Leaders for Nature

World Conservation Union helps Swiss business leaders green up

Up-and-coming Swiss business leaders join the World Conservation Union’s "Leaders for Nature" initiative to green the businesses of tomorrow

Leaders for Nature aims to bring the environment into the forefront of the private sector’s focus by ensuring that the business leaders of tomorrow understand the complexities of the environmental issues that Swiss, and global, businesses and individuals face.

Swiss business leaders aged 35 to 40 from companies across Switzerland will meet with environmental experts four times a year to discuss and learn about topics such as biofuels, emerging markets and the environment, green finances and biomimicry. Julia Marton-Lefèvre, World Conservation Union’s Director General, said: "We are leading this initiative because we recognize how important it is to share our knowledge of environmental issues with the private sector in Switzerland. We can also learn from businesses and try to understand how they want to engage with the environmental challenges that face us all today."

The event will welcome Leaders for Nature Patrons Claude Martin, former Director General of WWF International, Erik Slingerland, Senior Partner at Egon Zehnder, and Jeff McNeely, World Conservation Union’s Chief Scientist, who will open a debate on biofuels with participants. Thirty up-and-coming business leaders from across Switzerland will join them at the evening event to discuss how green biofuels really are and how the biofuels boom could affect their professional lives in the future.Jeff McNeely, World Conservation Union’s Chief Scientist, said: "All parts of the Swiss economy are ultimately based on energy. As oil fades as the key source of this energy, the question is how we can replace it. Although nuclear, hydroelectric power and coal are all viable options, one other renewable source is receiving greater attention – namely biofuels. It is important that Swiss businesses, like those everywhere, understand the costs and benefits of an increased use of biofuels in our energy provision, which we will address at Monday’s meeting."