Beyond scents: calling on the fragrance industry to champion plant diversity

Journal article

Since the Convention on Biological Diversity (1992), international frameworks have emphasized benefit-sharing and private-sector engagement in conservation, a call reinforced by the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (2022). Yet biodiversity continues to decline, highlighting the need for funding models that effectively link commerce with conservation. Here, we examine how the fragrance industry—a sector deeply dependent on plant diversity and cultural value chains—can contribute more meaningfully to global plant conservation. Drawing on international policy frameworks, published literature, and illustrative conservation–industry partnerships, we assess mechanisms through which fragrance-related initiatives support biodiversity protection, accountability, and culturally grounded conservation narratives. We then examine The Red List Project as a conservation-first model that integrates biodiversity objectives directly into fragranced product development, using scent inspiration rather than wild harvesting. We argue that scaling such approaches could reposition the fragrance industry as an active partner in safeguarding plant diversity, biocultural heritage, and equitable benefit-sharing.

Authors: de Paula, LFA; Smith, RJ; Handley, V; Gomes, TP; Pinheiro, RO

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Journal: BioScience
• Article number: biag014
• Publication date: 2026-03-20
• Acceptance date: 2026-01-27
• DOI: 10.1093/biosci/biag014
• EISSN: 1525-3244
• ISSN: 0006-3568
• Language: English
• Keywords: intangible heritage; corporate engagement; Red List; Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework; bioprospecting