At the start of 2011, The Dow Chemical Company and The Nature Conservancy embarked on a novel collaboration to help Dow and the business community recognize, calculate and incorporate the value of nature into business decisions, strategies and goals. The Collaboration embraces a theory of change that the inclusion of ecosystem service and biodiversity assessment models in business decisions has the potential to produce stronger business performance and improved conservation outcomes.

The two global organizations are applying scientific knowledge and experience to develop and apply methods and tools for companies to use by examining how Dow’s operations interact with nature. Nature provides benefits, often called ecosystem services, on which everyone depends.

The Collaboration is exploring opportunities to factor more deliberately, the value of nature into business decisions across Dow – at the corporate level and at sites around the world. Initial efforts have focused on large “pilot site” analyses, where the team is investigating tangible examples in detail at Dow sites, starting in Freeport, Texas, and Santa Vitória, Brazil, to develop evidence and tools.

The Collaboration’s work will ultimately be incorporated into a broader framework of decision support tools and modules to help address business decisions organization-wide. The Collaboration is committed to sharing results and tools publicly through various communications and peer-reviewed publications for other companies, scientists and interested parties to test and apply. Further, the Collaboration has begun to share our experience with policymaking authorities and key resource stakeholders. As more companies use these methods and tools, greater investment in conservation should follow because such investment makes good business sense.