Stakeholder Dialogue: Biodiversity

For the question, “How urgent do you think the situation is regarding living things?” participants discussed the present conditions. After exchanging ideas, they came to a common understanding that the situation is indeed serious across the globe due to abnormal changes in ecosystems, environmental destruction, and unabated global warming.

The participants were posed the questions of what they knew and didn't know about issues related to biodiversity and explored their answers while listening to comments from experts.

• How many species of living things are there?
• How can we eliminate introduced species and naturalized plants? How can we stop them from spreading?
• Who is ultimately responsible for nature?
• Is it possible to restore nature that has been destroyed?
• To what extent must developed countries lower their standards of living?
• Can nature be protected by laws?
• I don't know what nature was like 20 years ago.
• Can the Earth really be restored by halting the destruction of nature taking place right now?

In order to learn the value of living things and to protect and conserve them, participants explored the challenges together and presented their ideas for what we can do and what we should do.

1. Increase opportunities to commune with, feel close to, and experience nature.
2. Become a consumer who is satisfied with just enough. Select environmentally friendly products in daily life as a “green consumer.”
3. Act with an eye on the future. Act on things we can do. Never give up and keep your hopes alive.

1. What should we do to convey and spread awareness and environmental conservation activities, such as being a “green consumer,” with those around us?
   • Live by example. Start off with something near by.
   • Show specific achievements.
   • Work on this for the long-term, beyond generations, in places such as schools.
   • Create an “eco is so cool” fad, such as eco-bags and others.
2. Who should we get involved to commune with and feel close to nature more?
   • Friends and family.
   • Small children, by developing themes like bugs that are interesting for them.
3. What would you like the Fujifilm Group to do?
   • Lend field scopes and microscopes.
   • Support biology clubs across the country.
   • Hold photo contests with nature as the theme.
   • Hold eco-tours along with lectures on how to use digital cameras.
   • At digital photo printing at convenience stores, discount print charges for photos taken with observing nature as a theme.
   • Use closed schools and other buildings to hold workshops for protecting culture and traditions as well as for experiencing nature.
   • Have employees bring their own chopsticks and stop using disposable chopsticks.

• Biodiversity is generic term referring to all forms of life on the earth, as well as all species, eco-systems and ecologic processes that provide people with economic value, ecological services, and insight into the value of existence. A key issue for every company is how to tackle biodiversity conservation in its main business as well as those activities that are not directly related to business operations.
• Decreasing biodiversity creates risks for sustainable corporate growth. Future plans will become clearer by grasping our impact on eco-systems and the ecological services we benefit from across the entire supply chain as well as by analyzing and examining future business risks.
• Expectations are rising for a low carbon, recycling-oriented society that co-exists with nature. Even in the course of supporting biodiversity as a social contribution, companies should be aware that these efforts are part of their core business. Every company depends on biodiversity.
• A long-term time frame is necessary. Since companies are used to analyzing and evaluating business results in the context of a half-year or quarter, their perspective might not include reflection on their situation 20 years in the past or estimating risks 20 years in the future. The time span of biodiversity is fundamentally different from the time span of regular business activities.
• In business operations, simplification leads to tremendous risks. It is necessary to have many options and to restore diverse perspectives. The era in which a company can thrive as a business with only one area of strength is over.
• What will make a difference is whether a company can recognize unforeseen risks in 10 or 20 years as risks to the present.
• Companies should work on R&D on how to use resources longer and wiser. Companies that consider alternative energy sources as well as the use of crude oil will have an overwhelming advantage. The risk is immense for any company making a product that depends on diminishing resources; on the other hand, a company making a product that depends on bio-resources will gain a competitive edge.
• Fujifilm has profited from products that use bio-resources, such as triacetate and cellulose for photographic film and LCD film products; however, there has been no concept of a bio-resource benefit. I want to think about this.
• Since the risk to biodiversity is hard to envision, a company lacks a sense of crisis and may prefer to move slowly. However, the risk can manifest itself in an instant and can be extremely dangerous once it has occurred. This is the situation that we now must face. We had better start right now, even though we are not fully prepared. We will not, however, gain multifaceted value if we don't think in a way that reflects a variety of options, like a radar chart that isn't bound to a single value. There is no one easy pathway to biodiversity.
• There is the concept of PES (Payment for Ecological Services). This concept evaluates things that represent a benefit from nature. If an analysis using a specific index were available, the company could easily take action.
• Like forests are not just for lumber but also prevent water-related disasters by retaining water, we must grasp the multiple functions of natural resources.
• Especially in the case of Japan, it is necessary to develop a philosophy for why we must do this. Without this foundational philosophy, efforts will not last against the influence of business conditions and will completely dissipate eventually.