Elevate women’s network will provide opportunities to share innovative ideas, exchange insights and engage in mentorship

BETHESDA, MD, January 19, 2024 – Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC) announces the launch of Elevate, a robust network of women leaders working at the intersection of business and nature. Elevate seeks to fill the gap of global initiatives for women working on nature-related issues in business by providing a network to connect with and learn from one another. Through mentorship connections, networking events and an online platform, members of Elevate will support each other in working to overcome the challenges often faced by women in business.

The first online event for Elevate members will be held Feb. 28, 2024, sponsored by CRH. An in-person gathering will take place in New Orleans, La., at the WHC Conservation Conference June 4-5, 2024. Individuals from WHC member companies, partners and supporters will be invited to join as founding members.

“Research has shown that companies with strong female representation in senior management positions tend to prioritize environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues,” said Anna Willingshofer, WHC Chief Science and Innovation Officer. “However, women remain underrepresented in top leadership positions across industries; Elevate will serve to empower women in the business of nature to fill those gaps.”

CRH Chief Sustainability Officer and Senior Vice President Eunice Heath added, “At CRH, we recognize the strength and opportunity that diversity brings and the important role it plays in delivering sustainability goals. Sustainability leadership is a core focus for our business and we’re proud to support WHC and the launch of Elevate, creating a much-needed learning and mentoring space for women working in business and nature.”

About WHC:

WHC has been working at the nexus of business and biodiversity for 35 years and is the only international NGO focused exclusively on enabling private sector action for nature. WHC’s corporate members are leading national and multi-national corporations and their collective efforts have resulted in more than 1,500 WHC-certified programs around the world. Learn more at www.wildlifehc.org.

BETHESDA, MD, December 13, 2023 – WHC (Wildlife Habitat Council) offers a new white paper available for download today, The Corporate Nature-Positive Journey | Private Sector Biodiversity Methodologies, From Strategy to Implementation. The white paper is available for free on our website.

It has become clear that the world is facing a biodiversity crisis in tandem with both a climate and pollution crisis. Within the last few decades, climate change mitigation and source reduction have become widely regulated and material concerns to the private sector, but until very recently, the escalating global loss of biodiversity has not been given the same widespread attention. As all industries rely on and impact nature, private sector action is a necessary part of global efforts to stop biodiversity loss and restore habitats.

Because of recent events and initiatives, companies are increasingly exploring how to start, scale up or report on their nature-positive action, generally described as actions that halt and reverse current trends of ecological loss. Initiatives like the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) highlight the need for private, financial and governmental sectors to commit to nature positivity. In response to emerging governmental regulations, voluntary frameworks are emerging to help companies meet new reporting expectations.

Unlike other goals like net zero, the concept of “nature positive” is not a destination, but rather an ongoing set of approaches and strategies — the Nature-Positive Journey. The nature-positive journey looks different for every company, and taking the first step can seem confusing or intimidating.

As the only international NGO focused exclusively on enabling private sector action for nature, WHC supports companies through each step of the nature-positive journey — from developing a comprehensive corporate biodiversity plan to operationalizing on-the-ground action to sharing successes. This white paper traces the journey towards nature positivity that WHC has blazed throughout its 35-year history, with examples of available solutions and successful collaborations with members and partners.

About WHC:

WHC has been working at the nexus of business and nature for 35 years. It is the only international NGO focused exclusively on enabling private sector action for nature. WHC builds strategies and frameworks that connect corporate ambition for nature to robust action on corporate lands. WHC works with mostly Fortune 500 corporations, traversing value chains, jurisdictions and geographies. It seeks to integrate nature, especially biodiversity, with climate, equity and engagement to support sustainable ecosystems and healthy communities. WHC’s corporate members represent some of the leading national and multinational corporations seeking to support sustainable ecosystems and the communities that surround them. These efforts have resulted in more than 1,000 certified programs across 47 states and 28 countries.

BETHESDA, Md., November 15, 2023 – WHC (Wildlife Habitat Council) announces the winners of its 2023 Insect Hotel Challenge. WHC invited corporate members, partners and community organizations to submit their insect hotel designs illustrating the creativity and innovation of this conservation effort. Insect hotels provide habitat for bees, beetles and other insects, with items like hollow tubes, leaves and bark offering shelter and nesting space.

