PARENT SESSION
Organized Oral Session 29: Protecting ecosystem services through private sector partnerships and the capital markets
Organizer(s): BM Kahn and O Loucks
Wednesday, August 10, 8:00 AM - 11:30 AM, Meeting Room 511 B, Level 5, Palais des congrès de Montréal
Commoditization theory: Implications for the role of capital markets in protecting ecosystem services.
Manno, Jack*,1, 1 SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, New York, USA
ABSTRACT- Commoditization theory explains the evolutionary implication of the tendency for private investment to choose market over non-market goods and services. This tendency leads to economic growth at the expense of natural capital and ecosystem services. Green investment screens for environmentally responsible investing have the potential to redirect investments toward protection and restoration of ecosystem services that are notoriously resistant to commoditization and privatization. This paper explores a strategy for evaluating a company's performance based on whether their behavior reflects an understanding of the value and importance of non-market ecosystem services.
Key words: Ecological economics, Green investing, Ecosystem Services, Commoditization