In the last 50 years humanity has seen an unprecedented rise in prosperity for some, however these gains have come at a steep price for the natural environment. In this post Guilherme Leal and Paul Polman turn to the Sustainable Development Goals as a framework for inclusive, sustainable future growth and acknowledge that in order to meet these ambitious goals, which include stopping climate change, halting biodiversity loss and protecting our oceans, will mean fundamentally changing how we do business and account for our impacts.

By valuing natural capital, and doing so across the full value chain, companies are better able to reduce their negative impacts, leverage their positive impacts, innovate around new processes and materials, and provide greater transparency for all stakeholders. An important step was taken towards this on Tuesday, when Kering published the Group-wide results of their pioneering 'Environmental Profit and Loss' account (E P&L) measuring and monetizing the environmental impacts in their own operations, and across their entire supply chain.

You can read more about this new tool for sustainable development here.