Guide to Corporate Ecosystems Evaluation
The World BusinessCouncil on Sustainable Development (WBCSD) has released a
target=”_blank”>Guide to Corporate Ecosystem Valuation (CEV),
which is the first of its kind, catering directly for the needs of
business.
The Guide is designed to enhance business understanding of the
benefits and value of ecosystem services like fresh water, food,
fiber and natural hazard protection.
It provides a framework for improving corporate decision-making
through valuing ecosystem services and provides a set of resources
to navigate through related jargon and techniques
It was developed through an 18-month process of close
collaboration with businesses themselves - fourteen members road
tested the Guide working with four partners: International Union
for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), World Resources Institute
(WRI), ERM (the main author of the Guide) and
PwC.
What is the business case for CEV?
“The
underlying business case for undertaking CEV is that it enables
companies to improve decisionmaking and thereby increase revenue,
save costs and boost the value of their assets and potentially
share prices. This is achieved through managing a range of
ecosystem risks and opportunities both internally and
externally.”
Its underlying premise is that companies must anticipate that
ecosystem valuation will be more consistently incorporated into
public policies, regulations, and political decisions.
Ecosystem values will also be
increasingly considered by the finance sector and
business-to-business customers as they assess the biodiversity and
ecosystem-related risks and opportunities of investments and supply
chains.
Key messages
- Business depends on biodiversity and ecosystem services
- Business impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem services
- CEV can help business manage risk and consider new business
opportunities - Valuing these impacts and dependencies helps business make
better decisions - Ecosystem valuation will increasingly be considered by
governments, finance sector and business-to-business customers - CEV process is complementary to other business tools (e.g.
ESIAs, LCAs
target=”_blank”>The Guide can be downloaded from
here.
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