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This page provides answers to Frequently Asked Questions about LIFE Certification.

1. What is Instituto LIFE?: Supported by the UN (through the Convention on Biological Diversity) and the Brazilian Government (through the Ministry of the Environment), Instituto LIFE is a Brazilian third sector organization created in July of 2009, as a result of a joint effort by Fundación AVINA, the O Boticário Foundation for Nature Protection, Posigraf and SPVS (Society for Wildlife Research and Environmental Education). Instituto LIFE is responsible for the management of LIFE Certification, through which it aims to qualify and recognize public and private organizations that carry out pro-biodiversity conservation actions, thus collaborating with the preservation of natural areas and their ecological processes and the lasting supply of ecosystem services.
2. What is LIFE Certification?: LIFE Certification is a new certification: it is the pro-biodiversity certification that can be applied to any company regardless of its size or business sector. LIFE Certification means that the certified company is doing more than simply complying with the environmental legislation in effect and more than identifying the impact it and its whole supply chain have on the environment. This Company is, in a pragmatic and effective way, helping to conserve biodiversity and with this, collaborating to: a) preserve the ecosystem services that it needs to survive as a business (increasing its competitive advantage, giving it a market edge and enhancing its public image), and benefiting the population in general (corporate responsibility); b) avoid risks for itself, both of a regulatory nature (federal legislation barriers and non-customs barriers), and capital risks (rigor in the granting of credit by the financial community); c) help build a new management standard that recognizes the economic losses that stem from the loss of biodiversity, endorsing the ideal of Instituto LIFE (incorporating Biodiversity into Business).
3. Why is there Instituto LIFE and LIFE Certification?: LIFE stands for Lasting Initiative For Earth. Instituto LIFE was created not only to manage LIFE Certification, but also to promote debate and motivate actions among the Brazilian and international community towards reaching its ideal: “Incorporating Biodiversity into Business”.
LIFE Certification is the pro-biodiversity Certification, which means that the certified company does more than comply with the environmental legislation in effect and more than identify the impact it and its supply chain have on the environment.
4. Who is part of Instituto LIFE and who supports it?: The concept and structuring of Instituto LIFE and LIFE Certification was the result of collaborative work by four Brazilian organizations, referred to here as the founding organizations. As the work evolved, other institutions joined the initial group to further solidify the initiative. The founding organizations came up with the idea for founding Instituto LIFE and LIFE Certification, (Fundación AVINA; O Boticário Foundation for Nature Protection; Posigraf; Society for Wildlife Research and Environmental Education/SPVS. The Sponsors are organizations that grasp the importance of staying at the leading edge of international trends in the area of business management and biodiversity conservation. The sponsors make donations to Instituto LIFE, which then uses the resources to implement the stages necessary for its consolidation as an entity and the structuring of the LIFE Certification tool (Fundación AVINA; O Boticário Foundation for Nature Protection; Posigraf; Positivo Informática; MPX Energia). The Partner Institutions are institutions that have an understanding of the multiple benefits that this new tool can bring to biodiversity conservation and society as a whole (United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity/CBD; Paraná Technology Institute/TECPAR; the Brazilian Government through the Ministry of the Environment; the Municipal Government of Curitiba). The Supporters are organizations and professionals who gave their support without remuneration contributing to the structuring of LIFE Certification and Instituto LIFE (BDO Trevisan, Brazilian Biodiversity Fund/Funbio, Master Comunicação, Free University for the Environment /UNILIVRE; Zig Koch).
5. How does LIFE Certification work?: Instituto LIFE is responsible for the granting of LIFE Certification after the auditing process has been concluded. For a better understanding of how the LIFE Certification process works it is important to comprehend how the system is structured and the methodology used. The LIFE Certification process is based on a system made up of Instituto LIFE, the Auditing Company and the Company interested in certification. The methodology developed is described in the LIFE Certification Regulations that govern the three stages of the certifying process (the first two are evaluation criteria and the last, guidelines for the effective implementation of pro-biodiversity actions).
6. For how long is LIFE Certification valid?: The LIFE Certification process is based on a system made up of three main levels: Instituto LIFE, the Auditing Company and the Company interested in getting certified. LIFE Certification is valid for 5 years, with required ongoing re-evaluations, with statements and annual audits overseen by Instituto LIFE.
7. Who can conduct the audit for the LIFE Certification candidate company?: Only the Auditing Company that is accredited by Instituto LIFE. To facilitate the process for the candidate company and collaborate with governance and transparency, a list of accredited auditing companies will be made available on the Instituto LIFE website www.institutolife.org.
8. Why is LIFE Certification so important?: Because the loss of biodiversity endangers the lives of all people in all corners of the world, the business sector can play an important role in carrying out actions to revert this impact. LIFE Certification means that the certified Company does more than just comply with the environmental legislation in effect and knows the impact its company and its supply chain have on the environment.
This Company is effectively helping to conserve biodiversity.
9. Why is it important to conserve biodiversity?: Because all living beings depend on biodiversity. Ecosystem services are fundamental to production systems. All economic activity depends on the functioning of nature; industries rely on nature for raw materials, processes and references. Some examples include the provisioning of water and energy, our reliance on insects for pollination in agriculture, the watercourses maintained by the forests and other natural environments and the conservation of soil by natural habitats and microorganisms. Biodiversity also generates possibilities for scientific research in the pharmaceutical industry and the development of new technologies. The tourism and entertainment industries also rely on the proper functioning of ecosystems. The interdependence of Business and Biodiversity is unquestionable and it is based on this scenario that LIFE Certification was created to promote the advancement of biodiversity conservation on the business agenda.
10. How can my company or organization help?: LIFE Certification was designed for the business sector, for public and private companies. The greatest contribution your Company can make is to be among this group of cutting edge companies that have joined forces with Instituto LIFE to do their part to promote biodiversity conservation on the Planet through LIFE Certification.