The contest received 21 entries from corporate conservation teams, youth organizations and individuals working to support local insect and pollinator populations. WHC determined a winner for each of the following categories: large-size hotel, small- to mid-size hotel, use of found materials and renovation of an existing hotel. Congratulations to the winners:

Best Large-Size Hotel – General Motors Argentina

Located on the grounds of the GM Rosario Plant in Santa Fe, Argentina, this bug hotel was housed in the body of a car that was going to be disposed of. Instead of throwing it away, employees repurposed the car into a hotel filled with wood pallets, logs with pre-drilled holes, nesting tunnels, twigs, bark and the remains of other vegetation.

“We are thrilled about our first place in the Insect Hotel competition, an achievement that reflects our commitment to sustainability and creativity,” said Norberto Tinazzo, GM Sustainability Engineer. “This project highlights our passion for sustainability and demonstrates that innovative solutions can emerge from unexpected situations. We take pride in having created something meaningful for the environment and hope it inspires others to adopt sustainable practices to preserve our planet.”

Best Small- to Mid-Size Hotel – Olympus Energy

Olympus Energy used this insect hotel to supplement an existing pollinator garden at its site in Jeannette, Pennsylvania. Volunteers supplied recycled materials found at their homes or at work sites, including bricks, wooden pallets, pinecones, walnuts, woody stems and untreated logs. The design of the hotel was inspired by a previous farmhouse and barn on the property to honor the past while creating a new structure for the future.

“Olympus is proud to participate in projects that support biodiversity and sustainable ecosystems in the communities where we operate,” said Laura Karosic, Environmental Compliance Manager with Olympus. “Building an insect hotel was a fun and creative way to further support populations of native bees and other beneficial insects on our WHC-Silver Certified pollinator garden on the Gaia Well Pad property.”

Best Use of Found Materials – Conservation Blueprint

The construction of this insect hotel in Saint Paul, Nebraska, was a collaborative effort, drawing on the skills of an entire family. Situated in the middle of a wildflower garden at prairie conservation company Conservation Blueprint, this hotel provides shelter for native bees and wasps. The design incorporated dried milkweed pods, mud rock with holes, bark, cut stems from the last growing season, bamboo sticks and pieces of tin roofing from an old barn. By the halfway point of the construction process, the hotel was already being used by pollinators.

“When I first heard about the contest, I wasn’t sure I was up for the challenge,” said student Jared Mack, who worked with his parents and siblings on the construction of the hotel. “I knew, however, that people (and insects) were counting on me. One of my favorite moments of the whole thing was when I had finished putting in the bamboo sticks and called it a day. Then, when I got back up to the site to work on it again, there were already insects living inside!”

Best Renovation of an Existing Hotel – WM Southern Services Landfill

WM chose to renovate an existing bug hotel at its Southern Services Landfill site in Nashville, Tennessee. The team modeled the hotel after Nashville’s AT&T Tower, also known as the “Batman Building,” doubling the height of the existing bug hotel and adding pointy “ears” to match the famous skyscraper. Intended for bees, butterflies, wasps and beetles, the hotel includes pinecones whose sap attracts specific insects.

“We are thrilled to receive this recognition for our insect hotel,” stated Kerrington Howard, who helps lead the WHC project. “This award is a win for the environment and the beneficial insects that will find a safe haven in our hotel. We believe small actions make a big difference, and this insect hotel is one of the steps WM is taking to further its commitment toward biodiversity and a more sustainable future.”

Insect hotels not only provide crucial shelter for wildlife, but they also offer opportunities to involve community members in the hotel’s construction and educate young people about the importance of conserving insects. Through these projects, conservation teams are inspiring and educating a new generation of environmental stewards.

About WHC:

WHC (Wildlife Habitat Council) has been working at the nexus of business and biodiversity for 35 years and is the only international NGO focused exclusively on enabling private sector action for nature. WHC’s corporate members are leading national and multi-national corporations, and their collective efforts have resulted in more than 1,500 WHC-certified programs around the world. Learn more at www.wildlifehc.org.

