corsus presents the CLIF project in the One Planet Network

From May 10-13, the third working group meeting of Working Group 4 of the Consumer Information for sustainable consumption and production (CI-SCP) program of the One Planet Network took place. The group, which focuses on biodiversity communication, met on the beautiful island of Vilm at the International Academy for Nature Conservation (INA) of the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN). Nico Mumm from corsus presented as external expert the CLIF project, which is funded by the BMUV in the framework of the International Climate Initiative (IKI).

The One Planet Network is a global network that has set out together to help achieve Sustainable Development Goal 12 (SDG 12) on sustainable consumption and production. Members of the network include users, policy makers and experts, as well as governments, businesses and academia.

The 10-year program framework for sustainable consumption and production contains six thematic programs. One is the Consumer Information Program. The aim of the program is to support consumers in making sustainable consumption decisions. This is to be achieved, for example, through credible sustainability information for products and services provided by companies.

The members of the working group were very interested in the CLIF project, because CLIF aims to design a communication tool that informs about sustainability impacts of food. One of these sustainability impacts that will be communicated is the impact on biodiversity, so the content of CLIF fits very well with the content of the working group and the CI-SCP program.

The largest impacts on biodiversity are caused by food systems, especially by land use in agriculture. At the same time, the impact pathways are very complex, which does not make it easy to communicate on biodiversity impacts of food in a way that promotes sustainable purchasing decisions. However, the tools already developed by the working group members and the success stories highlighted show that it is possible.

The island of Vilm was the perfect place to discuss biodiversity because the forests on the island have been untouched for centuries, making it a true paradise for biodiversity. Not only do highly endangered fungi and rare beetles cavort here among the ancient oaks and beeches, but the exceptionally thick humus layer also serves as a storehouse for a lot of carbon.