About us & the Keystone Approach

Who we are

One Conservation Sustainability (OCS) is a non-profit association (ASBL) of young scientists and sustainability professionals in the DR Congo. We make biodiversity conservation measurable, fair and lasting across the Congo Basin.

Vision

A Congo Basin where thriving nature and thriving communities sustain each other for generations.

Mission

Advance biodiversity conservation and social well-being through research, ESG-grade standards, community partnership and youth leadership.

Our values

What we stand for

Evidence

We follow the data and publish our methods.

Equity

Benefits and decisions shared with those who live with the forest.

Future duty

Every action judged by what it leaves after us.

Integrity

No greenwashing: we report what worked and what did not.

Courage

We challenge norms, including our own.

Local roots, global standards

Congolese leadership, benchmarked to the best practice.

The Keystone Approach

Conservation is the keystone of ESG

In an arch, the keystone locks every other stone in place. ESG works the same way: nature is the base on which Environmental, Social and Governance performance all depend.

Lose biodiversity and risks multiply across all three. OCS puts conservation at the centre so the whole structure holds.

SCIENCE Evidence YOUTH Future CONSERVATION ESG

Science

Research drives every decision: surveys, remote sensing, modelling, monitoring.

Standards

IFC, World Bank, ISO and GBF applied with discipline, focused on biodiversity and people.

Communities

Co-design, free prior informed consent, benefit-sharing, grievance mechanisms.

Future generations

Youth hold seats and votes; every project passes our test.

OCS original

The Future Generations Test

Three questions every project must pass.

  1. Still delivering in 2050?Robust to climate, funding and politics.
  2. Did someone under 30 decide?With a vote and a budget.
  3. Would the community continue if funding stopped?

See the standards behind the approach

IFC Performance Standards, World Bank ESF, ISO and the Kunming-Montreal GBF.