BETHESDA, MD, August 17, 2023 – WHC (Wildlife Habitat Council) offers a new white paper available for download today, Nature-based Solutions to Prevent Pollution and Support Biodiversity | Opportunities for the Automotive Industry. This white paper is sponsored by General Motors and is available for free on our website.

Nature-based solutions (NbS) are actions that utilize elements of nature to protect and restore ecosystems. In addition to preserving biodiversity of wildlife and plant species, NbS also deliver environmental co-benefits such as climate change resilience and improved air, water and soil quality, as well as community benefits such as recreation, aesthetics and environmental education.

Of particular use to many industries are the pollution prevention capabilities of NbS. Due to company-wide, national and international environmental goals, many automotive manufacturers have been going above and beyond regulatory requirements by incorporating pollution prevention strategies throughout the supply chain and manufacturing process. NbS are another set of tools that auto manufacturers and their suppliers can deploy to prevent pollution.

This white paper explores how the automotive industry can implement nature-based solutions to prevent pollution. Case studies from WHC-certified programs as well as automotive manufacturers around the world illustrate how nature-based solutions reduce pollution and offer co-benefits for biodiversity and communities.

Featured case studies include:

• BMW: Site Operations Center, South Carolina, USA
• Bridgestone: Aiken County Off Road Tire Plant, South Carolina, USA
• Chrysler/Stellantis: Peter’s Pond, Indiana, USA
• DENSO: DENSO Manufacturing Tennessee, Inc., Tennessee, USA
• Ford: Ford Rouge Truck Plant, Michigan, USA
• General Motors: World Headquarters, Michigan, USA
• Honda: HondaWoods, Tokyo, Japan
• Subaru: National Headquarters, New Jersey, USA
• Toyota: PEMC, Kentucky, USA
• Volkswagen: Enterprise South Industrial Park, Tennessee, USA
• WM: Southern Services Landfill, Tennessee, USA

This white paper is part of a series of deliverables supported by a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), with particular focus on EPA region 4, which includes Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and six indigenous tribes. Throughout this project, WHC has partnered with the Suppliers Partnership for the Environment (SP) to support the automotive sector and its supply chain in biodiversity uplift efforts.

Sponsored by General Motors, this white paper includes a foreword that states, “When nature-based solutions are designed into our overall business practice, we can develop strategies to be more resilient regarding the resources we all rely on to operate in today’s competitive landscape. Together, we as an industry can help to improve biodiversity and local ecosystems in our communities. Nature is everyone’s business.”

About WHC:

For 35 years, WHC has been promoting and certifying ecological stewardship action on corporate lands through partnerships and education. Since only 10-15% of the world’s land surface is protected, private lands provide an essential opportunity for restoring and protecting biodiversity. As the only international conservation NGO focused exclusively on the private sector, WHC provides a framework for voluntary conservation action on a wide variety of corporate lands. WHC’s corporate members represent some of the leading national and multinational corporations seeking to support sustainable ecosystems and the communities that surround them. These efforts have resulted in more than 1,000 certified programs across 47 states and 28 countries.

BETHESDA, MD, JUNE 21, 2023 – Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC) announced the winners of its 2023 WHC Awards during the WHC Conservation Conference held in Baltimore, Maryland, on June 20-21. The WHC Awards honor excellence in corporate conservation, with awardees representing various national and international companies across industries.

The year’s top awards, signifying leadership in conservation, were won by Freeport-McMoRan, WM and Matador Ranch & Cattle.

“We are proud to recognize the excellent achievements of this year’s WHC award winners, including Freeport-McMoRan, WM and Matador Ranch & Cattle,” said Margaret O’Gorman, President, WHC. “All of the award recipients have demonstrated excellence in corporate conservation, and we are honored to work alongside them to support biodiversity, sustainability and conservation education.”

The Employee Engagement Award, given to WM, recognizes the exemplary contributions of one company’s employees towards their habitat and conservation education efforts.

The 2023 Gold Program of the Year Award, which honors the overall depth of one conservation program, was awarded to Matador Ranch & Cattle for its Beaverhead Ranch site in Dillon, Montana.

