Companies
with 'Net Positive Impact' on Biological
Diversity are Winners in Resource-Constrained
World
One in four global CEOs
sees biodiversity loss as a strategic issue
for business growth: Latin American and
African CEOs are most concerned about impacts
of biodiversity loss on business growth
prospects-European CEOs are least concerned
The Economics of Ecosystems
and Biodiversity (TEEB) for Business Report
13 July, 2010 - Business
leaders in biodiversity-rich developing
economies are concerned about losses of
'natural capital', a new report to be launched
Tuesday highlights.
Over 50 per cent of
Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) surveyed
in Latin America and 45 per cent in Africa
see declines in biodiversity as a challenge
to business growth. In contrast, less than
20 per cent of their counterparts in Western
Europe share such concerns.
The findings, compiled
by a study of The Economics of Ecosystems
and Biodiversity (TEEB), indicate that those
corporate chiefs who fail to make sustainable
management of biodiversity part of their
business plans may find themselves increasingly
out of step with the market place.
Another recent survey,
also spotlighted in the TEEB report for
business, shows rising interest among consumers
with 60 per cent of those surveyed in America
and Europe and over 90 per cent in Brazil
aware of biodiversity loss.
Over 80 per cent of
those consumers surveyed said they would
stop buying products from companies that
disregard ethical considerations in their
sourcing practices.
The "TEEB for Business"
report indicates that scrutiny of big business
and its impacts on the world's natural capital
is likely to intensify as better evaluations
and assessments come to the fore.
The UK-based consultancy
TruCost, on behalf of the UN's Principles
for Responsible Investment, is set to publish
a study on the activities of the world's
top 3,000 listed companies, estimating that
their negative impacts or 'environmental
externalities' total around US$ 2.2 trillion
annually.
Pavan Sukhdev, the TEEB
Study Leader and also head of UNEP's Green
Economy Initiative said: "Through the
work of TEEB and others, the economic importance
of biodiversity and ecosystems is emerging
from the invisible into the visible spectrum.
It is clear that some companies in some
sectors and on some continents are hearing
and acting on that message in order to build
more sustainable, 21st century businesses".
The report, entitled
"TEEB for Business" and part of
a suite of reports being launched in the
UN's International Year of Biodiversity,
calls for companies to embrace concepts
such as 'No Net Loss'; 'Ecological Neutrality'
and ultimately 'Net Positive Impact' on
the environment.
Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary
General and Executive Director of UNEP which
hosts TEEB, said: "We are entering
an era where the multi-trillion dollar losses
of natural and nature-based resources are
starting to shape markets and consumer concerns.
How companies respond to these risks, realities
and opportunities will increasingly define
their profitability; corporate profile in
the market-place and the overall development
paradigm of the coming decades on a planet
of six billion, going to over nine billion
people by 2050".
Julia Marton-Lefevre,
TEEB advisory board member and Director
General of IUCN, which coordinated the TEEB
for Business report, urged companies attending
the 1st Global Business for Biodiversity
Symposium at the Excel Centre in London
on 13 July to back new and transformational
policies such as those outlined in the report.
"Together governments
and business, in both developed and developing
economies, can show leadership by establishing
networks of committed corporations across
all sectors dedicated to achieving a 'Net
Positive Impact' on biodiversity and ecosystem
services".
The TEEB report cites
the case of the multinational mining giant
Rio Tinto as one company that has committed
itself to achieving Net Positive Impact
on biodiversity. In association with leading
conservation experts the company has developed
new ways of assessing the biodiversity values
of its land holdings, and has begun to apply
biodiversity compensation or 'offset' methodologies
in Madagascar, Australia and North America.
Other companies with
similar commitments on biodiversity include
Walmart (Acres for America initiative),
Coca Cola (water neutral by 2020) and BC
Hydro (no net incremental ecological impact).
In addition to minimizing
and mitigating adverse impacts, business
can also generate revenue from conserving
biodiversity and delivering ecosystem services.
Agriculture, forestry and fisheries all
depend on healthy ecosystems to ensure healthy
profits.
The tourism sector has
a major stake and role to play in conserving
biodiversity. Realising its reliance on
the biodiversity rich but fragile coral
reefs, Chumbe Island Coral Park Ltd in Tanzania
has invested over US$ 1.2million to establish
a marine park to protect the corals surrounding
Chumbe Island. The company actively supports
park management as well as its own resort
facilities.
The "TEEB for Business"
report, which will form part of a final
TEEB synthesis report to be launched at
a meeting of the Convention on Biological
Diversity in Nagoya, Japan in October 2010,
calls on professional associations to develop
new accounting and reporting tools for business.
The measurement and
valuation of biodiversity and ecosystem
services in business is improving. The report
recommends that accounting professions,
financial reporting bodies and others should
accelerate efforts to develop common standards
and metrics to enable business to assess
and disclose their biodiversity impacts
and responses in annual reports.
Joshua Bishop, the TEEB
for Business report coordinator and Chief
Economist of IUCN, said:
"Better accounting
of business impacts on biodiversity - both
positive and negative - is essential to
spur change in business investment and operations.
Smart business leaders realise that integrating
biodiversity and ecosystem services in their
value chains can generate substantial cost
savings and new revenues, as well as improved
business reputation and license to operate."
In another recent report
by the World Business Council for Sustainable
Development, business leaders expressed
their vision of a sustainable future, which
include "prices that reflect all externalities:
costs and benefits" (WBCSD Vision 2050).
Steps in this direction
are already being taken, as evidenced by
the growth of markets for biodiversity and
ecosystem services. Market data compiled
by Forest Trends and the Ecosystem Marketplace
showed:
. The certified agricultural
products market was valued at over US$ 40bn
in 2008 and may reach up to US$ 210bn by
2020.
. Biodiversity offsets,
such as wetland mitigation banking in the
United States or 'bio-banking' in Australia,
are predicted to rise from US$3 billion
in 2008 to US$ 10 billion in 2020.
. Bio carbon/forest
offsets including REDD are expected to rise
from just US$21m in 2006 to over $10bn in
2020.
Starting today, businesses
can show leadership on biodiversity and
ecosystem services by:
1. Identifying their
impacts and dependencies on biodiversity
and ecosystem services
2. Assessing the business
risks and opportunities associated with
these impacts and dependencies
3. Developing BES information
systems, set targets and report results
4. Taking action to
avoid, minimize and mitigate BES risks
5. Integrating BES actions
with wider Corporate Social Responsibility
initiatives
6. Engaging with business
peers and stakeholders to improve guidance
and policy
7. Grasping emerging
BES business opportunities
The TEEB for Business
report will be launched at the first Global
Business of Biodiversity Symposium on 13
July at the Excel Centre, London. http://www.businessofbiodiversity.co.uk/
Notes to editors:
The TEEB for Business
report is available at www.teebweb.org
The lead authors and
editors of the TEEB for Business report
include staff from Business for Social Responsibility
(BSR), Earthmind, the Global Reporting Initiative
(GRI), PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), the
International Union for Conservation of
Nature (IUCN), the United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP), and the World Business
Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD).
The survey of CEOs and
their attitudes to biodiversity loss was
carried out by Price Waterhouse Coopers.
The survey of consumer
attitudes to biodiversity and business was
carried out by global market survey company
IPSOS.
The TEEB project is
hosted by the United Nations Environment
Programme and supported by the European
Commission; the German Federal Environment
Ministry; the UK Government's Department
for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs;
UK Department for International Development;
Norway's Ministry for Foreign Affairs; The
Netherlands' Interministerial Program Biodiversity;
and the Swedish International Development
Cooperation Agency.
