UNEP and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) launched the first Natural Infrastructure Training Course geared for business at the COP21 climate talks.

The course makes a business case for companies to invest in natural infrastructure solutions and provides tools for decision-making within companies. Through case studies and decision support tools, firms learn about natural infrastructure options based on user needs, for instance using wetlands for treating waste water or forests as natural buffers against coastal storms or landslides.

The course is part of the online Natural Infrastructure for Business Platform (NI4Biz), which provides key materials to be used for the training, including case studies generated by the WBCSD member companies and tools to guide business decision-making.

Both the Training Course and the Business Platform will contribute to WBCSD’s Natural Infrastructure Agenda, whose ultimate objective is to ensure that “by 2020, companies systematically assess natural infrastructure options when investing in new sites or projects, thereby contributing to the protection, restoration and creation of new ecosystems”.

The NI4Biz Platform and the Training Course was launched on 10 December at the Global Landscapes Forum in Paris by Mr Peter Bakker, President and CEO of WBCSD. He was joined by UNEP Executive Director Mr Achim Steiner. The training will be delivered to WBCSD member companies for the first time in April 2016.

Find out more about UNEP’s work in the field of Ecosystem-based Disaster Risk Reduction by clicking here or write to sophie.brown@unep.org