ONLINE CERTIFICATE COURSE • JANUARY 18 to FEBRUARY 14, 2027
Business and Biodiversity:
From Nature Risk to Action Plan
A four-week Cornell certificate on biodiversity strategy, from compliance to leadership, built on live conversations with experts
Offered by Cornell’s Civic Ecology Lab in collaboration with the Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise
WHY NOW
Biodiversity is where climate was a decade ago
Companies now plan on longer horizons, and a business that depends on healthy ecosystems wants to keep them healthy. Companies also align with the expectations of customers, investors, and regulators.
Customers
People demand products that are good for their health and do not come at nature's expense. Retailers and brands pass the question down the supply chain.
Investors
Investors, lenders, and insurers now ask how a company depends on nature and how it affects nature. The answers shape ratings, loan terms, and premiums.
Regulations
Regulators are catching up: deforestation-free supply chains, nature reporting, permits that take longer when habitats are at stake.
THE COURSE IN BRIEF
Create a biodiversity plan for your organization
You leave the course with a biodiversity action plan written for your own organization. While restoring the health of ecosystems, your plan will protect revenue and supply chains, respond to the questions investors now ask, and meet the growing interest of customers in products that are good for them and for nature. You build the plan week by week while learning from frequent live webinars with experts (attending is optional; every session is recorded and summarized), from short readings, and from discussions with peers. Everything in the course is designed to be applied to your own organization.
Course description →
4 weeks
January 18 to February 14, 2027
Learn from experts
4 live webinars each week, all recorded, with summaries
Peers
Connect with a global group of business and finance professionals
Commitment
Submit a weekly discussion post and create a short biodiversity action plan
Cornell certificate
Demonstrate your expertise in business and biodiversity with a certificate from Cornell University
WEBINAR SPEAKERS
Learn from experts in business and finance
Live at 9:00 a.m. ET. Attending is optional; every webinar is recorded.
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COURSE FRAMEWORK
Three levels of biodiversity action
The course follows one framework for how a business advances biodiversity. It connects existing regulations and voluntary standards (such as TNFD, SBTN, and GRI 101) with the work of strengthening both regulations and cultural norms. This framework is informed by conversations with practitioners in business and finance, and the research literature.
LEVEL 1
Comply with existing regulations
Your firm meets every mandatory biodiversity rule wherever it operates, sells, and sources: permits, trade, and reporting.
LEVEL 2
Do more than the rules require
Your firm commits to voluntary standards and reporting, responsible sourcing, nature-friendly design, restoration, and biodiversity credits.
LEVEL 3
Push for stronger regulations
Alone or with other firms, your firm works with governments to raise the mandatory biodiversity rules for all firms and level the playing field.
