“Land and water systems produce annually a staggering $33-$72 trillion worth of ‘free’ goods and services that we depend on for a well-functioning global economy, according to the Corporate Eco Forum.
Most of these values are taken for granted and not accounted for in market transactions. As a consequence, natural assets are dangerously over-exploited, mismanaged and depleted in what is turning into a huge global crisis, likely to affect virtually all life-support systems.
In an article released by Forbes, P.J. Simmons explains how some forward-looking companies are taking up the sustainability challenge of safeguarding the natural infrastructure, as part of their core business. The success of this largely rests on innovative ways to ‘assess the value of nature’.
The GM is an active partner in the OSLO (Offering Sustainable Land-Use Options) Consortium - a partnership whose key members include the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), the United Nations University (UNU), the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission. OSLO has developed an innovative valuation methodology to demonstrate that considerable financial and socio-economic returns on investment can be generated through responsible land use.
For more information:
Mr Simone Quatrini, Coordinator, Policy & Investment Analysis
Tel. +39 06 5459 2154
s.quatrini (at) global-mechanism.org
