The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) has published a ‘Guide to Corporate Ecosystems Valuation’, a new framework designed to enhance business understanding of the benefits and value of ecosystem services including fresh water, food, fibre, and natural hazard protection.

"Biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation are continuing to escalate, thereby putting business at risk, but if managed properly, can be transformed into new opportunities," Bjorn Stigson, President of the WBCSD, commented at the launch. "CEV allows business to fully recognize and value ecosystems and the services they deliver,” he explained, adding: “I encourage all businesses, large and small, to use this Guide and integrate ecosystem values in their decision-making."

The guide was develop over an 18-month process of close collaboration with businesses – including Holcim – and four partner organizations: Environmental Resources Management (ERM), International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and World Resources Institute (WRI).