A ground-breaking campaign, One Small Step for Nature, was launched this week, marking a significant shift in how UK businesses engage with and support the natural world. The initiative, which aims to inspire our 5.6 million UK businesses to take meaningful yet manageable steps to protect biodiversity, has already been hailed as a potential game-changer in the fight against the country’s growing nature crisis.
A Timely Response to a Growing Crisis
The campaign was launched in response to a recent statement from DEFRA stating “Britain is Dying” with nearly half of our bird species and a quarter of our mammal species now at risk of extinction. The campaign comes at a time when action is urgently needed. The initiative is designed to empower businesses to act without overwhelming them with complexity, making environmental responsibility achievable, impactful and enjoyable.
A New Era of Business Responsibility
While efforts to reduce carbon emissions remain crucial, recent findings reveal that the nature crisis is even more pressing. Biodiversity loss in the UK has reached critical levels:
– Hundreds of UK species are now at risk of extinction.
– One in six species is at risk of being lost from Great Britain.
– Since the 1970s, 41% of UK species have declined.
These alarming statistics prompted the creation of One Small Step for Nature, an initiative that is already mobilising businesses across the UK to take action.
Why This Campaign Matters
“Biodiversity is the foundation of our ecosystems, our economy, and our well-being,” said Jacqui Macdonald, CEO of nature consultancy Voice of the Beehives and founder of the campaign. “This campaign is about recognising that every business, regardless of size, can contribute to preserving our natural environment. With 5.6 million businesses in the UK and almost 200,000 in the Thames Valley region, just one small step from each could transform a crisis into a triumph.”
Impact Through Simplicity
The campaign provides UK businesses with practical, easy-to-implement actions to support biodiversity. Whether that’s through nature away-days, enhancing green spaces, or supporting conservation efforts, the initiative offers a pathway for every business to contribute to supporting nature.
To accommodate businesses of all sizes and investment capacities, One Small Step for Nature offers three tailored options:
CONNECT: Supporting employees to take time out to connect with nature has proven wellbeing benefits and is ultimately great for business.
PROTECT: There are hundreds of options for business who want to help protect nature including opportunities to support our brilliant UK conservation organisations.
INVEST: For larger companies there is an opportunity to partner with nature specialists and government-backed organisations to channel finances towards impactful projects that support nature protection.
A Movement for Change
Since its launch, One Small Step for Nature is quickly gaining momentum, signalling a new movement in the UK’s business landscape. Businesses interested in joining the initiative can visit Voice of the Beehives to learn more and take their first step towards making a positive impact on nature.
“While saving the world is a daunting challenge, taking small steps is something we can all do,” said Jacqui Macdonald. “This campaign is about harnessing the collective power of businesses to make a real difference, one step at a time.”
