As demand for natural resources increases, so does the pressure placed on the ecosystems, people and animals that contribute to their delivery. The emphasis here is on causing no harm as a result of the physical management and extraction of natural resources.
This includes but is not limited to:
- Harvesting renewable resources, such as trees or fish, at rates that do not reduce nature’s capacity to regenerate them;
- Extracting non-renewable resources, such as metals, in ways that do not systematically damage surrounding ecosystems and communities;
- Respecting the welfare of animals; and
- Avoiding conflict and human rights violations when mining valuable minerals.
Note that this goal applies to a company’s own activities. Natural resources which are purchased from suppliers are covered separately, by the Procurement goal.
To be Future-Fit, a company must do two things:
- It must preserve the health of all natural resources it manages; and
- It must protect the health of any ecosystems and communities impacted by its own harvesting and extraction activities.