Water

Water should be a critical issue for many companies.  Moreover, it is essential to take a systemic approach to managing water risks. We help clients understand their water management risks in response to quality and quantity challenges, putting an economic value to water, to understand the differences between cost, price and value, and to balance the conflicting needs of society, business and the ecosystem. We have worked with major NGOs to develop frameworks for companies to understand and manage their water risks, as well as advised leading companies on how to improve their management of water as a strategic issue, especially beyond-the-fence line.

Ecosystems and Natural Capital

We also support clients in understanding ecosystems, devising innovative ways of using and valuing natural resources.  Most firms do not fully or properly account for the role of nature (including ‘natural capital’ or ‘ecosystem services’) in value creation. Most efforts to consider nature have focused on the protection of select species or managing the impacts of a single site on the local ecosystem. Furthermore, these efforts have historically been driven more by regulations or the interest of a few stakeholders.  Despite this narrow focus, the declining availability of natural resources, the increasing demands for transparency (from investors, customers, NGOs and communities), and the expanding scientific knowledge base, require broader aspects of nature to be recognized as a critical source of business risk and opportunity.

We enable our clients to identify where nature will be material for key business units (e.g. purification of air through woodlands is increasingly important for investors in urban housing). This includes understanding where impacts of land use and other environmental pressures will affect the business.

We work to ensure our clients can appropriately respond by using green infrastructure, environmental markets, and supplier engagement (among other actions). A key aspect of our work is working across different sectors and drawing attention to key linkages (e.g. using flood plains to reduce manufacturing facility insurance costs).