Often the unaccounted for or “free” benefits that natural systems provide are discounted by business or misused without understanding why they should be preserved.
Flood Prevention
Flood Water Attenuation
Wetlands, grasslands, aquatic ecosystems
Carbon Sequestration
Wetlands, seagrass beds, ocean ecosystems, woodlands, forests, grasslands
Water Filtration
Wetlands, hydrologic cycle, groundwater filtration
Food Provision
Grasslands, forests, wetlands, aquatic ecosystems, coral reefs, deep ocean
Air Filtration
Forests, woodlands, ocean
Pollination
Biodiversity support from a diverse range of organisms
All of these services aid and support all manner of businesses. Without pollination we’d lose the vast majority of the foods available to us. If we degrade wetlands we increase carbon dioxide within the atmosphere and speed climate change and degrade our water quality.
We risk ever more destructive flood events that destroy infrastructure and delay transport, all of which increase business risk and the cost of doing business.
Environmental compliance has long been seen as a grudge purchase, where the client seeks to expend the least amount of money to maintain the lowest ‘acceptable’ form of compliance. We believe this is a toxic lose-lose scenario. The environment loses as only the most grievous impacts are ever addressed, the state loses as their cost and duty to rehabilitate the land after utilization increases additionally business risk increases, and business sustainability is reduced. Perhaps more importantly, future generations pay the price for this “profit first, environment second” mind-set.
Instead Offset Industries seeks to partner with forward thinking ethical businesses and their leadership, those who realise that their long term goals can only be achieved with healthy functioning ecosystems.
The case for ethical sustainable business practices has never been clearer. Careful considered strategic investments in environmental practices can have long last positive returns.