Business4Land

Land is a foundation of our economies, providing food, water, fuel, and raw materials. Yet, up to 40 per cent of the world’s land is already degraded, threatening key economic sectors. Every year, land degradation, desertification and drought add up to a total loss of 878 billion USD.

The UNCCD recognizes that the private sector has an essential role to play for a successful transition towards sustainable land management and restoration. To accelerate this transition, UNCCD’s 197 Parties created the Business for Land (B4L) Initiative.

What is Business for Land (B4L)?

B4L is the UNCCD’s main vehicle to engage the private sector in sustainable land and water management. By facilitating the participation of the private sector in programmes of the Convention, B4L supports enabling policy environments, capacity-building tools, and public-private partnerships on sustainable land, soil and water management.  Through this work, B4L collaborates with companies and financial institutions to manage risks and seize opportunities tied to land degradation and drought, and to restore 1.5 billion hectares of land by 2030, contributing to Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN), in line with the Sustainable Development Goals.

B4L’s work is built around three key pillars:

1. Business operations and value chains: Setting targets, implementing positive practices, and disclosing impacts across operations and value chains. B4L engages with global standard setters to ensure the inclusion of land issues and align public and private frameworks. B4L also supplies companies with capacity-building tools that support the adoption of positive practices.
2. Finance: B4L supports the creation of sustainable finance solutions for land restoration and drought resilience. B4L facilitates the mobilization of funds through the development of the Drought Resilience Investment Facility (DRIF), a blended finance mechanism backing sustainable farming, water access and nature-based solutions to unlock private sector investment.
3. Advocacy: B4L provides a platform where businesses can advocate for enabling policies. Within the UNCCD as well as other forums, advocacy efforts are aimed at fostering a business environment conducive to sustainable land and water management. The Champions’ Council is part of these efforts, and at national level, business associations can host Business4Land Hubs to spread the word.

Private sector engagement

At the 2026 World Economic Forum, B4L unveiled the Champions' Council, its new high-level advocacy body. Comprised of twelve corporate leaders drawn from diverse sectors and geographies, and Chaired by the sitting COP Presidency, the Council is committed to driving transformative land restoration and water resilience from within the business community.