Mark Aspelin
Profitable Conservation LLC, PO Box 574, Sandia Park, New Mexico, 87047, USA
Title: Profitable Conservation: Business Strategies that Boost Your Bottom Line, Protect Wildlife, and Conserve Biodiversity
Biography
Biography: Mark Aspelin
Abstract
Biologists are alerting us to the fact that we're experiencing major losses of biodiversity and wildlife habitat throughout the world and they're taking steps to address the issue. Corporations, on the other hand, are expanding operations and hoping to grow. It's just a matter of time before the actions of corporations and biologists collide. Corporations will soon face increasing stakeholder scrutiny and pressure to do their part to protect our planet's biodiversity and wildlife. Fortunately, conservation versus profit is not a zero sum game where the winner takes all. There are many win-win scenarios, which are good for business (e.g., reduced costs, reduced risk, and increased profits) and good for biodiversity (e.g., healthy species, populations, and ecosystems). This presentation will highlight the role of business in conserving biodiversity, emphasizing actions that companies can take that are profitable from the perspectives of business, wildlife, and biodiversity. In my presentation, I provide strategies that businesses can implement to address four major biodiversity threats: habitat destruction; invasive species; pollution; and overharvesting, along with the value proposition for each strategy and real-world examples.