Flourishing Business Canvas v2.

0
Designed for: Designed by: Date:

Environment
Society
Economy
BIOPHYSICAL
STOCKS PROCESS VALUE PEOPLE ECOSYSTEM
ACTORS

RESOURCES PARTNERSHIPS VALUE RELATIONSHIPS STAKEHOLDERS

CO-CREATIONS

ECOSYSTEM ACTIVITIES GOVERNANCE CHANNELS NEEDS

SERVICES

VALUE
CO-DESTRUCTIONS

COSTS GOALS BENEFITS

OUTCOMES
Used under license by Eve-Volution Inc - PK Mutch - 2021-02-16 - petra@eve-volution.com
www.FlourishingBusiness.org
@FlourishingBiz inquiry@FlourishingBusiness.org
Want to use this canvas in your project or business? Flourishing
Business
© Antony Upward, 2014 · All Rights Reserved Want to support the project? See overleaf for details. CanvasSM
Welcome to Flourishing Business
Our vision is that business becomes a key enabler for the
possibility for human and other life to flourish on this planet
forever. As our contribution to this audacious goal we want this
Flourishing Business Canvas to be used widely for both
non-commercial and commercial organizations. Therefore,
ultimately it will be released under a creative commons license
without usage restriction.
But in the mean-time we would love you to:
• Use the Flourishing Business Canvas in your
organization - to do so join our "First Explorers"
• Contribute to its further development - financially
or in-kind - join our "Marquee Supporters"
• Undertake research using it - join our community
of researchers
To explore how these possibilities can help you reach your goals
please contact us at inquiry@FlourishingBusiness.org
Considering Becoming a First Explorer?
• This is a development version of the canvas. It is NOT licensed
for commercial or non-commercial use.
• This is to ensure we can help you in your use of it, and help us to
learn from your experience.
• We ask that before use you connect with us
inquiry@FlourishingBusiness.org
• When you contact us, in addition to providing you with a free
"First Explorers" license for use, we can also offer a cloud based
version of the canvas, additional help documentation, and some
limited support. All this in return for your commitment to
openly share with us your experiences using the tool - so we can
make improvements before its ultimate wide-spread and
free-to-use release.
Professional Services
We offer integrated flourishing business coaching, assessment,
diagnosis, design, value discovery & learning services that are
enabled by the Flourishing Business Canvas. Please contact us
to explore how we can help you create your flourishing business.
This Flourishing Business Canvas is © Edward James Consulting Ltd, 2014 ·
All Rights Reserved www.FlourishingBusiness.org
@FlourishingBiz
inquiry@FlourishingBusiness.org
Flourishing
Business
Canvas sm
 Introducing…

Thenewcanvasgroupsthe16questionsbythefour
perspectives:Outcomes,People,Value,Process
and
interͲrelatesthemwiththethreecontexts:
© Antony Upward, 2014. All Rights Reserved.
Flourishing Business – Introduction for Help

Environment,Society,Economy
Thiscreatesacommonlanguagetocollaborativelysketch,prototype,
Version 2.0 2014-09-20

design,improve,communicate,understand,measure,anddiagnose
flourishingbusinessmodels
Flourishing
Business
CanvasSM

3
 Introduction,Help&Guidance
• Thefollowingpagesprovide
– Anintroductiontoakeyconceptandtheoverall
structureoftheFlourishingBusinessCanvas
• Thedefinitionofvalue
• Thethreerealcontextsforbusiness:
Environment,Society,Economy
• Fourperspectivesonanybusiness:
Outcomes,People,Value,Process

– AprintͲoutofthehelpandguidanceinthepopͲup’s
© Antony Upward, 2014. All Rights Reserved.
Flourishing Business – Introduction for Help

forthecontexts,the4perspectivesandthe16
questionsboxes.
Version 2.0 2014-09-20

Flourishing
Business
CanvasSM

4
 ReͲthinkingValue
“ABusinessModeldescribestherationaleofhow
anorganizationcreates,deliversandcaptures
From value[inmonetaryterms]”*
Necessary,butnotSufficient

To
© Antony Upward, 2014. All Rights Reserved.
Flourishing Business – Introduction for Help
Valueis theperceptionbyahumanornonͲhuman
actorofaneedbeingmet;measuredinaesthetic,
psychological,physiological,utilitarianand/or
monetaryterms†

