The Critical Role of Private Sector Leadership in Conservation and Sustainability: From Risk to Opportunity
In recent decades, conservation was often seen as the responsibility of governments and nonprofits, while business leadership remained on the sidelines. Today, this outdated view is no longer tenable. Businesses, especially their senior leaders, must play a central role in driving sustainability, not only as a matter of corporate reputation but as an imperative for long-term economic resilience and global ecological stability. Why Nature Matters to Business, Not Just to NGOs Natural systems are not external to the global economy, they underpin it. Many corporate operations depend on ecosystem services such as clean water, fertile soil, pollination, and climate regulation. When those systems degrade, businesses face higher costs, supply chain disruption, greater risk exposure, and weakened competitiveness. Recent research confirms an expanding expectation for the private sector to act on biodiversity impacts and contribute toward global conservation goals (White, 2023). Mor...