Sky partners with Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew to launch Ten Principles for Investing in Nature and Biodiversity

• Experts on biodiversity and nature from Royal Botanic Gardens (RBG), Kew developed ten principles for Sky to invest in nature and biodiversity, instilling a holistic scientific and rights-based approach.
• The principles will support Sky to reach its 2030 net zero target.
• Sky and RBG Kew, in publishing these principles, are encouraging all businesses to adopt them to take a just and science-based approach to investing in nature

Sky has partnered with RBG, Kew to launch Ten Guiding Principles for Investing in Nature and Biodiversity. Alongside Sky’s commitment to halve its value chain emissions by 2030, the principles will shape Sky’s decisions in protecting and restoring natural habitats, providing additional carbon storage, and co-benefits for people and biodiversity.

The ten principles, proposed by biodiversity experts have been drawn up in consultation with scientific partners. The principles range from best practice proposals when creating biodiversity plans, to guidance on working with local communities and clear steps to proficiently measure impact on nature, ecosystems and local communities.

Sky has taken these steps as scientists at the National Academy of Sciences of the United States have estimated that by 2030, natural carbon sinks alone have the potential to remove over one third of the world’s harmful carbon emissions from the atmosphere. The launch of the principles is key to Sky’s integrated approach to addressing its remaining unavoidable emissions and the company will encourage partners to also adopt the principles.

Fiona Ball, Group Director of Sustainability and Bigger Picture, Sky: “Our priority is to rapidly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and we are transforming our business to do so. Sky’s objective is to absorb remaining emissions to reach net zero status by 2030. We are proud of our history of supporting nature through considered partnerships. Our collaboration with experts at Kew supports us to take a science and rights-based approach, which is crucial to helping nature to thrive.”

Ed Ikin, Director of Wakehurst RBG, Kew: “Scientific evidence shows that strong nature and land stewardship is central to achieving Paris Agreement goals. Nature-based interventions must be designed based on strong scientific evidence, with proper evaluation and monitoring processes established from the start. Sky takes an inquisitive approach to their work on climate action. That’s why Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, global experts in biodiversity and nature, have been delighted to partner to explore how Sky and other businesses committed to Net Zero can invest in nature for net zero and beyond.”

The first principle focuses on investing in nature through a holistic approach, ensuring the prioritisation of solutions which maximise impact across nature, people and climate, unique to each location. An example of this principle already being implemented can be seen in Brazil. Sky partnered with WWF and the Acre state government to guard against dangerous levels deforestation, while empowering local communities to live from the forest sustainably. Since 2009, one billion trees are still standing, 1,500 farming families have engaged in sustainable agriculture and forest resource production, including wild rubber markets.

A foundational and crucial principle set out by RBG, Kew is to “conserve and restore, before creating from scratch.” To avoid unintended consequences such as planting the wrong type of plant species or damaging existing natural habitats, conserving current ecosystems is a more effective way to manage biodiversity projects. Natural regeneration of forests, instead of planting new forests, can capture up to 40 times more carbon. The principle builds on the ten golden rules for reforestation, developed by RBG Kew and Botanic Gardens Conservation International in 2021.

The considerations for people and communities within the ten principles were co-created with expert stakeholders, facilitated by the Institute for Human Rights and Business, who worked with RBG Kew and Sky to further embed human rights, community risks and opportunities within the principles.

For more information contact: matt.palutikof@sky.uk

Notes

The Ten Guiding Principles created to invest in nature and biodiversity are:

• Take a holistic approach – consider the whole ecosystem for nature & people
• Prioritise projects with multiple positive impacts -avoid negative impacts
• Plan for the long term
• Build in climate resilience and adaptation, from day one
• Conserve and restore, before creating from scratch
• Design, and manage it all with local communities, in co-ownership
• Create measurement baselines and invest in technologies for monitoring and reporting on nature: you can’t manage what you can’t measure
• Tailor solutions to each unique location
• Secure funding and long-term monitoring, up-front
• Build collaborative, science and rights-based partnerships through sustainable finance towards nature positive investments.