Make biodiversity a way of life

Drive forward your biodiversity activity by focussing your targets and actions around a well developed plan.

You should already have assessed how biodiversity is important to your organisation  . You will also need to assess your biodiversity resource and your impacts on it  .

These activities will help you to identify what you need to do for biodiversity and how to make it happen. 

Develop the Policy

Start the planning stage by developing a clear vision. It should contain:

• a clear statement of your biodiversity vision (2 or 3 sentences)
• key biodiversity principles and commitments
• who is responsible for delivering it

A good biodiversity policy statement should be clear, ambitious and inspirational. Use the management structure in your organisation to develop the statement and ensure that it is adopted at a senior level. 

Some examples of biodiversity or environmental policy statements can be found at:

• Comhairle nan Eilean Siar  who have a Biodiversity Policy Statement
• Cemex  who have an Evironmental policy and a Biodiversity Strategy
• Roehampton University who have a Biodiversity Policy Statement  and an Environmental Policy 

As you develop your policy focus on the Key Principles relating to species, habitats and networks, and large scale building projects.

Link to other strategies

For your biodiversity action to succeed, it will need to connect with other local initiatives. Find out which Local Biodiversity Action Plan (LBAP) covers your area and see how you can be a part of it.

Wider Scottish policy will also be relevant. The Scottish Biodiversity Strategy  is a key document for understanding biodiversity policy in Scotland.

Set objectives and targets

Objectives clarify your purpose and provide a framework for targets and actions. A good objective must be relevant to your biodiversity policy commitments, and be clear, action focused and achievable.

Targets are precise measures of progress such as how much will be done or achieved or how many species affected. Make your targets SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant,Time-bound) as this will help when it comes to reporting your results.

Identify actions

Actions are what you can do 'on the ground' to achieve your targets.

Considering some 'quick wins'   might be important as you start to identify actions. These will be actions which are quick and easy to implement. Medium and long term challenges take more planning and preparation and may be more demanding. However these may be more important for meeting your main objectives.

For longer term actions, performance indicators will help you measure success and share it with colleagues.

Who will do what?

Identify individuals or small teams who will take the lead in delivering your targets and actions.

They will be responsible for planning, raising awareness, raising and managing resources, and ensuring that timescales are met.

Communicate

Continue to keep staff involved in Biodiversity projects by sharing news about activities that are taking place. Keep a focus on gaining commitment for the biodiversity policy and agreeing who will do what.

Consider a biodiversity newsletter or a regular column in a staff magazine, but also use meetings, notice boards and your intranet.  

Next steps

Once you have taken action for biodiversity you should monitor the results.