ABSTRACT
All companies, regardless of sector, both impact on biodiversity and ecosystems and depend on ecosystem services. It is hard to think of any economic activity that does not benefit from biodiversity and ecosystem services (BES) or in some way modify the ecosystems around it. For example, the bio-tech industry benefits from access to wild genetic resources, but may also create risks through the introduction of genetically modified organisms; agribusiness and the food sector depend on ecosystem services like pollination, but also, through impacts on land and water resources, reduce other ecosystem services; forest industries, construction and publishing rely on sustained supplies of timber and wood fibre, but can alter forest structure at the expense of wildlife and recreational values; and tourism derives profit from the cultural services and aesthetic values of natural landscapes but may bring so many tourists into an area that nature values are diminished.
