Category: CSR/ECO/ESG

Benjamin Birch discusses the role of wildlife-friendly habitat in the wider surrounding landscape in promoting farmland diversity. Alongside colleagues, Birch modelled strategies of land sparing and land sharing under different levels of production. Background The conversion of natural habitats to agriculture is one of the greatest threats to biodiversity globally. Currently, 40% of the Earth’s […]

Author Benedict Spracklen used satellite imagery to better understand the impact of prescribed burning of moorland on ecosystem services. Prescribed burning has long played a role in the management of moorland, both in Scotland and across the UK. In Eastern Scotland, moorland burning (muirburn) is carried out to remove old vegetation and encourage new growth, […]

Richard P. Shefferson, University of Tokyo, discusses his article: ‘Life history costs drive the evolution of mycoheterotrophs: increased sprouting and flowering in a strongly mycoheterotrophic Pyrola species’ Figure 1. The non-photosynthetic species Monotropastrum humile, found at the Pyrola japonica field site (photo: R. Shefferson) Background When we think of plants, we think of trees and […]

The Innovation Fund’s 2023 call for proposals for net-zero technologies (IF23 Call) has received 337 applications from 27 countries. These proposals will compete for the call’s €4 billion budget to support the deployment of innovative clean technologies using revenues from the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS). The total funding requested by all applications amounts to […]

Some sustainability experts have speculated that the consensus ratings for an entity are driven partly by how many sources rate it.  In other words, the more that an entity reveals, shares, and collaborates with those who judge its sustainability, the more positively these sources will rate the entity. This theory seems reasonable.  As you can […]

As the EU’s flagship initiative for funding environmental and climate actions, the LIFE Programme is your opportunity to turn your ideas into reality – and if your project proposal is successful, you’ll be in for a share of the €571 million available this year. Sounds interesting? Head over to LIFE Calls for Proposals where you’ll […]

Authors of a research article recently published in Journal of Applied Ecology talk us through how barn swallows are effective biological control agents for lowering pest fly activity in livestock farms. Preamble: Farmland birds, filth flies and the landscape of fear Birds are key suppliers of crucial ecosystem services worldwide, and insectivorous species can consume […]

Urmi Poddar discusses her paper ‘Similar trait-based successional assembly in native and introduced plants despite species pool differences.’ A picture of the Buell-Small Succession Study site in 2005, showing in understory of mostly Japanese stiltgrass (Microstegium vimineum). Photo credit: Scott Meiners. Background Invasive species are one of the major threats to biodiversity. These species tend […]

Industrial activities, from electricity generation to cement production, are responsible for emitting huge amounts of greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide (CO2). Reducing the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is vital for Europe to become climate-neutral by 2050. To this end, the EU-funded CarbFix2 project recently tested and upscaled groundbreaking carbon capture and storage […]