will catch up with the EU in this respect in the medium term.

In September 2020, the so-called Biodiversity Initiative was submitted in Switzerland. With an amendment to the Federal Constitution, the federal government and the cantons will be obliged to better protect biodiversity and to make more areas and more money available for this purpose. Although the Federal Council rejects the initiative, it supports the initiative in principle and agrees with the urgent need for action (according to its dispatch). Therefore, the Federal Council submitted an indirect counter-proposal to Parliament, which was not accepted by the Council of States. Consequently, the initiative will be put to the vote without a counter-proposal. If the initiative is accepted, its concrete implementation is likely to give rise to much discussion.

Future legal developments in the area of biodiversity are still highly uncertain in Switzerland. However, one thing has already been fundamentally agreed: action is urgently needed. It is therefore vitally important for companies to deal with the issue at an early stage, in order to be prepared for any legal developments in the future.