Our thinking

Save our Wild Isles

28 April, 2023

If you’re a nature lover, you’ve probably already binge-watched the latest flagship BBC documentary series Wild Isles, showcasing the UK’s awe-inspiring natural habitats and wildlife. But what you may not know is that the series was produced in collaboration with WWF-UK and the RSPB as part of their Save Our Wild Isles campaign. 

Our countryside has undergone drastic changes in the last 50 years, with intensive farming and infrastructure projects pushing nature and wildlife close to breaking point. The UK is one of the most nature depleted countries in the world, and in the bottom 10% of countries globally for protecting the nature we have left. An SOS for nature, the Save Our Wild Isles campaign is a call to action on behalf of nature.  

The campaign calls for action from everyone – holding governments to account for acting (or not) on the promises they made at COP15 and the policies they have put in place to protect and restore nature, calling on farmers to put nature at the forefront of their practices, and encouraging the public to speak up for nature. For businesses, this means putting nature at the heart of every boardroom decision, and publishing plans to become ‘nature positive’. Supported by big names, including entrepreneur and TV Dragon Deborah Meaden, NatWest CEO Alison Rose DBE, and our friends at Aviva, the campaign uses trusted influences to shine a light on why the nature crisis is bad for business and how businesses can help turn the tide for nature. 

While ‘nature positive’ is a relatively new concept, and it is not yet clear what this means in practice, this campaign is a step in the right direction, putting the challenges of responding to the nature crisis in the spotlight. We hope this will be the spark that sets in motion the action needed to better define ‘nature positive’, allowing businesses to put nature at the forefront of their decision-making and help to preserve our Wild Isles for future generations. 

By Lucy Bell