Freeport-McMoRan received this year’s Corporate Conservation Leadership Award, which recognizes one company’s overall achievement in conservation and commends their corporate commitment to biodiversity, conservation education and alignment with global conservation objectives.

In addition to these corporate and program-level awards, individual projects are recognized for excellence in each of the WHC Project Guidance themes. This award category offers projects of all sizes the ability to compete for recognition.

Freeport-McMoRan was the year’s most honored company, receiving the WHC Corporate Conservation Leadership Award as well as three project awards (Bats, Formal Learning and Species of Concern) recognizing their conservation and education work in Arizona and New Mexico.

The following is a complete list of 2023 WHC Award Winners:

WHC Corporate Conservation Leadership Award
Freeport-McMoRan

WHC Employee Engagement Award
WM

WHC Gold Program of the Year Award
Matador Ranch & Cattle, Beaverhead Ranch | Dillon, Montana

Avian Project Award
BP, Warm Springs Ponds  |  Butte, Montana

Awareness and Community Engagement Project Award
Summit Materials, Hamm Sanitary Landfill  |  Perry, Kansas

Bats Project Award
Freeport-McMoRan, Cyprus Tohono Corporation  |  Casa Grande, Arizona

Desert Project Award
CEMEX, El Carmen Nature Reserve  |  Coahuila, Mexico

Forests Project Award
SIBELCO, Unidade Jaguaruna  |  Santa Catarina, Brazil

Formal Learning Project Award
Freeport-McMoRan, Port Nickel  |  Phoenix, Arizona

Grasslands Project Award
WM, Kirby Canyon Recycling and Disposal Facility  |  San Jose, California

Green Infrastructure Project Award
Davey Resource Group, WSSI Native Habitat  |  Gainesville, Virginia

Invasive Species Project Award
California Resources Company, Bolsa Chica Wetlands Ecosystem Partnership  |  Huntington Beach, California

Invasive Species Coordinated Approaches Project
Matador Ranch & Cattle, Beaverhead Ranch  |  Dillon, Montana

Land Conservation Agreements Project Award
Boeing, Boeing South Carolina – Keystone/Fairlawn Project  |  North Charleston, South Carolina

Landscaped Project Award
DuPont, Experimental Station Laboratories  |  Wilmington, Delaware

Mammals Project Award
MEG Energy Corporation, Christina Lake Regional Project  |  Alberta, Canada

Marine Intertidal Project Award
The Earth Lab, The Earth Lab – Ejido Sisal  |  Distrito Federal, Mexico

Other Habitats Project Award
General Motors, Quito  |  Pichincha, Ecuador

Other Species Project Award
Ontario Power Generation, Ontario Power Generation Wesleyville Site  |  Ontario, Canada

Pollinators Project Award
Constellation, James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant  |  Oswego, New York

Remediation Project Award
Ashland, Research Center, DE  |  Wilmington, Delaware

Reptiles and Amphibians Project Award
BP, Warm Springs Ponds  |  Butte, Montana

Rocky Areas Project Award
Exelon, Goat Hill Serpentine Barrens Restoration  |  Nottingham, Pennsylvania

Species of Concern Project Award
Freeport-McMoRan, Tyrone  |  Tyrone, New Mexico

Training Project Award
ITC Holdings, ITC Transmission Line Right-of-Way at Tomlinson Arboretum  |  Clinton Twp., Michigan

Wetlands and Water Bodies Project Award
Ontario Power Generation, Ontario Power Generation Wesleyville Site  |  Ontario, Canada

Award finalists and winners were chosen from Conservation Certification applications submitted between January 1, 2022 – December 31, 2022 that were granted certification. Information on award criteria can be found here.

About WHC

For 35 years, WHC has been promoting and certifying ecological stewardship action on corporate lands through partnerships and education. Since only 10-15% of the world’s land surface is protected, private lands provide an essential opportunity for restoring and protecting biodiversity. As the only international conservation NGO focused exclusively on the private sector, WHC provides a framework for voluntary conservation action on a wide variety of corporate lands. WHC’s corporate members represent some of the leading national and multinational corporations seeking to support sustainable ecosystems and the communities that surround them. These efforts have resulted in more than 1,000 certified programs across 47 states and 28 countries.