How Companies Can Help Nature: A Look at Three Ways to Measure Biodiversity

Businesses can play a big role in protecting nature. They can help stop biodiversity loss. This is part of a bigger goal to make the world a better place for nature. One way to do this is by following the mitigation hierarchy. This means avoiding and reducing harm to nature. If harm can't be avoided, companies can compensate for it. But how do we measure biodiversity loss and gain? This is important because different ways of measuring can give different results. Three methods are used: Mean Species Abundance (MSA), the LIFE score, and the STAR metric. Each one looks at biodiversity in a different way. A study looked at these three methods. It found that using just one method might not be enough. Different methods can give different answers. This means that using more than one method can give a better picture. The study also found that sometimes, it's not possible to compensate for biodiversity loss within certain limits. This shows that avoiding and minimizing harm is key. The study used an optimization approach. This means it found the smallest area that needs to be restored to make up for biodiversity loss. It also looked at how limits on where restoration can happen affect the results. The findings show that using more than one method can lead to better outcomes for nature. In the end, the study shows that businesses need to be careful. They need to avoid and minimize harm to nature. They also need to use more than one method to measure biodiversity. This can help them make better decisions. It can also help them do more good for nature.