Valueiscreated whenneedsaremetviasatisfiers
thatalignwiththerecipientsworldͲview,and
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destroyedwhentheydon’t
* p. 14 Osterwalder, A., & Pigneur, Y. (2009). Business Model Generation Flourishing
Business
† Derived from Max-Neef – Fundamental Human Needs (1991) CanvasSM

5
 Building
Blocks#1
RealContextforBusiness
Society
(Social/Technological) Environment
(Physical / Chemical / Biological)

Economy
(Monetary)

A Business
© Antony Upward, 2014. All Rights Reserved.
Flourishing Business – Introduction for Help

Eachandeverybusinessrelatestoallthreecontexts:the
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environmentthatenablessocietythatcreatestheeconomy
Flourishing
Business
CanvasSM

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 Building
Blocks#2
Perspectivesona
BusinessModel
What does a business do
now and in the future?

How, where & Who does a

with what does business do it
the business to, for and
do it? with?

Why: How does a

business define &
measure success?
(in Environmental, Social
© Antony Upward, 2014. All Rights Reserved.

& Monetary units)

Flourishing Business – Introduction for Help

Therearefourperspectivesthatgroupthequestionsofthe
flourishingbusinesscanvas,makingitmoremanageable:
Version 2.0 2014-09-20

Why,Who,WhatandHow
Flourishing
Business
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7
© Antony Upward, 2014. All Rights Reserved.
Flourishing Business – Introduction for Help

RelatingContextstoPerspectives

Everything shared Unique to this Common to everyone

with everyone business model & everything
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Thecontextsandtheperspectivesarerelatedandhelp
usconsiderwhatisuniqueandsharedineachbusiness Flourishing
Business
CanvasSM

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 Building
Blocks#3
16Necessaryand
SufficientQuestions
• Outcomes • Value
1. Goals 9. ValueCoͲCreations*
2. Benefits* 10. ValueCoͲDestructions
3. Costs* • Process
• People 11. Partnerships*
4. EcosystemActors 12. Governance
5. Needs 13. Resources*
6. Stakeholders* 14. BiophysicalStocks
7. Relationships* 15. Activities*
© Antony Upward, 2014. All Rights Reserved.
Flourishing Business – Introduction for Help

8. Channels* 16. EcosystemServices

16Questionstocreatethepossibilityforflourishing.
Version 2.0 2014-09-20

*The9questionsfromtheBusinessModelCanvas
9
(profitabilityis partofflourishing) Flourishing
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 Help for Flourishing Business Canvas v2.0

00-Contexts

Contexts: Environment, Society, Economy

This business is part of the economy, which is created by our society to help us individually and collectively meet our
needs through exchange and trade. In turn our society is ultimately, utterly and immediately dependent on the
environment. Together the environment (physical, chemical, biological) which contains and enables our society (social,
technological), and which in turn creates the economy (monetary), are the three vital contexts to any and all businesses –
all the risks and all opportunities – including yours.

This business is also part of a constellation of ecosystem actors (businesses, other organizations, communities,
individuals, animals, plants and the environment) who are by choice or circumstance involved in the co-creation and co-
destruction of value for these ecosystem actors. This business’s business model includes those aspects all of ecosystem
actors’ behaviours relevant to its goals and outcomes.

The question boxes on the canvas inquire about the necessary and sufficient aspects of a business model. Each question
may be related to one, two or all three of these vital contexts and / or the other involved ecosystem actors.

Guidance: Consider for this business model, how each context may cause the response to each question to change (or if it
does), depending on the environmental, social, or economic context relevant to the response.

01-Outcomes Perspective

Perspective: Outcomes

What outcomes demonstrate whether this business has achieved its Goals over time?

How do these outcomes relate to the Stakeholders’ definition of success (often diverse and divergent)?

How does this business measure the benefits and costs to determine whether or not these outcomes are achieved (in
applicable environmental, social and monetary units)?

02-People Perspective

Perspective: People

Who are all the people involved in this business: the people this business does it to, for and with?

03-Value Perspective

Perspective: Value

What value is co-created and co-destroyed now and / or in the future between this business and all the Stakeholders
involved?

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 Guidance

Consider that:

– Value is the perception by an Ecosystem Actor of a Need being satisfied, measured in aesthetic, psychological,
physiological, utilitarian and / or monetary terms.

– Value is co-created when Needs are satisfied in ways that align with the Ecosystem Actor’s beliefs (world-view)
and co-destroyed when they don’t

– Units of value measurement may be environmental (i.e. System International units – Kg, Metre, Second etc., Social
Units – happiness, longevity, equality, or Economic – monetary)

04-Process Perspective
Perspective: Process

How, where and with what does this business co-create its value to achieve its Goals?

