<div>Risks are part of any business but new figures are a wake-up call to both business developers and future investors to act on the fast depleting natural resources. Recent estimates place the global cost of environmental impact of businesses at a staggering $ 4.7 trillion – highlighting numerous risks like scarce raw materials and community conflicts. The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB)’s 2013 report has estimated these costs stating that a large part of the damages of business processes from procuring, transporting and manufacturing to selling a given product are invisible. TEEB formed under the aegis of UNEP and the G8 nations released ‘Natural Capital at Risk – Top 100 Externalities of Business’ report in April, 2013.<br /><br />Environmental impacts across 500 business sectors have been divided region wise and are based on green house gasses emissions, loss of natural resources, loss of nature based services such as CO2 storage by forests, climate change and air pollution related health costs. South Asia is rated among the worst in terms of land use, water use, water pollution ad green house gas emissions.<br /><br />$ 4.7 trillion a year is 65 per cent of the total primary sector including production and processing. The sectors include agriculture, forestry, fisheries, mining, oil and gas exploration, utilities, steel, cement, pulp & paper and petrochemicals. Put together these have an externality cost of US $ 7.3 trillion, which is 13% of the total global output in 2009 says the TEEB report.<br /><br />Pavan Sukhdev the study leader of TEEB says we need to change the way we do business in order to ensure its longevity. The report states none of the sectors with high environmental impact generate sufficient profit to cover their environmental costs and calls for immediate action. TEEB constituted to provide a case for conservation of natural capital in its report has attempted to put a cost on the invisible impacts. Companies and investors alike can use the report analysis to assess the possible scale of direct, supply chain and investment risks.<br /><br />“The externalities estimated in this study are third party costs of production processes. For example the damage by CO<sub>2</sub> and CO emissions of thermal power plants is completely unaccounted for because a certain need is met through the electricity produced. The by-product of CO<sub>2 </sub>and CO is not measured in terms of its impact on people –the third party,” he explains. Sukhdev, formally a banker moved to consultancy and founded GIST advisory – a specialist firm that helps governments and corporations discover, measure, value and manage their impacts on natural and human capital.<br /><br />Though the figures are approximates Sukhdev says they are a point to begin from rather than behaving like there is no impact to take into consideration when running businesses. “The Gross Domestic Product is also an estimate... The externalities are estimates in a similar manner and are a lot more accurate than zero – the attitude of most business operatives who do not take into account the stress on natural resources that they are causing,” he says.<br /><br /><img width="619" vspace="8" hspace="8" height="1213" align="left" alt="" src="/image/image_gallery?uuid=56ac17e0-c09b-47d5-b76c-6caf2fb64b02&groupId=222852&t=1370527509795" /><br /> </div>
