Biodiversity footprint as living lab with UoM Sustainability team
The University of Melbourne's Sustainability Strategy team engaged the MBI to lead a comprehensive, institution-wide biodiversity footprint and materiality assessment of nature-related pressures and dependencies.
Research Cluster
Research partners
University of Melbourne Sustainability Strategy Team
Project team
Sam Hickman, Professor Brendan Wintle
Contact
Project Summary
In 2022, the University of Melbourne took the Nature Positive Pledge as a founding member of the Nature Positive Universities Alliance.
The University had begun setting its benchmark through a Biodiversity Baseline Data Project, focused on on-campus biodiversity. However, little work had been done to understand how the University's entire value chain - such as the supply chain of the goods and services the university purchases and their investments - impacts biodiversity.
To address this gap, the University of Melbourne's Sustainability Strategy team engaged the MBI to lead a comprehensive, institution-wide biodiversity footprint and materiality assessment of nature-related pressures and dependencies.
MBI developed two open-source, reproducible R workflows that help the university complete initial assessments of their nature-related dependencies (such as reliance on clean water, healthy soils, and natural resources) and their impacts on nature (such as greenhouse gas emissions, land use change, and biodiversity decline). These workflows are designed to align with the Nature Positive Universities Nature Positive Pledge and international frameworks, including the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD).
Key findings
Key findings of the assessment reveal that contribution to global warming, land-use change, and water consumption are the primary drivers of the University’s biodiversity impacts, with the majority of the impacts embedded within the University’s supply chain.
These insights have directly informed the University’s evolving nature-positive strategy: initiating engagement with major suppliers and guiding approaches to meet renewable energy targets, ensuring nature considerations sit alongside climate goals.
By providing open-source workflows, MBI has empowered other universities and businesses to understand their own biodiversity footprint and impact reduction options.