WIREDGOV

A new ecosystem valuation guide released recently will help business to explicitly account for the full value of ecosystem impacts and inputs. The first of its kind framework, has been piloted by 14 companies road test framework for valuation including Rio Tinto, Lafarge and Veolia Environment.

The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) developed the guide to Corporate Ecosystem Valuation (CEV) to provide a framework which would improve business understanding of the benefits and value of ecosystem services like fresh water, food, fibre and natural hazard protection. PwC helped to develop the guide and were technical advisors to the companies testing it.

The guide allows business to explicitly account for the full value of ecosystem impacts and inputs for example the cost of water, or land use, and also includes the benefits linked to assets and costs associated with ecosystem loss. Through deforestation alone, the world loses ecosystem services worth between US$2-4.5 trillion each year.

Businesses are given a step by step guide to examine a range of issues including:

The significance of environmental risks both from and to their operations,
What stakeholders should be compensated and at what price,
The potential revenue opportunities from emerging environmental markets such as carbon, water and biodiversity, and

The potential impact of regulatory changes on the availability of natural resources such as land and water.

Jon Williams, partner, PwC said:

“The guide is linking ecosystem service opportunities and risks more directly to a business’s core operations, supply chain and financial bottom line. It’s not just consumer, or reputational pressure on businesses to get to grips with their full environmental impact, this is a reality that international businesses have to face up to right now to secure resources.

"The guide will help businesses embed the value of natural capital into their decision making in much the same that we would consider physical capital or human capital. It’s not easy, but it’s something businesses are going to have to face up to because clients, shareholders and lenders are beginning to link the risks associated with ecosystem services to their decision making.”

James Griffiths, Managing Director, Ecosystems, Water and Sustainable Forest Products Industry for WBCSD said:

“Business and ecosystems are inextricably linked. Simply put, companies that don’t know their ecosystem impact put their businesses at a greater risk and miss out on potential opportunities.

“Valuing these impacts and dependencies helps companies make better decisions. In addition, CEV allows business to become a bigger part of the solution to biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation rather than just be part of the problem.”

Download the guide, including the findings from the company tests at http://www.ukmediacentre.pwc.com/Media-Library/WBCSD-Guide-to-Corporate-Ecosystem-Evaluation-777.aspx.

Notes to Editors:

1. For interview, further comment or more information, please contact Rowena Mearley, PwC + 44 7841 563 180 or Peter Paul van de Wijs, WBCSD: vandewijs@wbcsd.org - +41 22 839 3141

2. The Guide to Corporate Ecosystem Valuation (CEV) can be downloaded here: http://www.ukmediacentre.pwc.com/Media-Library/WBCSD-Guide-to-Corporate-Ecosystem-Evaluation-777.aspx

3. The CEV was developed through an 18-month process of close collaboration with four partner organizations – Environmental Resources Management (ERM), International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and World Resources Institute (WRI) – and businesses themselves.

4. 14 WBCSD member companies road-tested the CEV Guide and were able to produce key examples of the opportunities and risks associated with ecosystems. The road-testers included: Akzo Nobel, EDP, Eni S.p.A., ESKOM, GHD, Hitachi (Chemical), Holcim, Lafarge, Mondi, Rio Tinto, Syngenta, Veolia Environment, Weyerhaeuser, and U.S. BCSD.

5. Definitions:

a. Biodiversity: The variability among living organisms within species, between species, and between ecosystems.

b. Corporate Ecosystem Valuation: A process to make better-informed business decisions by explicitly valuing both ecosystem degradation and the benefits provided by ecosystem services.

c. Ecosystem: A dynamic complex of plant, animal and micro-organism communities and their non living environment, interacting as a functional unit (MA, 2005). They make up the environment around us and are effectively habitats for example, coral reefs, forests, grasslands, rivers, farmland and urban parks, that support various species.

d. Ecosystem services: The direct and indirect contributions of ecosystems to human wellbeing. The concept “ecosystem goods and services” is synonymous with ecosystem services. They include provisioning services such as crops, fish, freshwater and timber; regulating services, such as climate regulation through trees sequestering carbon; and cultural services such as tourism and spiritual benefits

About the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD)

The WBCSD is a CEO-led, global coalition of some 200 companies advocating for progress on sustainable development. Its mission is to be a catalyst for innovation and sustainable growth in a world where resources are increasingly limited. The Council provides a platform for companies to share experiences and best practices on sustainable development issues and advocate for their implementation, working with governments, non-governmental and intergovernmental organizations. The membership has annual revenues of USD 7 trillion, spans more than 35 countries and represents 20 major industrial sectors. The Council also benefits from a network of 60 national and regional business councils and partner organizations, a majority of which are based in developing countries.

www.wbcsd.org

For more information contact:

Rowena Mearley
Corporate PR Senior Manager, PwC
Tel:020 7213 4727
Mobile :07841 563 180