Regional ecosystem services and the rating of investment opportunities

Abstract

Environmental scientists and financial experts have recently been asking whether the damage costs imposed on the environment by industrial resource uses (often referred to as externalities) can be reflected in financial markets. We examine this question by summarizing work on mechanisms for including the damage to (or recovery of) ecosystem services directly in the price of a company's stocks and bonds and call this concept “environmental value creation through investment” (EVCI). Ten functions and 36 ecosystem services are presented that can benefit from good corporate environmental performance. Rating publicly traded companies requires collaboration between ecosystem scientists and business analysts. Metrics are being developed for reporting the impact of business practices on the value of ecosystem services within regions across the US.