Threatened Species Policy (OI1618)

Indicates whether the organization implements policies to protect threatened species that reside in habitats affected by the organization's operations.

Reporting Format Yes/No
Metric Type Metric
Metric Level Product/Service, Organization
IRIS Metric Citation IRIS, 2021. Threatened Species Policy (OI1618). v5.2.

Footnote

Organizations should footnote details of their policies, how the threatened species are being affected and what is being done to protect them, and how organizations determine which habitats are affected by the organization's operations. See usage guidance for further information.

Usage Guidance

This metric is intended to provide detailed information on the threatened species policy or policies in place but does not evaluate the success with which that policy is implemented.
Threatened species are any species (including animals, plants, and fungi) which are endangered or likely to become endangered within the foreseeable future throughout all or a significant portion of their range. The term “threatened” captures multiple levels of threat to species: vulnerable, endangered, and critically endangered. Organizations should refer to the glossary for more detail on what is classified as a threatened species.
In addition to describing policies to protect threatened species, organizations are encouraged to footnote details on the threatened species that reside in terrestrial or aquatic habitats affected by the organization's operations, as determined by risk categories (e.g., vulnerable, endangered, and critically endangered) developed by recognized authorities such as IUCN (www.iucn.org) or CITES (www.cites.org). IUCN’s Red List of Threatened Species provides information about the global extinction risk faced by animal, plant and fungus species, as well as their range, population size, habitat, and conservation measures. CITES provides information on species threatened by international trade. Local endangered species platforms, such as those provided by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, are also available. Species are categorized in these databases according to their degree of extinction, which suggests a corresponding prioritization of conservation measures for species and their habitats. If reported, organizations should use the common name of each included species. Organizations can compare and verify their categorizations against the lists of the authority they reference. Specialized biodiversity measurement approaches such as IUCN’s STAR can identify which impacts threaten species the most.
Organizations are encouraged to report this metric in conjunction with Conservation Priority Characteristics (PD9009) and Biodiversity Assessment (OI5929).

Impact Categories & Themes

SDG Goals & Targets

Metric History

June 2022 - IRIS v5.3 Released (current version)

Immaterial change. Minor revisions to definition and usage guidance for clarity.
January 2020 - IRIS v5.1 Released

No change.
May 2019 - IRIS v5.0 Released

No change.
March 2016 - IRIS v4.0 Released

New metric. Threatened Species Policy (OI1618) was developed via the IRIS Taxonomy Group.

Footnote

IRIS Metrics Work Better in Sets