In doing so, the company is guided by international standards such as the EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (in particular SDG Goal 15 "Life on Land") and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
The four-stage mitigation hierarchy is at the centre of VERBUND's biodiversity strategy:
- Avoidance
- minimisation
- restoration
- compensation.
This hierarchy serves as a guideline for systematically reducing negative impacts on biodiversity. VERBUND's complete biodiversity strategy can be found at the following link: VERBUND Biodiversity Strategy (PDF).
Avoidance: Avoiding impacts from the outset
VERBUND analyses potential impacts on sensitive ecosystems as early as the planning phase in order to avoid disturbing or destroying habitats. This is done, for example, by selecting the location for construction projects: Areas with sensitive ecosystems - such as breeding areas or migration routes - are actively avoided. Care is also taken during plant operation to avoid negative impacts on the environment as far as possible.
Minimisation: targeted reduction of unavoidable impacts
If negative impacts cannot be completely avoided, VERBUND takes measures to limit the duration, intensity or extent of the impact. One specific example is the relocation of protected plant species prior to the start of construction work. Construction times are also adjusted so that sensitive periods such as the breeding or spawning season are not disturbed.
Restoration: targeted measures
Impaired ecosystems are revitalised through targeted measures. These include the construction of fish migration aids or the dismantling of facilities.
Compensation: compensate for unavoidable negative impacts
Remaining, unavoidable negative impacts on biodiversity are compensated for through targeted measures. VERBUND is involved in large-scale renaturalisation projects such as the "LIFE Riverscape Lower Inn" or the "LIFE Blue Belt Danube-Inn", in which new habitats are created for endangered species and river landscapes are developed in a near-natural way.
Through this systematic and practical implementation, VERBUND is emphasising its commitment to a sustainable energy industry in harmony with the protection, conservation and promotion of biodiversity. #It's #schongenial when companies make an active contribution to preserving nature for future generations.
