The publication draws on the experience of 14 international companies to guide companies on how to improve their income statement by avoiding the degradation of ecosystems.

On Thursday 28 April, Fundación Entorno-BCSD Spain, in collaboration with the Biodiversity Foundation, presented the ‘Guide to Corporate Assessment of Ecosystems’, a tool developed by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) that offers companies a solid methodology for analysing the risks and opportunities linked to the use of ecosystem services. The Secretary of State for Climate Change, Teresa Ribera, presided over the event held at the Ministry of the Environment, Rural and Marine Affairs.

Crops, fishing, timber or fresh water are some of the services that ecosystems offer to people and companies, contributing directly or indirectly to their well-being. Knowing how to correctly assess the risks and business opportunities that their use entails is a key issue to improve the results of companies and their degree of commitment to the environment, for the benefit of the good state of conservation of the Natural Heritage and biodiversity.

In this sense, the Valuation of Ecosystem Services is a process that provides information to improve business decision-making, taking into account both the economic benefits linked to the use of natural resources and the cost of ecosystem degradation as a result of the overexploitation of these resources, pollution or climate change.

The proposed methodology provides business managers with guidelines to answer questions such as how important environmental risks are in their operations, what opportunities emerging environmental markets offer associated with carbon reduction and the sustainable use of water or biodiversity, or how to collaborate in the implementation of public policies with the aim of advancing the sustainability of resource management Natural.

The Biodiversity Foundation has supported the translation of this guide into Spanish to provide Spanish companies with tools that promote their involvement in the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. Ana Leiva, director of the Biodiversity Foundation, recalls that “companies are key players in the progress towards a more sustainable economy. From the Foundation we are supporting the business fabric so that it directs its processes and business models towards the horizon of sustainability”.

To read the press release about this event, click here.