History
Leaders for Nature was founded in 2005 by Willem Ferwerda, director of IUCN NL. IUCN NL is a bridge between social organizations, the government, business and science and focuses on all kinds of subjects pertaining to the struggle against the loss in biodiversity.
The first action of LFN was to engage the middle management of several companies.
Inspired by LFN, 90 Captains of Industry sent a letter to the new Dutch cabinet in 2006 in order to address the importance of climate change, sustainable business practices and the conservation of nature and ecosystems. This letter resulted in a 10-point action plan that is still having an impact on the policies of the current government.
In 2007, the young professionals' committees of 25 companies wrote a letter to business leaders emphasizing their wish to assist them in integrating sustainability more fully into the day to day business.
This resulted in the LFN Forum in 2008. Here, YPs met with a members of their Boards to define the commitments to sustainability for the upcoming year.
From 2009 onwards, companies may become a member of LFN. Currently, more than 15 companies are LFN members, which means that they may participate in the entire LFN programme.
