Counting the cost

Puma is one of the largest business brands to date to publish the estimated cost to nature of a year's trading - which they've estimated as EUR94 million for water and CO2 and an additional EUR51million for land use, pollution and waste.

It's a bold, important move that they've taken, and one that in time, must be followed by many if not most large businesses as we start to count the true cost of living the way we do. As Wales develops the Natural Environment Framework, Accounting for Sustainability and TEEB publish their data, the legislative and operational frameworks needed to make change will become clearer, stronger and more compelling.

Government's take on nature

The UK Government aims to mainstream the value of nature across society by:

• facilitating greater local action to protect and improve nature;

• creating a green economy, in which economic growth and the health of our natural resources sustain each other, and markets, business and Government better reflect the value of nature;

• strengthening the connections between people and nature to the benefit of both; and

• showing leadership in the European Union and internationally, to protect and enhance natural assets globally.

The UK Govt  approach takes account of the National Ecosystem Assessment and the Lawton Report: Making Space for Nature

The UK Government aims to promote an ambitious, integrated approach, creating a resilient ecological network across England. It proposes to move from net biodiversity loss to net gain, by supporting healthy, well-functioning ecosystems and coherent ecological networks.

Growing a green economy

HM Treasury guidance on policy and project appraisal already highlights the importance of aiming to identify all environmental costs and benefits. Later in 2011, the UK Government will publish new supplementary guidance to HM Treasury’s Green Book for use by all Government Departments on valuing the natural environment in appraisals. This will cover techniques for monetary and non-monetary valuation and the need to take into account values from individuals, communities, businesses and other interested parties when undertaking environmental valuation

Economic growth and the natural environment are mutually compatible. Sustainable economic growth relies on services provided by the natural environment, often referred to as ‘ecosystem services’. Some of these are provided directly, such as food, timber and energy. Others are indirect, such as climate regulation, water purification and the productivity of soil.

The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) study shows that protected natural areas can yield returns many times higher than the cost of their protection. There are multi-million pound opportunities available from greener goods and services, and from markets that protect nature’s services.

The UK Government will put natural capital at the centre of economic thinking economic thinking and at the heart of the way the way economic progress is measured nationally. Natural capital will be included within the UK Environmental Accounts. An independent Natural Capital Committee will be established to advise the UK Government on the state of natural capital in England.

Growing a green economy

• The UK Government will publish an action plan to expand markets and schemes in which payments are made by the beneficiary of a natural service to the provider of that service.

• The UK Government will set up a business-led Ecosystem Markets Task Force to review the opportunities for UK business from expanding the trade in green goods and the market for sustainable natural services.

• The UK Government will publish a review of waste policy later this year.

• The UK Government will issue new guidance for businesses by 2012 on how to measure and report corporate environmental impacts.

Reconnecting people and nature

• To help LAs use their new duties and powers on public health, Public Health England will publish practical evidence about improving health, including through access to a good natural environment.

• Barriers to learning outdoors will be removed

• ‘Local Green Areas’ designation to be created to protect the green areas for local people

• A Green Infrastructure Partnership to be established with civil society to support the development of green infrastructure in England.

• A new phase of the Muck In4Life campaign will be launched, offering volunteering opportunities to improve the quality of life in towns, cities and the countryside.



Putting a price on nature

Andrew Winston: Dow Asks, Whats the Business Case for Protecting Nature?.

First we measured carbon, and now cats, catfish, caterpillars and catkins.

Watching the vision, application and hiccups of putting a price on things previously seen as having no monetary value is an educational experience. Multiple prices for carbon set by different agencies trading the European Emissions Trading Scheme, and others in the carbon offset business or Clean Development Mechanism were all set with good intent -  yet they conspire to prevent high levels of capital investment to be made, as risks and return need to be mitigated. Fixing a stable, predictable price for this single atom is important, yet proving difficult to manage.

Far more complex will be the process of putting a price on the arrangements of the handful atoms - carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen & phosphorus - on which the majority of life on this planet is built. Until we find a way of measuring what we value, no matter how complex or messy that't going to be, we risk sticking with valuing what we can easily measure - index figures such as the crude yardstick of GDP. Pavan Sukhdev's work on TEEB, The Economics of Ecosystems & Biodiversity, is leading the way and he'll need as many shoulders as possible pushing in the same direction if we're to persuade business leaders and policy makers that measuring the value of the life systems supporting us is really worthwhile. We need to start behaving as though we really valued our life support systems, without waiting for the markets or accountants to tell us what matters.

As a start point, do a couple of things. Find out enough about what's happening to our biodiversity and the TEEB project to be comfortable in conversation, then talk to one or two people a week about it.