Side Event

Introducing the Corporate Ecosystem Services Review

Organizer
World Business Council for Sustainable Development

Date and Time
26 May 2008 13:15 - 14:45

Meeting
Ninth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP 9)

The Corporate Ecosystem Services Review (ESR) – released in March 2008 – is a methodology to help corporate managers proactively identify business risks and opportunities arising from their company’s dependence and impact on ecosystems. Most businesses currently fail to make the connection between the health of ecosystems and their bottom line. Environmental impact assessments and other environmental due diligence tools often are not attuned to identifying ecosystem service-based risks and opportunities. The ESR methodology was developed by the World Resources Institute, the Meridian Institute, and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development and has been road tested by five multinational companies, including Akzo Nobel, BC Hydro, Mondi, Rio Tinto, and Syngenta. Panelists will include Craig Hanson, Deputy Director at WRI, and representatives from two of the WBCSD companies that road tested the methodology. Presentations will be followed by a Q&A session.