The session will feature plans for a UN-led initiative on ?business and biodiversity?. Others present include Japan?s Minister of Environment and the President of The World Bank Group. Receiving the award on behalf of Airbus, Dr. Rainer Ohler, SVP Public Affairs, Communications and Environment said: ?We want to help the CBD in raising awareness amongst young people and industry about the crucial role biodiversity plays in our lives and our futures. Not only is this the right thing for any global company to do, but if the aviation industry is going to further improve its environmental performance, nature may just hold some of the answers.?

Dr. Ahmed Djoghlaf, Executive Secretary of the CBD, added: ?Companies also depend on biodiversity and its loss represents a very real business risk. As users and beneficiaries of biodiversity, businesses have an integral role to play in its preservation and management. We at the CBD are delighted that Airbus continues to demonstrate its support and we call upon more companies to follow its example.?

Drs. Djoghlaf and Ohler hope to encourage others to join Airbus in using its global reach to back The Green Wave. The CBD?s initiative encourages young people to celebrate life on earth and in particular on the International Day of Biodiversity, 22 May. As the celebration passes through the world?s time zones it creates a ?Green Wave? of awareness and activity from east to west around the planet. This year it was very special as 2010 was designated the International Year of Biodiversity by the UN.