Framework for Integrating the Value of Nature in Business Decisions: Utilizing Green Infrastructure for Stormwater Management

Abstract

Businesses contribute to the degradation of ecosystem services, but also depend on those services for their operations. Most businesses do not incorporate ecosystem services into their decision-making. Existing methods to do so are often costly and time consuming, yet fail to link the public benefits of these services directly to business value. We developed a framework to guide businesses towards accounting for the value of ecosystem services in decision-making, through the context of utilizing green infrastructure practices for stormwater management. We applied this framework to the Stream and Wetland Assessment Management Park, a constructed wetland on the Duke University campus. In our application, we illustrated how the choice between two separate models to predict green infrastructure performance may impact the decision to invest in the project. We also demonstrated that businesses are more likely to adopt green infrastructure, thus invest in ecosystem services, when additional ecosystem service benefits are defined in metrics that directly relate to specific business drivers.