Fola is a specialist consultancy helping businesses understand and act on their relationship with nature by turning ecological responsibility into long-term value.
Who are Fola and what inspired you to launch the business?
Fola are a specialist nature consultancy set up to drive business and societal value through the protection and restoration of nature. The inspiration was simple. Nature provides the foundations of our economies and societies. However, we’re simultaneously destroying it faster than any point in history – since 1970, we’ve lost over 73% of global wildlife populations. This isn’t just a custodial failure; it poses an existential threat to businesses who rely on the services nature provides to operate.
How have your previous roles shaped your vision for the company?
I started my career in the charity sector working with a number of wildlife conservation NGOs in Africa and Asia and engaging in international environmental policy. This experience highlighted the urgent need to work with businesses to combat the nature crisis and not just rely on public and philanthropic funding.
What have been the biggest opportunities and challenges you’ve faced in starting your own business?
Agility is opportunity. Addressing nature loss in global supply chains is complex with rapidly evolving insights, regulation and methodologies and no ‘silver bullet’. Our ability to move quickly, learn fast and meet businesses where they are is incredibly important as they try and navigate how to respond to the nature crisis. Our biggest challenge has been shifting the environmental narrative from something which is ‘nice to have’ to something which is essential to a thriving business.
How do you hope Fola will influence the way businesses understand and act on their relationship with nature?
I think it’s about proving the value of nature and that incorporating sustainability into business practices isn’t a ‘nice to have’, but a core strategic risk management issue. Businesses have talked about Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) for years, but it’s the first thing to be dropped in hard times. Our mission is to prove to our clients that protecting and restoring nature is good for businesses.
- Find out more about Fola.
- Take a look at Theo’s experience on his LinkedIn profile.
- Watch Theo speak about is career in the climate and conservation charity sector in this Beyond Radley talk.
