An online game to help companies better value the environment and the services it provides has been launched by the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership.
E.Value.A.Te explores how to put a monetary value on an organisation’s dependency on ecosystems and wildlife and how to use this information to inform commercial decisions that mitigate risk, reduce negative impacts, and create value.
The game was produced by members of the Natural Capital Leaders Platform, who collaborate on how to better understand and manage their impacts and dependences on natural capital. These include Anglian Water, Asda, Kingfisher, Mars and Nestlé.
Valuation is often poorly understood and only partially achieved by businesses, the institute said.
Dr Gemma Cranston, who led the institute’s work on the project, said: “This is an innovative and fun approach to an important but poorly-understood subject.
Our current economic systems do not value things like clean air and water properly, which is short-sighted because society depends on them in the long term.”
Chris Brown, sustainable business director at Asda, said: “E.Valu.A.Te gives a useful insight into how natural capital valuation can inform business trade-offs, a topic that is very much an emerging business issue.”
E.Valu.A.Te can be found here. Users can Tweet their scores using the Twitter handle #evaluategame.