Biodiversity
According to the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), the effective protection and use of biodiversity at all levels – genes, species and ecosystems – is a precondition for sustainable development.1
However, human activities worldwide continue to cause the loss of plant and animal species at a rate much faster than that which occurs naturally in the evolution of species over time. Biologist E.O. Wilson estimates that the current extinction rate is 1,000 to 10,000 times the historic rate.2 As a result, from 1970 to 2005 ground-living vertebrate species declined by 25 percent, marine species decreased by 28 percent and freshwater species declined by 25 percent.3
Baxter and Biodiversity
While biodiversity is not among Baxter’s nine sustainability priorities, it is an element of Baxter's Bioethics Policy: “Baxter recognizes that protecting the environment and maintaining the biological diversity of our planet is of vital importance to human life. Baxter believes in the importance of maintaining global biodiversity and sustainable use of global resources.”
Baxter owns or leases approximately 910 hectares of land, about one quarter of which is impermeable surface. Baxter’s operations typically are located in light industrial areas in metropolitan regions. Twenty-one of Baxter’s 58 manufacturing and research and development facilities are located in 12 of the world's biodiversity "hot spots" as identified by Conservation International. A hot spot is an ecosystem that is biologically rich and endangered.
Baxter facilities conduct initiatives to protect biodiversity. For example, since 2006 the Round Lake, Illinois, United States, facility has worked with a professional habitat restoration company and the local forest preserve to restore four hectares of the campus to a more natural habitat – wooded savanna and a stream-bank riparian zone.4 As part of the project, the site used controlled burning to destroy invasive species. After the burn, Baxter employees planted 750 native plants on Earth Day 2008 to help those species re-establish themselves.
Collaborations
Baxter works with external organizations to protect biodiversity. For example, the company has been affiliated with the Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe, Illinois, United States, for more than 20 years. The mission of the 156-hectare garden is to promote the enjoyment, understanding and conservation of plants and the natural world.
Baxter’s annual financial support helps more than 200 Chicago Botanic Garden scientists, researchers and students make vital discoveries about plant survival, habitat destruction, invasive species and restoration. In 2008, Baxter was a major sponsor for the World Environment Day activities held at the garden.
Controlling Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Operations
Baxter’s continued efforts to reduce energy usage and associated greenhouse gas emissions from its operations also help protect biodiversity. According to E.O. Wilson, climate change alone may cause one-quarter of the earth's animal and plant species to become extinct by 2050.
1 UNEP, Secretariat of the Convention on Biodiversity.
2 E.O. Wilson, “The Future of Life.”
3 World Wildlife Fund report, “2010 and Beyond: Rising to the Biodiversity Challenge."
4 A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a stream.