What processes does this business execute to co-create its value?

Q01-Goals (GN)

Question: Goals

What are the Goals for this business environmentally, socially and economically?

Consider:
– How is the definition of success for the business determined by the Stakeholders that have Governance rights to
decide the business’s Goals?

– Are these goals agreed by these Stakeholders to be:

– Minimally acceptable, achievable, near term objectives for the business

– Aspirations or ideal-goals, to which the business is being committed to striving to achieve ,even if believed to be
ultimately unrealizable

How do the Stakeholder’s individual definitions of success align to or diverge from the agreed business’s Goals,
depending on the subset of their Needs they expect the business to satisfy?

Does the achievement of the goals of other Stakeholders in the business’s business model impact the achievement of the
agreed Goals of the business?

Q02-Benefits (BN)

Question: Benefits

How does this business choose to measure the Benefits that result from its business model?

What are indicators of the Benefits created by this business?

When measurable, what are the steps used to take a measurement, the actual or desired values and what are the units of
measure of these Benefits?

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 Example
How are revenues valued in financial terms (e.g. payments received from customer Stakeholders), social terms (e.g.
increased happiness, well-being etc.), environmental terms (e.g. improved state of nature) (each in its own applicable units)

Guidance
Consider that
– Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted

– Creating and measuring emergent properties such as the possibility for flourishing or sustainability outcomes, is
not the same as managing a mechanistic production line

– To determine if a Goal of the business is being achieved the relevant indicators of Benefit must be subtracted from
their associated Costs. The goal is absolutely achieved if there are no associated costs; the goal is achieved net: the
amount the benefits exceed the costs

– When counting Benefits is deemed to be valid, units of measure for Benefits may be environmental (i.e. Système
International units – Kelvin, Second, Metre, Kg, Candela, Mol and Amp, Social Units – happiness, or Economic – monetary
revenues)

Q03-Costs (CO)

Question: Costs

How does this business choose to measure the Costs incurred by its business model?

What are indicators of the Costs created by this business?

When measurable, what are the steps used to measure, the actual or desired values and what are the units of measure of
these Costs?

Example
How are costs valued in financial terms (e.g. payments made to suppliers Stakeholders), social terms (e.g. decreased
happiness, illness etc.), environmental terms (e.g. nature harmed or depleted) (each in its own applicable units)?

Guidance
Consider that:

– Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted

– Creating and measuring emergent properties such as the possibility for flourishing or sustainability outcomes, is
not the same as managing a mechanistic production line

– To determine if a Goal of the business is being achieved the relevant indicators of Benefit must be subtracted from
their associated Costs. The goal is absolutely achieved if there are no associated costs; the goal is achieved net: the
amount the benefits exceed the costs

– When counting Costs is deemed to be valid, units of measure for Costs may be environmental (i.e. Système
International units – Kelvin, Second, Metre, Kg, Candela, Mol and Amp ., Social Units – inequality, or Economic – monetary
costs)

Q04-Ecosystem Actors (EA)

Question: Ecosystem Actors

Who are all the actual and potential human and non-humans who may choose to engage with this business?

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 Which Ecosystem Actors may represent the needs of other humans, groups, organizations and non-humans?

Guidance
Consider

– That Ecosystem Actors can be individual or groups of humans (organizations, communities) as well as everything
else that exists.

– That Ecosystem Actors, such as NGOs, often represent other Ecosystem Actor’s Needs – such as less powerful
humans, or non-human life (e.g. a plant or animal species) or location (e.g. a unique ecology)

– The Ecosystem Actors that this business desires and who desire to become involved – because of the positive
value the business may co-create for them – helping them to satisfy their needs

– Those Ecosystem Actors who will choose to get involved – perhaps because of the negative value the business
may co-create for them – harming their ability to satisfy their needs.

Q05-Needs (ND)

Question: Needs

Which human and non-human Ecosystem Actors’ fundamental Needs is this business
– Intending to satisfy (co-create value) or
– Might prevent an Ecosystem Actor from satisfying (co-destroy value)?

Guidance
For inspiration on possible Needs review Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs or Max-Neef’s Fundamental Human Needs
(preferred).

Q06-Stakeholders (ST)

Question: Stakeholders

What roles do each of the Ecosystem Actors who are involved in this business take?

