Understanding Impact Business Models: Land/Wildlife Conservation

What is the intent of the Impact Business Model?

How do I assess my company’s eligibility for this Impact Business Model?  

What are some examples of companies that have this impact?

My company may be eligible for this IBM. How do I open this IBM in the B Impact Assessment?

My company may be eligible for this IBM. What supporting information do we need to provide?

Concepts in the B Impact Assessment

What is the intent of the Impact Business Model?

Conserving wildlife and natural land resources is crucial for the well-being of our planet and future generations. Both play a vital role in maintaining an abundant and balanced ecosystem. Wildlife contributes to the pollination of plants, the control of pests, and the preservation of biodiversity. By conserving wildlife, we protect countless species from extinction and ensure the preservation of our natural heritage. Land resources, including forests and wetlands, are essential for maintaining clean air, water, soil, and natural habitats for wildlife. They provide valuable ecosystem benefits, such as carbon sequestration and water filtration, while also offering recreational and cultural benefits.

The Land/Wildlife Conservation Impact Business Model (IBM) is found in the Environment impact area in the B Impact Assessment. The Land/Wildlife Conservation IBM is applied to companies whose products and/or services preserve or restore natural environments and/or protect animals (e.g., reforestation, sustainably harvested agriculture, protected parks).

How do I assess my company’s eligibility for this Impact Business Model?  

To be eligible for the Land/Wildlife Conservation IBM, a company must earn revenues from products or services that have one of the features described below:

• Specific practices to ensure the humane treatment of animals used as inputs in the product's creation 

• Specific practices to ensure the sustainable harvesting or use of natural products and materials 

• Directly prevents environment/ecosystem degradation 

• Improves natural environments previously damaged by degradation

Most frequently, this Impact Business Model relates to products or ingredients with third-party certifications that have been reviewed to meet B Lab’s criteria for a credible certification and meet the intent of the IBM. Some examples of credible certifications that are approved for the Land/Wildlife Conservation IBM include:  

• Certified Humane Free Range

• SustainaWOOL 

• Responsible Down Standard (RDS) 

• Responsible Wool Standard (RWS)

• Shade Grown

• American Tree Farm System 

• Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) 

• Naturland - Wildfish

• Sustainable Forest Initiative 

• Marine Stewardship Council Certification (MSC)

• Rainforest Alliance 

What are some examples of companies that have this impact?

Some examples of companies earning the Land/Wildlife Conservation Impact Business Model include:  

• A coffee company that produces coffee with shade-grown and bird-friendly certifications for practices that preserve habitats and biodiversity in the cultivation of coffee

• A land restoration company that brings together teams of experts to restore mines and forests

• Protected parks, wildlife management services

• Reforestation, endangered species repopulation

Please note that these examples are illustrative and nonexhaustive. 

My company may be eligible for this IBM. How do I open this IBM in the B Impact Assessment? 

If you are considering opting into this IBM, you will have to answer specific questions about the impact of your product/service that will determine which Impact Business Models you see in your BIA. These questions, called gating questions, ensure that you see the content that is most relevant to your company in your assessment. 

To find the gating questions for the Land/ Wildlife Conservation IBM, navigate to the Environment Impact Area and search for the questions titled “Environmental Business Model”, “Environmental Product or Service Impact”,  “Environmental Product Benefits” “Direct Impact on Land/ Wildlife Conservation”. Please refer to the screenshots and the highlighted answer options for the correct responses that will open the Impact Business Model.  Any deviation from this will prevent the Land/ Wildlife Conservation IBM from becoming visible in your BIA.

Please select ONE option per product line in the question ‘Environmental Product Benefits’. You may select an additional option if your product line has two separate environmental attributes.

To ensure that the Land and Wildlife Conservation Impact Business Model shows up, answer the following gating questions as shown in the images below. Any deviation from this will prevent the Land and Wildlife Conservation IBM from becoming visible in your BIA. 

My company may be eligible for this IBM. What supporting information do we need to provide? 

To demonstrate that your company’s product/service falls within one of the four categories of land and wildlife impacts listed above, you may be asked to provide documentation such as: 

• Valid third party documentation that follows B Lab’s principles for credible third party certification

• Information regarding the products or services the company administers

• Example of a conservation effort from a project the company worked on that shows the impact of the conservation effort

This documentation confirms the eligibility of your company’s product/service for the Land/Wildlife Conservation IBM – next, we must measure the intensity or scope of the positive impact of the beneficial product or service. To do this, your company must provide a spreadsheet with revenue values associated with the beneficial products or services. Lastly, you must also provide information about whether your company measures the impact of the product/service and tracks the outcomes related to product/service to determine if it is achieving the intended positive environmental impact.

Concepts in the B Impact Assessment

Ecosystem - A dynamic complex of plant, animal and microorganism communities and the non-living environment, interacting as a functional unit. (Convention on Biological Diversity - Article 2, 1992; Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, 2019)
Wildlife conservation is an activity in which people make conscious efforts to protect or replenish earth’s biological diversity. Wildlife conservation activities relate to the protection of plants and animal species, and their habitats. Conservation efforts are made with a goal to preserve nature, and the endangered species for future generations. Products and services that have a direct positive impact on land/wildlife preservation could include human certified animal products, sustainably harvested natural products (e.g. FSC-certified paper), wildlife management services, protected parks reforestation, and endangered species repopulation.

Near-term outcomes - This refers to the immediate or near-future results or consequences of a particular event, decision, or action. These outcomes typically occur within a relatively short period, ranging from a few days to a few months. Near-term outcomes are often tangible and measurable, and they can influence subsequent actions or decisions. Unlike outputs, which focus on what is produced/delivered, near-term outcomes focus on the impact or changes that occur as a result of the outputs. They are the effects or consequences of utilizing or implementing the outputs.

Long-term outcomes - The results or consequences that occur over an extended period, usually spanning months, years, or even decades. Long-term outcomes often have a broader impact and may be less immediately visible or measurable than near-term outcomes. For instance, long-term outcomes in the context of environmental conservation could include the restoration of an ecosystem, the reduction of carbon emissions over several decades, or the preservation of endangered species.