Citing IPBES Findings, Pantone and Tealeaves Call Attention To Biodiversity Threat With New Fossil-Inspired Color

Description of Impact(s) (English Only) Citing IPBES' finding that over one million species are under the threat of extinction, global colour authority Pantone Color Institute (PCI), in partnership with tea brand Tealeaves, announced a new Pantone color based on the world’s oldest found pigment and meant to draw attention to biodiversity loss. With the "Pantone Color of Biodiversity," they look to support the United Nations Biodiversity endeavor, the World Biodiversity Forum, and 30x30 initiatives to protect at least 30 percent of the Earth's land and oceans by 2030.

Launched on the first day of the 2022 meeting of the UN General Assembly, the Pantone Color of Biodiversity, a bright pink hue, calls attention to the variety of species and ecosystems that underpin the health of the planet and viability of life, and the alarming rate at which the world is losing them. The color represents the evolution of biodiversity and aims to bring awareness to biodiversity loss, a rising global environmental threat. Based on pigments made from 1.1-billion-year-old marine sedimentary rocks of the Taoudeni Basin in Mauritania, West Africa, and discovered by Dr. Nur Gueneili, Pantone’s new color results from microscopic fossils of chlorophyll produced by ancient species living in an ocean that no longer exists.