More than 1500 people came together virtually on 13 June 2023 for the ninth edition of the RELX SDG Inspiration Day: "Not Too Late for Nature: Biodiversity and the UN Sustainable Development Goals." Eminent conservationist Dr. Jane Goodall, DBE, Founder of the Jane Goodall Institute and UN Messenger of Peace and 8th United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, were keynote speakers. The annual online event brings together thought leaders, corporate representatives, students, investors, governments, and NGOs to explore pressing issues, gain practical insight, and inspire action on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The aim of the 17 SDGs, adopted unanimously in 2015 by every member state of the United Nations (UN), is to make the world fairer, healthier, safer, and better for all by 2030. Biodiversity, the fulcrum of life in our seas and on land, is at the heart of two of them, SDGs 14 (Life Below Water) and 15 (Life on Land), but there is a critical interconnection with the other 15 goals - not least on agriculture and food systems for zero hunger (SDG 2), health and wellness (SDG 3), sustainable cities and communities (SDG 11) and the need for urgent climate action (SDG 13).

Read on to discover the highlights from RELX SDG Inspiration Day 2023.

The Rights of Nature: Laws to Protect Nature

BBC journalist and presenter Justin Webb’s panel explored how nature is defined in law; the state of legal protection for nature; and how rights granted to indigenous people can protect nature.

Panellists included Business and Human Rights Lawyer at the International Bar Association, Lara Douvartzidis; CEO of LexisNexis South Africa, Videsha Proothveerajh; Managing Director of LexisNexis South Africa, Gaythri Raman; and Chair of the Ocean Law Specialist Group at the International Union for Conservation of Nature, Cymie Payne.

Watch the full Right to Nature panel here.

Biodiversity and Human Health

How does biodiversity underpin health - from food security and disease control to mental health? This was the question Josefine Gibson, Deputy Editor of the Lancet Child & Adolescent Health posed to Editor-in-Chief of One Earth, Dr. Lewis Collins; Founder and CEO of Conservation Through Public Health, Dr. Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka; CEO of Loowatt Ltd. and a past RELX Environmental Challenge winner, Virginia Gardiner; and Senior Lecturer at University of Nairobi, Dr. Esther Kanduma. Dr. Collins stated, “Human health is dependent on services provided by the natural world; ecosystem services…which provide us with food, water…air…and keep the spread of pathogens in check.”

Watch the full Biodiversity and Human Health panel here.

Current Conservation Efforts

Youngsuk ‘YS’ Chi, Director of Corporate Affairs at RELX, hosted Kaddu Kiwe Sebunya, CEO of the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF). Kaddu said we need a win/win – not conservation or development but conservation for development. He posited that there can be no food security without conservation, which can serve as a firewall for zoonotic transmission of disease. African conservation, he argued, needs to be led by Africans. Accordingly, AWF focuses on conservation education across the African continent, where 70% of the population of Sub-Saharan Africa is under 30.

The Wisdom of Indigenous People

The essence of indigenous knowledge is local knowledge with a connection to the land. It’s a place to start for integrating the wisdom of indigenous people. This was the message from the panel hosted by Andy Dewis, Founder and CEO of Pineapple Sustainable Partnerships, with Founder and Chair of the Tribal Wisdom Foundation, Jessica Wawoe; CEO & Co-Founder of Conservation Without Borders, Sacha Dench; Sapmi Wisdom Keeper, Helene Lindmark; and Sustainability Director of Natura & Co., Keyvan Macedo. Jessica said we can gain insight from the elders in our community but that it’s sometimes as important to “unlearn” behaviours that may adversely affect the natural world.

Watch the full Biodiversity and Harnessing the Wisdom of Indigenous People panel here.

Policy Perspectives on Biodiversity

Michiel Kolman, Senior VP and Research Networks and Academic Ambassador at Elsevier welcomed Lin Li, Senior Director of Global Policy and Advocacy at WWF and Daniela Chiaretti, Environment Correspondent at leading Brazilian newspaper, Valor Economico. They discussed the importance of storytelling in the race to conserve nature.  To that end, Daniela recounted asking a woman astronaut, ‘you have seen our planet, do you think we are going to survive?’ The astronaut’s response was clear: the planet will survive, but we may not. Lin quoted the Chinese proverb, green mountain lush water, and contended that the 2022 Global Biodiversity Framework, which advocates for 30% preservation of land, water and sea, should be a floor not a ceiling.

Watch the full Policy Perspectives on Biodiversity panel here.

Each year RELX celebrates four customers that have made a significant, demonstrable contribution to one or more of the SDGs. Winners celebrated during RELX SDG Inspiration Day included Neste, a producer of renewable fuel, nominated by ICIS and Proagrica, part of LexisNexis Risk Solutions, for its work to help customers reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 20 million tons of CO2e annually by 2030; Japanese company Panasonic was nominated by LexisNexis Legal & Professional for committing to help their customers reduce CO2 emissions by more than 300 million tons, or about 1% of the current total global emissions, by 2050; Solvay, a global leader in materials and chemicals, was nominated by Elsevier for its Solvay One Planet roadmap; and Silverback Films and Studios, nominated by RX, was recognised for its mission to use the power of film-making and story-telling to reveal to a global audience the urgent truth of our changing planet.