Nature Gets a Voice on Faith In Nature’s Company Board.
In a groundbreaking move, a UK beauty company has appointed an independent director to represent the interests of nature itself on its corporate board. Faith In Nature, an Edinburgh-based maker of eco-friendly personal care and household products, says it is the first business globally to give the natural world a formal vote in its business strategy decisions.
The company has amended its corporate bylaws to state that in addition to benefiting shareholders, it will strive “to have a positive impact on nature as a whole” and “minimize the harmful impact of its business operations on nature.” A new non-executive board member, Brontie Ansell, will advocate for environmental preservation at board meetings.
“We’re really happy to share details of how and why we did this,” said Simeon Rose, Faith In Nature’s creative director. “We’ve always wanted nature to be at the heart of what we do, and this felt like the next serious step to make that a reality.”
Ansell, a law lecturer and director at Lawyers for Nature, will serve a role akin to a legal guardian representing a child’s best interests in court. “We needed a strong methodology for holding this board accountable so it didn’t become greenwashing. That’s through public transparency and peer pressure,” she stated.
To ensure independence, Ansell’s compensation is funded separately from the main board. Faith In Nature has also committed to publicizing board decisions, even those contradicting Ansell’s guidance, along with explanations.
The scope of decisions requiring nature’s input will evolve, but could encompass areas like biodiversity impacts, pollution, plastic usage, energy, and water management. Ansell will be advised by a special committee of subject experts funded by the company.
While companies have appointed sustainability advisors before, giving an autonomous voice to nature itself in corporate governance is unprecedented. The move taps into the “rights of nature” movement, although such laws have yet to gain traction in the UK.
“Nature has been sidelined for too long in business decisions,” said Rose. “If we’re serious about sustainable, eco-friendly operations, we must have nature’s rights formally represented and accounted for at the highest level.”
Environmentalists hope Faith In Nature’s bold step toward ensuring nature’s legal standing in corporate decision-making could inspire other businesses to follow suit in balancing sustainability and profitability.
