LIFE Methodology: Promoting Climate Change and Ecosystem Services Nexus - Brazil

LIFE Methodology is an environmental impact index that measures five environmental criteria. This index takes into account the quantity and severity of greenhouse gas emissions, energy consumption, water usage, area occupation and waste generation.

Fast facts:

LIFE Methodology strategically guides, values and recognizes organizations that voluntarily reduce their carbon footprint, use sustainable energy sources, compensate their emissions through natural area investments, voluntarily conserve natural areas and restore degraded areas.

The problem

Companies can have large unsustainable impacts on the environment by maintaining their “business-as-usual” practices.

The solution

By engaging with businesses on sustainable management, LIFE Methodology aims to transform business-as-usual practices and scale-up voluntary environmental actions. When companies adopt LIFE Methodology as an environmental management practice they have to finance concrete ecosystem services actions to compensate for their impacts.

LIFE Methodology strategically guides, values and recognizes organizations that voluntarily reduce their carbon footprint, use sustainable energy sources, compensate their emissions through natural area investments, voluntarily conserve natural areas and restore degraded areas. The company’s gross revenue grade jointly combined with Environmental Impact Index determines the amount of investment the company has to make in order to address climate change and ecosystem services conservation.

Helping the planet

LIFE Methodology acknowledges businesses that employ biodiversity conservation strategies thus contributing to global solutions for fighting climate change.

Helping people

The beneficiaries are the private sector, governments (LIFE Methodology helps governments achieve national environmental targets), consumers (the LIFE Certification allows consumers to identify and select companies that are sustainable), environmental non-governmental organizations (organizations that develop and implement climate change mitigation and adaptation projects can be supported by a company) and local communities and indigenous people (LIFE Methodology ensures that social interests are better defended on the market).

Scaling Up

There are new demands for the LIFE Methodology application. The recent understanding of climate change, ecosystem services and the biodiversity conservation nexus has highlighted other applications for LIFE Methodology such as environmental impacts mapping and identification of risks and opportunities related to climate change and ecosystem services.