Guidance
Consider how:

– One Ecosystem Actor may take multiple roles simultaneously or over time

– An Ecosystem Actor may be a desirable Stakeholder of this business (Legitimized Stakeholders), vs. those who
desire to be a Stakeholder now or in the future, because of the positive or negative impact the business has on their ability
to satisfy their needs (Impactful Stakeholders– impacting or impacted)

– Different Value Co-creators or Value Co-destroyer enable or prevent the satisfaction of Needs for the different
Stakeholder roles each Ecosystem Actor takes on now and over time.

Example
A human actor may be at the same time or over time employee, manager, investor, customer, and member of the
community.

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Q07-Relationships (RS)

Question: Relationships

What Relationships with each Stakeholder must be established, cultivated and maintained by this business via its
Channels?

What environmental, social and / or monetary equity is being created or destroyed for this business and each Stakeholder
in each Relationship via the associated Channel(s)?

What is the function of each Relationship in each Value co-Creation or Value Co-destruction relevant for each Stakeholder?

Guidance
Consider what Relationships are needed for Stakeholders to:
– Build trust in this businesses ability to co-create value and minimize value co-destruction through alignment of an
Ecosystem Actor’s personal identity and this business’s brand.

– Learn about or experiment with the value that can be co-created or co-destroyed through their interaction with this
business

– Experience or realize the co-created or co-destroyed value via their interaction with this business – transacting or
becoming involved with it (evaluate, buy, sell, give, donate, share, use, renew, transfer, or be subject to)

– Continue the Relationship via collaboration (synergies, partnerships) or competition (parasitic)

– Co-evolve with this business as both parties change over time via conflict, compromise, negotiation, or talking-it-
out (dissolving problems, appreciative inquiry, presencing)

Additional Guidance
Also consider:
– The Channel(s) required to enable each Relationship.

– How the level of equity in a Relationship may change the resilience of that relationship to change unanticipated by
this business or the Stakeholder.

Q08-Channels (CH)

Question: Channels

What Channels will be used by this firm to communicate with each Stakeholder (and vice versa)?

How does each Channel enable the development of the required equity in each of the Relationships this business needs to
achieve its Goals?

Which Channel will deliver each Value Co-Creation or Value Co-Destruction for each Stakeholder?

Guidance
Consider which Channels enable Stakeholders to

– Become aware, learn about, and educate themselves of the potential Value Co-Creations (and Value Co-
Destructions) of this business

– Express and specify their requirements – enabling this business to learn details of Stakeholder’s needs and
subsequently incorporate their satisfaction into the Value Co-Creations

– Evaluate whether this business has enabled their requirements to be met – that more value has been co-created
than co-destroyed

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 – Transact with this business – transfer, buy, sell, lend, borrow, share, give, receive, donate, or be subject to

– Provide feedback to this business a result of learning, specification, use, experience, return or replacement.

Examples
Retail, Face-to-Face, Internet, Phone, Mail, Transport

Q09-Value Co-Creations (V+)

Question: Value Co-Creations

What value is co-created with each Stakeholder, satisfying the Needs of the associated Ecosystem Actor, from their
perspective (world-view), now and / or in the future?

Guidance
Consider that:

– Statements of value co-creation are also known as the business’s (positive) value propositions, which in turn may
consist of a number of offers.

– Value co-creation happens via one or more Channels with each Stakeholder

– Some Value Co-Creations can satisfy one or more Needs at the same time or over time (Singular Satisfiers and
Synergistic Satisfiers)

– Some Value Co-Creations can appear to a satisfy a Need, but are ultimately experienced as Value Co-Destructors,
reducing or preventing the satisfaction of Needs over time (Pseudo Satisfiers)

– Some Value Co-Creations are inextricably linked to Value Co-Destructors: over satisfying one Need and thus
preventing the satisfaction of other Needs (Inhibiting Satisfiers)

– Satisfying the Need of an Ecosystem Actor in one of their Stakeholder roles may enable or inhibit that same
Ecosystem Actor from satisfying a Need relevant to another of their stakeholder roles

– A value proposition may be perceived as always co-creating value for some Ecosystem Actors (Singular or
Synergistic Satisfier), based on their perspective (world-view), while being perceived as co-destroying value for other
Ecosystem Actors with a different perspective (Inhibiting, Pseudo or Violator Satisfier)

– Some Needs require a commitment to creating value immediately, other needs require a commitment to creating
value at some point in the future, and some Needs require both. Future Value Co-Creators cannot be defined (that would be
prediction, that is unknowable). However, co-creating value in the future may require a Value Co-Creator in the present
related to continuous improvement – including commitment to organizational learning.

