{"id":690912,"date":"2024-08-20T07:05:16","date_gmt":"2024-08-20T14:05:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/?post_type=wherenext&#038;p=690912"},"modified":"2025-12-12T12:14:19","modified_gmt":"2025-12-12T20:14:19","slug":"fast-four-nature-based-practices","status":"publish","type":"wherenext","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/fast-four-nature-based-practices","title":{"rendered":"Fast Four ICYMI: An Inside Look at How Nature, GIS, and Business Overlap"},"author":501,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"sync_status":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","castos_file_data":"","podmotor_file_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[489602,1331,481022],"department":[488822],"wherenext-category":[],"industry":[],"class_list":["post-690912","wherenext","type-wherenext","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-esri-insider","tag-fast-four-icymi","tag-supply-chain","tag-webcast","department-sustainability-risk"],"acf":{"short_description":"Three companies explain how GIS technology drives nature-based practices for their businesses.","pdf":{"host_remotely":false,"file":"","file_url":""},"flexible_content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"From biodiversity scoring to supply chain tracing to consulting, companies are using location intelligence for nature-based practices that set themselves apart from competitors.\r\n\r\nTheir motivations are varied but interconnected:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Aligning with corporate values and delivering on customer expectations<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Minimizing contributions to climate change and nature loss<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Preparing for anticipated regulations<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Helping customers achieve sustainability goals<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>"},{"acf_fc_layout":"sidebar","layout":"standard","image_reference":null,"image_reference_figure":"","spotlight_image":null,"section_title":"","spotlight_name":"","position":"Right","content":"<strong>Snapshot<\/strong>: Many companies rely heavily on nature. Industry standouts\u2014including the three companies in this short video\u2014are monitoring and managing that relationship with location-based software.","snippet":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"What binds them is the use of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/arcgis\/about-arcgis\/overview\">geospatial technology<\/a>. With GIS, companies track materials, costs, and outcomes through a supply chain. They manage dashboards with biodiversity scores for every company property. They advise customers on best practices for nature-based assets.\r\n\r\nThese applications of location intelligence are quickly spreading across the globe, and this short video spotlights the role GIS plays in them. Drawn from <em>WhereNext<\/em>\u2019s webcast, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/webinars\/publications\/wherenext-webcast-nature-of-business\"><em>The<\/em><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/webinars\/publications\/wherenext-webcast-nature-of-business\"><em>Nature of Business<\/em>,<\/a> this mini-salon is a primer on how GIS, commerce, and nature intersect."},{"acf_fc_layout":"kaltura","video_id":"1_bfd2d6yx","time":false,"start":0,"stop":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"<strong>Chris Chiappinelli, <em>WhereNext<\/em><\/strong>: Let\u2019s get to the location aspects of what you do. All of you are focused on sustainability work in some form and are using GIS technology. I\u2019m curious about how you use that software to understand the nature of your business.\r\n\r\nCarlos, I know your team focuses a lot on the people and the communities, like you talked about. Maybe we can focus on the raw materials themselves, the bioactives, and the parts that go into your products. How does GIS work with those? How do you track material across time and space?\r\n\r\n<strong>Carlos Talini, Natura<\/strong>: I think I have to explain a little bit [about] the chain\u2014how the chain works. We work with family farmers, indigenous people. These farmers sell the products to the cooperatives, cooperatives that are made from family farmers from the region. And these cooperatives sell the inputs to us.\r\n\r\nSo, we track from the family, to the cooperative, to Natura, all the inputs that we source from the Amazon region, and all the data involved. So, the price paid, the amount, the kind of raw material\u2014Brazilian nuts, acai, and other ones. We have all this data, and I know I can track each amount from each producer thanks to GIS, to ArcGIS that we have here.\r\n\r\n<strong>Chiappinelli<\/strong>: So, it\u2019s a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/lg\/publications\/the-rise-of-sustainable-sourcing-wherenext-webcast9\">robust supply chain,<\/a> but each step along the way you\u2019ve got eyes essentially on the process and the ingredients. Robert, how about you? Could you tell us a little bit about how you use GIS?\r\n\r\n<strong>Robert Nothnagel, Holcim<\/strong>: We started off with land management because, as I mentioned before, we\u2019re managing only in Switzerland, 2,000 plots of land. Some of them are linked to our asset database in SAP, in our ERP system. We have lease agreements on them. We have contracts which are expiring on them, and so we use ArcGIS to manage these plots of land and visualize them as well. And then we can see if there are some holes or some issues somewhere."},{"acf_fc_layout":"sidebar","layout":"standard","image_reference":null,"image_reference_figure":"","spotlight_image":null,"section_title":"","spotlight_name":"","position":"Right","content":"<strong>Related Reads:<\/strong>\r\n\r\n\/\/ <a href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/lg\/publications\/the-new-analyst-and-the-supply-chain-wherenext-webcast\">Inside the supply chain<\/a> with GM and others\r\n\r\n\/\/ Surprising ways <a href=\"https:\/\/mediaspace.esri.com\/media\/t\/1_yub3spj3\">GIS supports<\/a> sustainability","snippet":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"That\u2019s helped us a lot because before we had the least simple Excel spreadsheet and that wasn\u2019t cutting it. So, that was actually the start with the GIS. And then we went into this biodiversity [work], rolling out biodiversity projects, and our group came up with an idea to actually implement a system called <a href=\"https:\/\/www.iucn.org\/resources\/publication\/biodiversity-management-cement-and-aggregates-sector-biodiversity-indicator\">BIRS<\/a> [Biodiversity Indicator and Reporting System]. This is a way to measure biodiversity based on the different habitats we find in our quarries and sites.