The economic benefits of biodiversity protection: how business action strengthens competitiveness and resilience

The protection and restoration of biodiversity is increasingly recognised not only as an environmental necessity but also as an economic opportunity. As highlighted in the EU Green Week theme “Economic benefits of biodiversity protection”, healthy ecosystems underpin resilient supply chains, stable access to resources, climate adaptation and long-term business competitiveness.

This breakfast event will explore how companies can translate biodiversity protection into tangible economic value. Through practical examples and dialogue, the event will demonstrate how businesses can integrate biodiversity into strategy, risk management and innovation processes, thereby strengthening resilience and long-term value creation. The discussion will also highlight how nature-positive business approaches can help companies reduce environmental risks while creating opportunities for growth, collaboration and sustainable market development.

The event will showcase experiences from Western Sweden, a region where companies, academia and public actors are increasingly working together to address biodiversity challenges related to forests, water and land use. These cases illustrate how biodiversity-related action can contribute to resource security, operational resilience and innovation while supporting the EU’s broader goals on competitiveness, sustainable growth and strategic autonomy.

This event will:

• illustrate the economic benefits of biodiversity protection through concrete business cases;
• show how companies can integrate biodiversity into strategic decision-making and value creation;
• contribute to the European discussion on nature-positive business models and industrial transition; and
• foster dialogue between business, policymakers, academia and civil society.

This session will take the form of a 90-minute breakfast event in Brussels, combining short introductory remarks, business case presentations and a moderated panel discussion with representatives from business, academia and the public sector, followed by networking.

By bringing together practical business perspectives and policy dialogue, the event aims to demonstrate how biodiversity protection can deliver measurable economic benefits while supporting Europe’s transition towards a more resilient and sustainable economy.

The event is initiated by CSR Västsverige, the University of Borås and Region Västra Götaland and is aimed at companies, policymakers and EU stakeholders.