5 minute read
From the farm to the boardroom: a call to action for biodiversity
LORNA COLE, SENIOR ECOLOGIST, SAC CONSULTING
Scotland is globally renowned for its natural beauty - wild rugged landscapes, clear clean waters, and iconic wildlife.
These natural assets underpin Scotland as a top tourist destination and alongside our high environmental standards add value to Scottish produce. Our whiskies with their distinctive taste derived from water trickling through 10,000-year-old peatlands, wild salmon caught from our pristine rivers, and Scottish lamb with its unique flavour derived from grazing on saltmarsh or heather moorland.
Yet despite this value, the State of Nature Scotland 2023, a report that tracks how our natural environment is faring makes for sobering reading. Headline messages indicate that 11% of species are threatened with extinction, that seabirds have declined by 49% since 1986 and that the distribution of flowering plants has declined by 47% since the 1970s.
Delve a little deeper, however, and we can see glimmers of hope. Pollinating insects, benefitting from warmer summers and pollinator friendly interventions, have increased by 30% - bucking trends in the rest of the UK, and indeed in many areas across the globe. Freshwater insects such as mayflies, caddisflies, dragonflies, and stoneflies have rapidly increased by 339% since their
1978 baseline, highlighting improvements to water quality following the implementation of the Water Framework Directive. These changes clearly demonstrate how action on the ground shaped by policy and legislation can drive positive change.
Biodiversity is under pressure from multiple, often interconnected forces, many of which stem from land use and land management. In Scotland, farmers and crofters manage around 80% of land, placing them at the centre of both the challenge and the solution. From farm to the boardroom, there is growing recognition that supporting nature and food production, can, and indeed must, go hand in hand.
Nature and agriculture are inherently intertwined. Healthy soils and ecosystems rich in biodiversity are the foundations of resilient food systems. These natural assets are our insurance policy, building resilience to an ever-changing environment.
Post-World War II a drive for self-sufficiency in food production, aided by innovation, pushed agriculture to prioritise yield over anything else. This focus on yield came at a cost: degraded soils, fragmented habitats and declines in biodiversity. Now a growing concern across the supply chain is revolutionising the way we farm. Yield is no longer king. From farm to supermarket shelf, we are increasingly aware of our dependencies and impacts on nature.
Across the globe, farms are working with nature to regenerate soils and restore ecosystems. In this changing landscape regenerative agriculture and biodiversity are starting to take centre stage.
Until recently, carbon has dominated the corporate sustainability agenda. However, with growing pressure from banks, regulators and consumers, nature is now entering the boardroom. Forward-looking corporations are identifying nature-related risks, setting biodiversity targets, and investing in nature-positive supply chains. Yet, unlike carbon, there is no single way to measure biodiversity. It is multifaceted, local, and dynamic.
This complexity makes it challenging to define targets or track progress – but it is also what makes biodiversity so valuable.
A farm’s biodiversity is as unique as the farm itself. As an agricultural ecologist, I have walked hundreds of farms. I have marvelled at ancient oak trees, listened to skylarks singing and dancing in the sky, and strolled through species-rich meadows teeming with insects. How do you quantify that?
There is no silver bullet for biodiversity, but there are principles that can guide action.
First, companies need to set credible, measurable targets that reflect both their dependence on and impact upon biodiversity. This is the essence of double materiality - shifting beyond a narrow focus on financial risk to also account for broader environmental and societal impacts. For example, soil health indicators reflect a farm’s capacity to sustainably produce food – a key dependency. Meanwhile, metrics like farmland bird populations or water quality can track ecological impact.
Second, biodiversity monitoring must be robust and practical to implement across supply chains. Metrics should be grounded in the realities of farming and designed to support both corporate reporting and better on-farm decision-making.
Transition plans should be co-designed and provide opportunities for upskilling across supply chains. Crucially, they must give farmers the flexibility to choose actions that are both nature-positive, and economically viable.
For the first time, there is real momentum and a genuine opportunity for corporations to partner meaningfully with farmers, crofters, and land managers. Not just to reduce harm, but to restore the ecosystems that sustain our food, our economy, and our wellbeing.
Scotland’s rich agricultural heritage, world-renowned landscapes and progressive environmental policies, makes it uniquely placed to lead the way in championing nature-friendly farming. Real change requires collaboration. By investing in practical monitoring, driving innovation, and fostering collaboration across the supply chain we can demonstrate what is possible when we put nature at the heart of decision-making.
Now is the time to turn commitment into action and ensure Scotland’s food systems are not only resilient and nature-positive, but recognised globally for leading the way in sustainable food production.
At SAC Consulting, we often function as a bridge between the evolving demands of supply chains and the day-to-day realities of farming. Working closely with farmers, crofters, and land managers, we also engage with businesses and policymakers who are setting increasingly ambitious sustainability targets. We connect these worlds and co-design practical, nature-positive solutions that work in the real world. In translating policy and sustainability targets into farm-level actions, we ensure that change is shaped not just by compliance, but by collaboration.
