“Demystifying Materiality: Hardwiring Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services into Finance” warns that declines in biodiversity has become increasingly likely to have an impact on business in the range of US$10 billion to US$50 billion.
27 October 2010: The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Finance Initiative has a released a “CEO Briefing” on bottom line financial risks from biodiversity loss. Entitled “Demystifying Materiality: Hardwiring Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services into Finance,” the briefing warns that the likelihood of declines in biodiversity having a “severe” (defined as US$10 billion to US$50 billion) impact on business has climbed sharply.
According to the briefing, which was released on the sidelines of the 10th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 10) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CDB) in Nagoya, Japan, companies most vulnerable to biodiversity and ecosystem decline include those operating in natural resource-dependent sectors, or those in sectors that operate in ecologically rich and sensitive areas. Fisheries, forestry, mining and metals, and power generation sectors are highlighted.
The CEO briefing includes sections on: the evolution of environmental materiality in the financial sector; understanding exposure of financial institutions to biodiversity loss; evidence of biodiversity and ecosystem services materiality; making biodiversity and ecosystem services operational for finance, tapping into growing environmental markets; and a vision for 2020. [UNEP FI Press Release]