\r\n\r\nAnd then we have to capture the different habitats, the size of the habitats, and there\u2019s a multiplication and some special algorithms are behind there. And we rely heavily on ArcGIS to actually trace these habitats, then ground-proof them out there, draw maps, and calculate the areas concerned.\r\n\r\nThis method is, by the way, produced by IUCN, the International Union for Conservation of Nature. It\u2019s very well reputed. It\u2019s not an NGO; it\u2019s really an environmental organization. And if you want to measure . . . the biodiversity on your land, you can go to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.iucn.org\/\">IUCN.org<\/a> and google \u201cBIRS\u201d and then you\u2019ll find methodology. Quite interesting.\r\n\r\n<strong>Chiappinelli<\/strong>: So, it\u2019s about establishing what exists there in terms of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/biodiversity-think-tank\/\">biodiversity<\/a> and then tracking and understanding it at different levels.\r\n\r\n<strong>Nothnagel<\/strong>: The issue is always that our biologist goes out, he maybe has everything in his head, but then we have managers who are used to managing finance figures, and they want to see improvements, they want to see a trend. And so we needed a kind of KPI, a simple KPI, which can be derived quite easily without any special knowledge. And this helps with our management to understand what\u2019s happening on the ground.\r\n\r\n<strong>Chiappinelli<\/strong>: Perfect. I\u2019m sure a lot of folks in the audience are at that stage where you\u2019re trying to set a baseline and understand biodiversity in some ways. Ben, how about you? How is GIS being used at Land O\u2019Lakes for nature-based practices?\r\n\r\n<strong>Benoit Mourot, Land O\u2019Lakes<\/strong>: At least I will answer for WinField United. So, everything starts from our test trials on our side. We have about 200 locations in the US that we call Answer Plot. And we use GIS to actually test all those hybrids across the US and in those different plots. And the idea for us is to collect information to know how the hybrids are performing based on different conditions, of type, and climate, and all that kind of thing.\r\n\r\nThat gives us a lot of information, data, and insight about those products across all the manufacturers.\r\n\r\nSo we do those test trials every year and try to get the insight about the different hybrids. And we basically measure different scores and things like that. And based on that, we go and engage with . . . the retailers, [who] are engaging then with the growers to do product selection and placement for the beginning of the season. Then we try to go and identify for their field which hybrid will be the most performant. And not just for one year, but over time as well. So, it\u2019s with the aspect of sustainable yield in mind, so we don\u2019t destroy their land. The idea is we put the best product there and then they can have a sustainable yield year over year. So, that\u2019s one aspect of how we use that.\r\n\r\nAnd we go sometimes even deeper when it comes to GIS because our recommendation then can also go into management zones, which is basically sub-zones within the field to tell you how to plant and how to push your fields. And we do that based on identifying how a field is performing.\r\n\r\nHow do we do that? It\u2019s by looking at remote sensing imagery, and those are sometimes indicators of areas that are high performers or low performers. And that\u2019s where we advise people to push a planting or slow down based on that, so financially also they end up in a good spot. So, that\u2019s one aspect of how we use GIS in WinField United."}],"references":null},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v25.9 (Yoast SEO v25.9) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Nature-Based Practices in Business: Hear from the Experts<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Three international businesses explain how they use location technology to manage nature-based practices.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/fast-four-nature-based-practices\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Fast Four ICYMI: An Inside Look at How Nature, GIS, and Business Overlap\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Three international businesses explain how they use location technology to manage nature-based practices.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/fast-four-nature-based-practices\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Esri\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/esrigis\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-12-12T20:14:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/app\/uploads\/2024\/08\/fast-four-icymi-inside-look-at-how-nature-gis-business-overlap-card-826x465-1.jpg\" \/><meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/app\/uploads\/2024\/08\/fast-four-icymi-inside-look-at-how-nature-gis-business-overlap-card-826x465-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Esri\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\/\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/fast-four-nature-based-practices\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/fast-four-nature-based-practices\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Nature-Based Practices in Business: Hear from the Experts\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/#website\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2024-08-20T14:05:16+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2025-12-12T20:14:19+00:00\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Three international businesses explain how they use location technology to manage nature-based practices.