Example
The need for sustenance needs to be met both within a short period from now (minutes, hours, days or weeks), and over
much longer periods. A food retailer is perhaps more concerned with how what they sell meets needs in the shorter time
frames. A farm equipment manufacturer must be consider the quality of their product today and ensure it is repairable long
into the future through the availability of spare parts and trained technicians.

Q10-Value Co-Destructions (V-)

Question: Value Co-Destructions

What value is co-destroyed for each Stakeholder, hindering the satisfaction of the Needs of the associated Ecosystem
Actor, from their perspective (world-view), now and / or in the future?

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 Guidance: Consider that:

– Statements of Value Co-Destruction are also known as the business’s (negative) value propositions, which in turn
may consist of a number of offers

– Value co-destruction happens via one or more Channels for each Stakeholder

– Some Value Co-Destroyers may appear to satisfy a Need, but in all cases, actually prevent its satisfactory
(Violators)

– Some Value Co-Destroyers having a negative impact over time but can initially appear to be Value Co-Creators,
satisfying a need in shorter time frames (Pseudo Satisfiers)

– Some Value Co-Destroyers are inextricably linked to Value Co-creators: preventing the satisfaction of some Needs
while enable satisfaction of the same or other Needs at the same time or over time (Inhibiting Satisfiers)

– A value proposition may be perceived as co-destroying value for some Ecosystem Actors (Inhibiting, Pseudo or
Violator Satisfier), based on their perspective (world-view), while being perceived as co-creating value for other Ecosystem
Actors with a different perspective (Singular or Synergistic Satisfier)

Q11-Governance (GV)

Question: Governance

What are the Governance arrangements for this business – single decision maker, multiple decision makers, unilateral,
negotiated, consultative, majority, or consensus?

Which Stakeholders have the information and power to make which decisions about:

– The Goals of this business and how Outcomes will be measured?

– The People who are to be considered legitimate Stakeholders of this business, whose Needs are intended to be
satisfied, i.e. for which Stakeholder’s Needs is value co-creation to be maximized and value co-destruction minimized?

– What this business does now and in the future, its Value Co-creations and Value Co-destructions?

– Where , how and with what and whom the Activities of this business are to be undertaken and which Resources
are to be transformed in order to co-create and / or co-destroy value?

To what extent is each Stakeholder involved in each decision – excluded, informed, consulted, involved, influences, opines,
votes or decides?

How does each Stakeholder participate in each decision, what are the Activities undertaken and Resources required to
execute the Governance arrangements?

Q12-Partnerships (PS)

Question: Partnerships

Which Stakeholders are this business’s partners?

What formal agreements to gain preferred access to Resources and undertake Activities have been made with these
Stakeholders?

Guidance
Consider which Relationships with which Stakeholders are so critical they must be formalized in Partnership agreements

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 so as to assure the achievement of this businesses’ Goals via the securing of preferred access to required Resources and /
or execution of its Activities?

Q13-Resources (RE)

Question: Resources

What resources are required to create the capabilities this business required to achieve its Goals?

What tangible (physical materials from one or more Biophysical Stocks, including fixed assets, raw materials and human
beings) and intangible Resources (energy, Relationship equity, brand, tacit and explicit knowledge, intellectual property,
money – working capital, cash, loans, etc.) are required by this business’s Activities to achieve its Goals?

Guidance
Consider:

– The Resources this business has privileged access to – not just those to which it has legal rights, but also those it
controls due to convention (purchased raw materials vs. atmospheric oxygen used in combustion)

– Which tangible and intangible Resources require a formal Partnership agreement with another Stakeholder in order
to gain the necessary privileged access?

– Which Biophysical Stocks each Resource is a part of – the place from which it comes (immediately from a supplier
and ultimately in the biosphere), how it is transformed by this business’s business model over time, and the places to
which it will be moved (immediately and ultimately)

– There is no such thing as a Resource that is waste within the Environmental context. Tangible resources, as per
the laws of conservation of matter, may not be destroyed, merely moved or transformed using energy (physically – heat,
beat, irradiate, chemically – treat, react, combust, or biologically – birth, growth, live, die)

– Whether each Resource is a biological nutrient, a technical nutrient or is in-tangible. A biological nutrient is one
which is ultimately bio-degradable, and does so while contributing to Ecosystem Service flourishing. A technical nutrient is
potentially harmful to harmful to Ecosystem Service flourishing and / or the quantity or quality of Biophysical Stocks, once
it is separated from its original location in or it is re-introduced into the biosphere. Technical nutrients include most
chemical elements and compounds extracted by or produced by society (individuals or organizations), except perhaps
those produced following the principles of ‘green chemistry’ and / or ‘cradle-to-cradle’ design.

