Press Release: Biodiversity: New report highlights win-win business practices that do more for the planet

A new report, released on 13 July 2010 and funded by the European Commission, makes a strong case for integrating biodiversity into private sector business plans and core activities around the globe.

The report reveals considerable recent growth in eco-certified products and services, growing consumer concerns for sustainable production, and shows how biodiversity can provide a substantial business opportunity in a market that could be worth US$2-6 trillion by 2050. It makes seven key recommendations for businesses, and calls on accounting professions and financial reporting bodies to develop common standards to assess biodiversity impacts, and develop new tools for this purpose.

“TEEB for Business” (The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity) will form part of the TEEB synthesis report to be launched at a meeting of the Convention on Biological Diversity in Nagoya, Japan in October 2010.