Full Description

This document specifies a methodological framework for the monetary valuation of environmental impacts and related environmental aspects. Environmental impacts include impacts on human health, and on the built and natural environment. Environmental aspects include releases and the use of natural resources.

The monetary valuation methods in this document can also be used to better understand organizations' dependencies on the environment.

During the planning of the monetary valuation, the intended use of the results is considered but the use itself is outside the scope of this document.

In this document, monetary valuation is a way of expressing value in a common unit, for use in comparisons and trade-offs between different environmental issues and between environmental and other issues. The monetary value to be determined includes some or all values reflected in the concept of total economic value. An anthropocentric perspective is taken, which asserts that natural environment has value in so far as it gives utility (well-being) to humans. The monetary values referred to in this document are economic values applied in trade-offs between alternative resource allocations, and not absolute values.

This document does not include costing or accounting, although some valuation methods have the term cost in their name. This document does not include the development of models linking environmental aspects to environmental impacts.

NOTE In this document, what is valued in monetary terms is either environmental impacts or environmental aspects. When valuing environmental impacts of an organization, it is important that links between environmental aspects and environmental impacts are established.