– For biological and technical nutrients, the toxicity impact of the quantity and concentrations required in this
business’s Activities. How toxic are these Resources to all human and non-human Ecosystem Actors, to Ecosystem
Service flourishing and the quantity or quality of other Biophysical Stocks. How could this toxicity impact enable Value Co-
Destructors for this business’s Stakeholders?

– Energy is an intangible resource; but all energy is either stored within, and / or requires other Resources in order
for it to be captured and to do useful work in this business’s Activities.

– Which Resources create the capabilities required by this business’s Activities to transform / move matter, produce
and manipulate knowledge and form or change opinion.

– Consult The Natural Step Four System Conditions for a Sustainable Society for more guidance.

Q14-Biophysical Stocks (BS)

Question: Biophysical Stocks

Which Biophysical materials – living and non-living – are moved, flow and / or are transformed during the Activities that
achieve this business’s Goals?

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 How much of these stocks exist on this, our single finite planet, and what share of them does this business gain privileged
access to achieve its Goals?

How quickly are these stocks replenished, if at all, by the output of the Ecosystem Services? Does this replenishment
occur at the same or different location?

How does the change in the quality, quantity or location of each stock impact the flourishing of Ecosystem Services; the
quantity and quality of their outcomes?

Where are these stocks located at all times and in all transformations as a result of the Activities of this business?

How much value is co-created or co-destroyed for all the Ecosystem Actors in this business by the movement or
transformation of these stocks?

Guidance:
Consider that all material beneath, on, or above the Earth’s crust (to the edge of the atmosphere), whether inanimate or
living, is a Biophysical Stock. This includes all raw materials, all partly or finished goods, all waste, all animals (including
humans), all plants, etc.

Consult The Natural Step Four System Conditions for a Sustainable Society for more guidance.

Q15-Activities (AC)

Question: Activities

What value adding work, organized into business processes, is required to achieve this business’s Goals?

What Activities are required to enable each Value Co-Creation, Value Co-Destruction, and realize the required Relationship
Equity via each Channel for each Stakeholder?

Guidance
Consider:

– Whether the Activity is creating a product or enabling a service

– Whether the business process is core (e.g. Order to Cash), enabling (e.g. Requisition to Pay), infrastructure (e.g.
Idea to Commercialization, Hire to Retire) or governance (e.g. Lead and Manage)?

– The Resources (tangible and intangible) and associated capabilities required for each Activity

– Whether the Activity require a formal Partnership agreement with another Stakeholder in order to execute reliably;
at the necessary level of timeliness and quality.

– Whether the Activity requires a flow from one or more Ecosystem Services in order to be executed now and / or
overtime. If so, what is the quantity and quality of that Ecosystem Service flow?

– Whether the work of an Activity (e.g. energy used to move or transform a Biophysical Stock) will benefit from,
cause (irrevocable) harm to or contribute to the flourishing of an Ecosystem Service?

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Q16-Ecosystem Services (ES)

Question: Ecosystem Services

Which flows of benefits from what Ecosystem Services are used in, required by, harmed or improved by this business’s
Activities

Guidance
Consider that:

– Ecosystem Services transform and / or move Biophysical Stocks without any involvement of any part of society,
usually ultimately powered by solar energy.

– The transformation and / or movement of these stocks create flows of benefits vital to the survival and to the
potential for flourishing of humans and other life.

– The distribution of those benefit flows varies enormously from place to place on our single shared finite planet: a
fair share of benefits from an Ecosystem Flow depends on the location and other contextual factors.

– The current rate and location of the flow of these benefits: will the Activities of this business change those flows –
location, quantity or quality?

– These benefit flows may change over time for many reasons: Is this business’s Activities contributing to this
change?

– How much value is co-created or co-destroyed for all the Ecosystem Actors in this business model by these flows
of Ecosystem Service benefits?

Example
See World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD)’s Corporate Ecosystem Service Review v2.0. This
provides a comprehensive list of Ecosystem Services and their flows of benefits, as well as guidelines for identifying
business risks and opportunities arising for ecosystem change.

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