Biodiversity Policy Engagement Analysis
Biodiversity Lobbying Overview: BusinessEurope appears to have engaged broadly negatively on EU policy relating to biodiversity loss. Although its top-line messaging on biodiversity is mixed, the majority of engagement on biodiversity-related regulation has been negative.
Top-line Messaging on Biodiversity: BusinessEurope has taken mixed positions on biodiversity loss in its top-line messaging. BusinessEurope does not appear to have directly acknowledged the science of unprecedented biodiversity loss or the need for drastic action. In an April 2023 joint statement, BusinessEurope stated support for the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and called on governments to review their National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plans (NBSAPs). However, in a July 2024 position paper, BusinessEurope argued that measures to protect biodiversity should be “cost-effective” and balanced against other economic factors.
Engagement with Biodiversity-Related Regulations: Most of BusinessEurope’s relevant policy engagement is on policies aiming to prevent biodiversity loss due to pollution. BusinessEurope has opposed reuse provisions under the EU’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, including in a December 2023 letter to the chair of the EU Environment Council and a January 2024 statement in advance of trilogue negotiations. In a July 2024 position paper, BusinessEurope did not appear to support stringent regulation on chemicals, emphasizing that restrictions on PFAS should enable "innovation" and that chemicals should not be restricted without existing alternatives with the same characteristics. In an April 2022 position paper, BusinessEurope did not appear to support the revision of the REACH regulation.
BusinessEurope has limited but negative engagement on policy aiming to limit biodiversity loss due to land-use change, supporting the delay to implementation of the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) in a position paper and X post in October 2024.
Conversely, BusinessEurope has limited but positive engagement on policy aiming to limit biodiversity loss due to overexploitation, stating support for a WTO agreement to address harmful fisheries subsidies in a February 2024 position statement.
BusinessEurope has consistently advocated to weaken the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), which would establish a duty to prevent negative environmental impacts in the company’s own operations, their subsidiaries and their value chains. In a 2023 position paper, BusinessEurope advocated that policymakers should ”substantially overhaul" the directive. BusinessEurope signed a joint statement in November 2024 advocating for the reopening of the CSDDD, claiming that it must be simplified to protect competitiveness.
Positioning on Statutory Protection of Wildlife: BusinessEurope has not expressed a position on Statutory Protection of Wildlife since 2017.