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Opportunities for UK business that protect and value nature's services

28 June 2012

Twelve promising opportunities for UK business to help protect and value nature's services were identified in a report published yesterday.

The report 'Opportunities for UK business that value and/or protect nature's services' was commissioned by the Valuing Nature Network for the Ecosystem Markets Task Force, and looks at the business opportunities arising from the National Ecosystem Assessment (NEA); the assessment of the state of the UK's ecosystems, the services they provide, and the value of these services.

A diverse team of environmental economists, plus specialists in environmental technology, product markets, offsetting and sustainability, were brought together by lead consultant Guy Duke to analyse the evidence presented by the NEA, and carry out a consultation and stakeholder workshop to gather a wide range of views on business opportunities.

The report outlines the business case for valuing and protecting nature's services. It highlights a series of drivers that are leading businesses to increasingly consider and manage impacts on ecosystems and to look for business opportunities while they do so.

The report identified eight key types of opportunities available to businesses, from financial and legal services to product markets and environmental technologies. From 40 opportunities, drawn from reviewing the NEA and stakeholder's ideas, the team have pulled out a preliminary list of twelve top opportunities which they say show real promise.

The findings will support the Task Force's work on opportunities for UK businesses from valuing and protecting nature.

To find out more details on the twelve opportunities, and to read more about this initiative, download the report from the Valuing Nature Network website.

This report is the first from the Task Force's evidence gathering phase. The Task Force expects to publish more of its work, including the summary of the consultation on business opportunities, over the next few months.

Further information

NERC Press Office
Natural Environment Research Council
Polaris House, North Star Avenue
Swindon, SN2 1EU
Tel: 01793 411561
Mob: 07917 557215

Defra Ecosystem Markets Task Force Secretariat
Tel: 0207 238 1266

Guy Duke
Independent Consultant
Ecosystem services markets, policy, research and knowledge exchange
Mob: +32 475 395512

Notes

1. The final report of the 'Review of UK National Ecosystem Assessment (NEA) evidence to assess scope for business-related ecosystem market opportunities in the UK and tools for business sector uptake' project was published yesterday (27 June).

2. This study was commissioned for the Ecosystem Markets Task Force by the Valuing Nature Network, financed by the Department of Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC).

3. The Ecosystem Markets Task Force is a business-led, independent, task force bringing together industry leaders and experts from a wide range of sectors, ranging from banking and biodiversity conservation to beauty, to look for ways in which companies can improve both the environment and their bottom line.

4. The Valuing Nature Network brings together natural scientists and economists, alongside decision-makers in business and policy, who have an interest in valuing nature.

5. NERC is the UK's main agency for funding and managing world-class research, training and knowledge exchange in the environmental sciences. It coordinates some of the world's most exciting research projects, tackling major issues such as climate change, environmental influences on human health, the genetic make-up of life on earth, and much more. NERC receives around £300m a year from the government's science budget, which it uses to fund independent research and training in universities and its own research centres.

Press release: 17/12

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