Leaders of business organizations, government representatives and NGOs met in Singapore on Tuesday to officially launchthe Biodiversity Business Coalition, which aims to bring about a change in the behavior of companies to preserve and enhance the natural capital they have.

Through this instrument, it will be possible to study and standardize methods that allow the value of the natural capital of companies to be economically accounted for, thus presenting reports on their sustainability indices. This is the business implementation of the G8+5 and the UNEP programme, supported by TEEB (The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity), and led by Pavan Sukhdev, which presents, in advance, a compelling economic case for the conservation of natural capital as a cornerstone of the green economy.

These natural resources, which provide basic supply services, such as water and food, as well as climate regulation, water purification, flood control or waste treatment services, are the basis that must be maintained for the long-term viability of companies. However, 60 percent of the world’s ecosystem resources have been degraded in the last 50 years.