1. Ecosystems & Business
Increasing chances of a successful marriage
Eva Zabey, WBCSD
23 Feb 2012, BCSD-UK CEV Workshop

2. Contents
 About WBCSD & Regional Network
 Speaking same language – key concepts
 Ecosystem tools for business
 Focus on CEV
 Brief overview of methodology
 Next steps
 Broader eco valuation landscape
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3. WBCSD members
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4. Regional Network
NHO
Business RBF (Poland)
(Norway)
Europe
Danish respACT
Excel Partnership BCSD econsense BCSD BCSD Austria
(Canada) United Kingdom (Germany) Korea
Vernadsky BCSD
EpE Czech
BCSD Foundation
(France)
Centre for (Russia)
BCSD Nippon
United States FFA CSR Dev.
CGLI BCSD Mongolia Keidanren
BCSD (Spain) (Ukraine)
(Canada/USA) BCSD Kazakhstan (Japan)
FE Hungary CII
BCSD Spain BCSD (India)
BCSD Mexico BCSD Turkey BCSD
CentraRSE China
Portugal SEV-BCSD Maala Taiwan
Guatemala BCSD
BCSD BCSD Greece Israel
BCSD El Salvador Croatia APEQUE BEC
Honduras AEEC BCSD
(Algeria) (Egypt) BCSD (Hong Kong)
uniRSE SumaRSE (Panama) Vietnam
UAE
(Nicaragua)
Curaçao BCSD Indonesia BCSD
AED BCSD BCSD
(Costa Rica) Zimbabwe Pakistan TERI PBE
BCSD Bolivia BCSD India BCSR (Philippines)
BCSD Colombia BCSD Malaysia
BCSD
Sri Lanka
Ecuador BCSD Brazil BCSD
Thailand BCA (Australia)
Peru BCSD FEMA
2021 Paraguay BCSD Mozambique New
DERES Zealand
Acción RSE NBI
(Uruguay) BCSD
(Chile) BCSD (South Africa)
Argentina
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5. Ecosystems, ecosystem services & biodiversity
stores
carbon
provides
wood
controls
erosion
cleans
water
Biodiversity
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6. Types of ecosystem services
Provisioning Regulating Cultural
Goods or products produced Natural processes regulated by Non-material benefits obtained
by ecosystems ecosystems from ecosystems
Supporting
Functions that maintain all other services
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7. Impact & dependence
Business impacts on ecosystems and
ecosystem services
Ecosystem change creates
business risks and
opportunities
Business depends on ecosystems
and ecosystem services
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8. How can business respond to their
ecosystem-related issues?
1. Measure, manage and mitigate risks and impacts
2. Improve decision-making by undertaking corporate ecosystem
valuation to quantify business risks and opportunities
3. Innovate and help develop new markets for ecosystem
services and eco-efficient goods, services & technologies
4. Encourage suppliers & purchasers to adopt best practices
5. Enter into local partnerships to address on-the-ground issues
6. Promote “smart” ecosystem regulation that leverages market
forces and business solutions that halt degradation and “levels
the playing field” for all
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9. Relevant tools of interest – examples
 Ecosystem Services Review (ESR): helps
manage dependence and impact on ecosystems (v.2
launch 8 Feb)
 Guide to Corporate Ecosystem Valuation
(CEV): framework for improving decision-making by
valuing ecosystem service related risks & oppies
 Business Ecosystems Training (BET):
modular capacity building program for business (launch
24 Feb)
 Eco4Biz mapping / “guide”: overview of
ecosystem-related tools & approaches used by
business (to be developed in 2012)
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10. Corporate Ecosystem Services Review (ESR)
 Helps identify & manage risks and
opportunities arising from dependence and
impact on ecosystems
 WRI/ WBCSD/ Meridian Institute
 Approx. 300 cies using tool since
March ‘08 launch
 6 languages
 Version 2 to be launched 8 Feb
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11. Guide to Corporate Ecosystem Valuation (CEV)
What the Guide is
 A framework for improving corporate decision-
making by valuing ecosystem services
 A set of resources to navigate through related
jargon and techniques
What the Guide is not
X A price list of biodiversity & ecosystem services
X A calculator to “crunch numbers”
X A stand-alone methodology
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12. Partners and Road Testers
Partners Road Testers
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13. How CEV helps improve decision-making and…
 Save costs
 e.g. cheaper & more effective waste management options
(DuPont)
 Reduce taxes
 e.g. gain deductions in Federal taxes (Alleghny Power)
 Get new revenue streams
 e.g. implement a fee-to-access program for recreational
users of unused lands (Potlatch Corp)
 Assess liability & compensation risks
 e.g. calculate oil spill natural resource damages to be used
in courts of law (ExxonMobil)
 and more…
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14. Do you need to conduct a CEV at all?
Before using CEV, ask yourself:
 Are your impacts & dependencies on
ecosystem services significant or
material (e.g. Corporate Ecosystem
Services Review)?
 Do you need CEV to make a decision?
 Is there a mandatory requirement?
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15. 5 stages to undertake a CEV exercise
Preparation Valuation Post valuation
1) 2) 3) 4) 5)
Scoping Planning Valuation Application Embedding
define develop actual use & embed the
scope for suitable plan valuation: communicate CEV
valuation to undertake may be valuation approach
exercise, valuation qualitative, results to within
using effectively quantitative influence company
checklist of and/or internal & processes &
questions monetary external procedures
decision-
making
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16. Hierarchy of valuation approaches
Monetary
values not
Monetary always
available
or required
Quantitative
Qualitative
Source: P. ten Brink as cited in TEEB – an
interim report (2008) 16

17. Resources available on wbcsd.org/web/cev.htm
Reports & guide Additional
resource notes PPT packs
•Concepts FAQ
•Selection & Road tester
application of summaries
techniques
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18. Messages
 Business depends and impacts on biodiversity &
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)
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19. Next steps
 Promote uptake, incl. simpler communication
 Help users, incl. Business Ecosystems
Training (BET) module 3 is on valuation
 Focus on true value of water
 Link with other tools using Eco4Biz “guide” –
valuation is not best approach in all cases
 Strive to remain leading & progressive biz
voice, but give companies a chance to grasp
these new concepts!
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20. Ecosystem valuation landscape – getting busy
Financial Times
22 March 2011
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21. Other players / initiatives
 The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity
(TEEB)
 WBCSD is “operationalizing” TEEB at the company
level
 WBCSD was editor of chapters 2 and
4 in TEEB for Business (D3)
 WBCSD will be involved in TEEB for Business
Coalition – 1st meeting 27 Feb in London, hosted
by ICAEW
 Valuing Nature Network
http://www.valuing-nature.net/
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22. My favorite sentence in the Guide to CEV…
“We see the value of
ecosystem valuation.”
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