\",\n\t            \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/fast-four-nature-based-practices#breadcrumb\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/fast-four-nature-based-practices\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/fast-four-nature-based-practices#breadcrumb\",\n\t            \"itemListElement\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 1,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 2,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Fast Four ICYMI: An Inside Look at How Nature, GIS, and Business Overlap\"\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/#website\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Esri\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Esri Newsroom\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t                        \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t                    },\n\t                    \"query-input\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t                        \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t                        \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t                    }\n\t                }\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/person\/b890389919572d29641d24fc67eaf376\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Chris Chiappinelli\",\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/app\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Esri-Chris_Chiappinelli_540x540.jpg\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/app\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Esri-Chris_Chiappinelli_540x540.jpg\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"Chris Chiappinelli\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"description\": \"Chris Chiappinelli is the editor of Esri\u2019s WhereNext magazine. Through his writing, he explores the intersection of business strategy and location intelligence\u2014and strategic challenges like sustainability, growth, and risk. Prior to joining Esri, Chris managed internal content for PTC, a pioneer in IoT technology, smart products, and augmented reality. Earlier in his career, Chris spent a decade as a journalist covering business and technology news.\",\n\t            \"sameAs\": [\n\t                \"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/chris-chiappinelli-ba56814\",\n\t                \"https:\/\/x.com\/chrischip\"\n\t            ],\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/author\/cchiappinelli\"\n\t        }\n\t    ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Nature-Based Practices in Business: Hear from the Experts","description":"Three international businesses explain how they use location technology to manage nature-based practices.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/fast-four-nature-based-practices","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Fast Four ICYMI: An Inside Look at How Nature, GIS, and Business Overlap","og_description":"Three international businesses explain how they use location technology to manage nature-based practices.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/fast-four-nature-based-practices","og_site_name":"Esri","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/esrigis\/","article_modified_time":"2025-12-12T20:14:19+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/app\/uploads\/2024\/08\/fast-four-icymi-inside-look-at-how-nature-gis-business-overlap-card-826x465-1.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""},{"width":1200,"height":630,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/app\/uploads\/2024\/08\/fast-four-icymi-inside-look-at-how-nature-gis-business-overlap-card-826x465-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@Esri","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/fast-four-nature-based-practices","url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/fast-four-nature-based-practices","name":"Nature-Based Practices in Business: Hear from the Experts","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/#website"},"datePublished":"2024-08-20T14:05:16+00:00","dateModified":"2025-12-12T20:14:19+00:00","description":"Three international businesses explain how they use location technology to manage nature-based practices.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/fast-four-nature-based-practices#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/fast-four-nature-based-practices"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/fast-four-nature-based-practices#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Fast Four ICYMI: An Inside Look at How Nature, GIS, and Business Overlap"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/","name":"Esri","description":"Esri Newsroom","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/person\/b890389919572d29641d24fc67eaf376","name":"Chris Chiappinelli","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/app\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Esri-Chris_Chiappinelli_540x540.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/app\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Esri-Chris_Chiappinelli_540x540.jpg","caption":"Chris Chiappinelli"},"description":"Chris Chiappinelli is the editor of Esri\u2019s WhereNext magazine. Through his writing, he explores the intersection of business strategy and location intelligence\u2014and strategic challenges like sustainability, growth, and risk. Prior to joining Esri, Chris managed internal content for PTC, a pioneer in IoT technology, smart products, and augmented reality. Earlier in his career, Chris spent a decade as a journalist covering business and technology news.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/chris-chiappinelli-ba56814","https:\/\/x.com\/chrischip"],"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/author\/cchiappinelli"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wherenext\/690912","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wherenext"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/wherenext"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/501"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wherenext\/690912\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=690912"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=690912"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=690912"},{"taxonomy":"department","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/department?post=690912"},{"taxonomy":"wherenext-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wherenext-category?post=690912"},{"taxonomy":"industry","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/industry?post=690912"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}