As governments and businesses look to rebuilding the global economy
post-pandemic,
a new study from the World Economic Forum (WEF) has found that
‘nature-positive’ solutions can create 395 million jobs by 2030.
The Future of Nature and
Business provides
blueprints for companies to tap into a $10.1 trillion business opportunity by
adding value to nature.
The report cites existing examples in which business outcomes have been improved
by nature-positive outcomes:
-
Smart farming utilizing sensors and satellite imagery in Indonesia has
improved average crop yields by 60 percent.
-
After the Milan World Expo 2015, which covered 100 hectares, the land
was repurposed and transformed into the European Innovation Hub – a
scientific hub and community-oriented neighborhood that includes smart,
nature-positive infrastructure and has created roughly 1,000 jobs
-
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In Viet Nam, coastal communities saw their incomes more than double from aquaculture products such as shells and oysters, following the restoration
of critical mangroves.
The report sets out how 15 transitions across three systems — food, land and
ocean use; infrastructure and the built environment; and energy and
extractives — illustrate the potential for nature-positive transitions to
generate up to US$10.1 trillion in annual business value and create 395 million
jobs by 2030. Here are just a few examples:
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Diversifying diets: Some 75 percent of the world’s food comes from 12
plant and five animal species. A shift to more plant-based
diets,
with a broader range of vegetables and fruits, can create $310 billion in
business opportunities annually by 2030.
-
Circular solutions: Scaling circular models for the use of items such as
textiles
and auto parts can save millions of tons of waste annually and keep those
materials in use much longer. For example, $500 billion is lost every year
as a result of discarded clothing. Reusing, refurbishing and recycling
clothes
could lead to $130 billion in savings and prevent 148 million tonnes of
textile waste by 2030. And some $870 billion can be saved by refurbishing
and reusing some auto
parts
by 2030.
-
Smart infrastructure: Large-scale creation of smart buildings and use of
smart sensors could save roughly $940 billion by 2030.
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Renewables: Opportunities of $650 billion, ROI of over 10 percent and
millions of new jobs are expected from the renewable energy sector by 2030.
Solar energy without subsidies matched fossil fuel costs in over 30
countries and were projected to be cheaper than coal in China and India
by 2021.
A companion
report aims to
help policymakers see nature as a form of capital; and, if properly managed, the
basis of society’s long-term well-being, resilience and prosperity.
The WEF report informs the working priorities of the Champions for
Nature — a community
of business leaders laying the groundwork for a nature-positive global economy;
as well as a Policy
Companion report
which sets out how governments can ensure nature is integrated into economies as
part of a Great Reset post-COVID.
WEF’s roadmap jibes well with the C40 Mayors’ Agenda for a Green and Just
Recovery and
Joe Biden’s $2T climate
plan,
both also released this week; as well as bold new strategies from companies
including
Dole,
Nestlé
and Procter &
Gamble
that generate business value by prioritizing the health of nature and the
communities that they serve.
Read more of the WEF’s findings
here
and download The Future of Nature and Business
here.
Published Jul 17, 2020 8am EDT / 5am PDT / 1pm BST / 2pm CEST
Sustainable Brands Staff