LocationsNAIROBI (March 14, 2019) – JCDecaux, the number one outdoor advertising company worldwide, is to join The Lion’s Share Fund, a unique initiative raising much-needed funds to support wildlife conservation across the globe.
The Lion’s Share is an ambitious initiative, led by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), founder FINCH and founding partner Mars, Incorporated, which aims to raise over $100 million per year within the next three years for wildlife conservation and animal welfare by asking advertisers to contribute 0.5% of their media spend every time an animal is featured in an advertisement.
JCDecaux, which operates in 4,031 cities in more than 80 countries and reaches a daily audience of over 410 million people, will play a key role in the initiative, running campaigns of The Lion’s Share across the year. Thanks to global presence in people’s daily lives through its Out-of-Home displays, JCDecaux will help raise awareness worldwide about this important urgent issue of wildlife conservation.
Abdoulaye Mar Dieye, UN Assistant Secretary-General and Director of the UNDP Bureau for Policy and Programme Support, said: “This latest partnership with JCDecaux marks a continuing evolution of this innovative fund, which is providing an opportunity for media companies to join and to help preserve and protect biodiversity across the globe”
“Each year, we lose 10,000 species to extinction – which is an astonishing 1,000 times the natural rate. This crisis may seem insurmountable at times because its scale feels too large for anyone to have a real impact. But this crisis is reversible, and nature can thrive again. The Lion’s Share is harnessing this hope,” he added.
Jean-Sébastien Decaux, CEO Southern Europe, Belgium, Luxembourg, Africa, Israel and member of the Executive Board of JCDecaux, said: “We are proud to support the Lion’s Share fund in its mission to promote wildlife conservation across the globe. As number one advertising company worldwide, present in more than 80 countries, JCDecaux is committed to contributing towards the United Nations’ Sustainable Goals through its daily activities across the globe. Following our partnership with WildAid in 2018, which aimed to end the illegal wildlife trade, the Lion’s Share global initiative underlines our commitment to preserve and protect biodiversity across the globe. We are delighted to use the power and reach of our advertising portfolio to raise people’s awareness and to help create positive and sustainable changes.”
The Lion’s Share will also hold in Nairobi its first steering committee, agreeing on a five-year, $15 million investment plan. Key investments include a programme to support endangered jaguars in Latin America and to address the loss of tigers and their habitat in Asia. The fund is already having an impact, providing a grant to improve critical radio systems for law enforcement officers protecting wildlife in Mozambique’s Niassa National Reserve, and providing a grant to help secure land for endangered orangutans, elephants and tigers in North Sumatra in Indonesia.
Animals appear in approximately 20 per cent of all advertisements in the world, yet despite this, animals do not always receive the support they deserve. The Lion’s Share gives brands the opportunity to take urgent and significant action to play their part in protecting wildlife conservation and animal welfare by raising money in a sustainable way.
The Lion’s Share was established in June 2018 with Mars, Incorporated as a founding partner, and partnerships with advertising network BBDO and leading measurement company Nielsen.
The Lion’s Share will work to contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals, the UN’s universal call to action to end poverty and protect the planet. Supporting animals and helping to conserve their habitats is key to achieving Goal 14, Life Underwater, and Goal 15, Life on Land.
For more information on the Lion’s Share Fund, visit www.thelionssharefund.com.
