Since the convention on Biological Diversity was adopted at the 1992 U.N. Conference on Environment and Development (Earth Summit), efforts to conserve biodiversity have been made by signatory countries at the national scale. The need for participation by industry was later debated at the ninth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP9) in 2008. At Nissan we define our relationship with biodiversity as below, based on the U.N. Millennium Ecosystem Assessment framework, and are working to identify issues that must be addressed while promoting activities including cooperation with external organizations.
Joint Research with the U.N. University
Nissan hopes to clarify the relationship between ecosystem services (the value produced in society by nature through biodiversity conservation) and the automobile industry. To the end, we have conducted joint research since 2007 with the United Nations University institute of Advanced Studies, which plays a central role in the U.N. Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. This has included a workshop with experts in the global environmental field in August 2008, where we debated the kinds of ecosystem services that the automobile industry depends on and the kinds of impact the industry is having on ecosystem services. We are now making preparations to present the results of this joint research, including the outcome of the workshop, to the general public.
