Biodiversity and ecosystems are the invisible but indispensable foundations of the economy. More and more studies demonstrate this, with supporting figures. Now, the economic world needs to become aware of it.
The major economic theories that accompanied the industrialization of our societies are based on a fundamental premise: capital and labor produce economic wealth.
This ignores all the free services provided by nature that underpin this equation. Nature and ecosystems provide natural resources (e.g., sand in construction, fossil geological resources, biomass, etc.) and other essential services for wealth production.
In February 2026, IPBES, the equivalent of the IPCC for biodiversity, published its first report on the links between businesses and biodiversity [1]. This document examines the impacts of economic activities on nature, as well as the financial risks associated with biodiversity erosion, while highlighting the fundamental dependence of businesses on ecosystems.
This is indeed an existential paradox. While all businesses, regardless of their sector, depend directly or indirectly on natural resources, they contribute on average to their degradation. The report highlights a glaring imbalance between investments that harm biodiversity and those aimed at protecting or restoring it.
[1] Methodological assessment of the impact and dependency of business on biodiversity and nature’s contributions to people (business and biodiversity assessment) | IPBES secretariat
The economic value of services provided by nature
Ecosystem services refer to all the benefits that ecosystems provide for human well-being and the balance of our societies. This concept highlights the concrete importance of nature and biodiversity, emphasizing the essential and free services they offer us. Generally, four main categories of ecosystem services are distinguished:
- Provisioning services: food, fuel, materials, medicines,…
- Regulating services: climate regulation, water and air purification, pollination,..
- Sociocultural services: aesthetic, recreational, educational, spiritual services,…
- Supporting services: soil formation, the biogeochemical cycle of elements such as carbon sequestration by ecosystems,…
A study, often cited by major international institutions (Costanza et al. 2014 [2]), set out to “put a price” on each of the ecosystem services that biodiversity and ecosystems provide us. The estimate of the total value of the services rendered is around USD 125 trillion/year, or 1.6 times the global GDP of 2011.
In short, if “Mother Nature” were to charge for her services, her market capitalization would dwarf the combined total of the GAFAMs!
[2] Costanza et al. (2014), “Changes in the global value of ecosystem services”, Global Environmental Change (26) p. 152-158
72% of European companies are “critically” dependent
And it’s not an NGO saying it, it’s the European Central Bank:
“72% of companies in the euro area, or about 3 million companies, are critically dependent on ecosystem services and will face significant economic problems due to ecosystem degradation.“
The financial sector is also particularly exposed. The ECB notes that “75% of the total amount of loans to euro area companies are granted to companies that are critically dependent on at least one ecosystem service”
No sector is spared
The IPBES report, however, emphasizes that all sectors are dependent on nature and ecosystems, either directly or indirectly.
For example:
- The food sector, dependent on pollination, which concerns 75% of global crops, and the good biological health of soils.
- The construction sector consumes billions of tons of materials each year, such as marine sand for concrete, ore for metal production, wood for construction, etc.
- The pharmaceutical sector, which still largely depends on the discovery of molecules in nature to produce medicines and treatments. For example, it is estimated that 80% of anticancer drugs on the market are derived from medicinal plants or bio-inspired.
- The insurance sector is largely dependent on the regulating capacity of ecosystems to moderate extreme events.
- The energy sector depends on the capacity of ecosystems to regulate the flow of watercourses that supply cooling capacities or hydroelectric production.
- The tourism sector is highly dependent on the aesthetic quality of natural landscapes.
Biodiversity: a horizon of opportunities
The return on climate investment is often perceived as a major obstacle to the transition towards a decarbonized society. However, although the effects of actions undertaken on atmospheric CO₂ concentration only fully manifest over several millennia, their implementation remains absolutely essential. This is what is called the “tragedy of horizons”.
But good news: the temporality of action in favor of biodiversity produces faster results. Of course, any degradation of an ecosystem has an irreversible component. But where life can cling on, starting from habitats and relict species populations, it can then return to colonize rehabilitated habitats.
More and more companies are acting directly in their value chain to enhance the biodiversity on which they are dependent. Here are a few examples:
- The company Corman, which produces fat from dairy products, carried out a project to plant standard orchards in the dairy cows’ pastures, to protect them from heat stress, improve their well-being and productivity.
- EDF is rehabilitating wetlands upstream of its dams to help regulate flows upstream of hydroelectric power plants.
- The network operator ELIA is fighting invasive exotic plants in its high-voltage substations to avoid management problems.
- Many local authorities are considering planting hedges and soft hydraulic measures to combat mudflows and flooding.
The range of nature-based solutions is infinite. Often cheaper than technological solutions, with better sustainability. Not to mention the benefits for the landscape and biodiversity!
This very “economic” and “utilitarian” approach to biodiversity can legitimately be considered very reductionist. But it has the merit of broadening the scope of the debate and reaching a less aware public.
How to understand your dependence on Nature, as a company?
Workshops exist to help understand the topic. For more info:
