New Introductory Guide for Measuring Environmental Impacts
New report identifies best ways to measure company’s impact on environment
(3BL Media / theCSRfeed) London, ON, Canada - July 19, 2011 - Executives looking for the best ways to measure and value their company’s impact on the environment need look no further than a new report produced by the Network for Business Sustainability.
Called “Measuring and Valuing Environmental Impacts,” the report is specifically designed to help senior executives and decision-makers new to sustainability choose the right tools to measure their company’s environmental impact.
Growing public awareness of environmental issues and increasing government oversight have motivated companies to measure their environmental impacts, but this interest has also contributed to the proliferation of tools available to measure such impacts. Managers can become confounded by the vast array of options.
“This report is a high-level guide,” explains Dr. Tima Bansal, executive director of NBS and a leading researcher in the area of business sustainability, “that recommends tools and additional resources for measuring and valuing environmental impacts, including an actionable four-step process.” The report also identifies the pros and cons of the most common tools, enabling managers to select among them depending on their specific needs.
The report is a condensed version of NBS’s systematic review of the entire body of research on measuring and valuing environmental impacts. Synthesizing data from 180 studies and 20 tools, the review presents the most comprehensive compilation of high-quality knowledge on this topic to date.
Dr. Pamela Kaval was the lead researcher on this report. Before becoming a consultant in the United States, Kaval was an associate professor at the Waikato Management School at New Zealand’s Waikato University. In addition to the systematic review she conducted for the Network for Business Sustainability, her consulting work has included conducting an Ecosystem Service valuation of the Colorado River Watershed for the Nature Conservancy; writing standards guidelines for forest valuation as a member of the Cost E45 European Forest Valuation Action Management Committee; valuing biodiversity and native birds in New Zealand; and writing a chapter in the upcoming book Ecosystem Services in Engineered Systems.
Kaval was supported by the project’s guidance committee, which included Karen Clarke-Whistler (TD Bank Group), Andrew Wilczynski (TELUS), Blair Feltmate (University of Waterloo), Luc Robitaille (Holcim) and Dror Etzion (McGill University).
Measuring and Valuing Environmental Impacts: A Systematic Review of Existing Methodologies (82 pages)
Measuring and Valuing Environmental Impacts: An Introductory Guide (20 pages)
About the Network for Business Sustainability
The Network for Business Sustainability is a Canadian not-for-profit organization that connects thousands of researchers and business leaders worldwide, with the goal of creating new, sustainable business models for the 21st century. NBS receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the Richard Ivey School of Business at The University of Western Ontario, the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), and industry partners.
NBS Leadership Council Members
BC Hydro
Canadian Pacific Railway Limited
Environment Canada
Home Depot of Canada Inc.
Holcim (Canada) Inc.
International Institute for Sustainable Development
Industry Canada
LoyaltyOne, Inc.
Pembina Institute
Research In Motion
SAP Canada Inc.
Suncor Energy Inc.
TD Bank Group
Teck Resources Limited
TELUS Corporation
Tembec Inc.
Tim Hortons Inc.
Unilever Canada Inc.
For more information, please contact Carol Kehoe, Communications Manager, NBS at 519.661.2111 x88107 or ckehoe@nbs.net
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