Our goal is to ensure that corporate growth strengthens, rather than depletes, the natural world. 

PROGRAM OVERVIEW

Biodiversity is the basis for all ecosystem services that communities, companies, and the world depends on – food, fresh water, clean air, and climate resilience to name a few. When nature thrives, so do people and businesses. Yet ecosystems around the world are under mounting pressure from deforestation, pollution, and unsustainable land and water use. The result is a rising threat to both environmental stability, corporate supply chains, and life itself. 

As You Sow’s Biodiversity Program is turning those numbers into action. We work directly with major corporations to protect and restore the ecosystems that make business possible. Our goal is simple: ensure that corporate growth strengthens, rather than depletes, the natural world. 

 We engage corporate executives to adopt more sustainable practices, establish stronger due diligence policies, and set measurable targets for improvement. Through shareholder advocacy and direct engagement, we drive commitments to deforestation-free supply chains, water stewardship, and transparent biodiversity reporting aligned with emerging global standards. 

The program focuses on where nature is under greatest pressure. 

• Oceans: reducing pollution and destructive practices to sustain fisheries and coastal communities. Through our work encouraging companies across multiple sectors to reject sourcing minerals from the deep seabed, we are helping stop a destructive deep-sea mining industry before it begins, protecting fragile marine ecosystems that remain among the least understood and most vital on Earth. Our efforts have already led to landmark action, including the first industry-wide exclusion policy on deep-sea mined minerals adopted by First Solar, setting a precedent for responsible sourcing across the clean energy sector. 

• Land and forests: preventing deforestation and restoring terrestrial ecosystems to protect biodiversity, communities and climate resilience. Our work with food and retail companies on avocado-supply chains in Mexico supports a forest-friendly certification program and encourages transparent traceability to stop forest loss tied to agricultural expansion. We engage major brands to adopt deforestation-free sourcing, helping ensure that growth in agricultural supply chains strengthens rather than depletes forests. 

• Freshwater: protecting rivers, lakes, and aquifers that supply drinking water, support biodiversity, and underpin supply-chain resilience. Our work urges firms to align with emerging standards for water-use disclosure and watershed stewardship to safeguard critical freshwater ecosystems companies and communities rely on. 

This work delivers measurable outcomes for investors and the planet. Every commitment secured, every disclosure published, and every ecosystem restored strengthens the foundation for a resilient economy and a livable future. Join us as we hold corporations accountable, turn risk into opportunity, and help nature recover from the ground up. 

MAJOR Biodiversity Wins

MISSION PRODUCE
Secured a commitment from Mission to source only Pro Forest Avocados, helping elevate PFA into the industry standard and accelerating the shift to deforestation-free supply chains. 

GENERAL MOTORS
Won a public assurance from GM that it has not and will not use minerals from the deep sea, reinforcing global protections against high-risk seabed mining. 

FIRST SOLAR
Drove the adoption of the clean energy sector’s first industry-wide exclusion of deep-sea mined minerals, setting a new benchmark for responsible sourcing. 

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