Environmental Profit and Loss (EP&L)

Enviromental Profit and Loss (EP&L) is a former project supported by Axfoundation. The aim was to value the natural capital that a company uses to run its business.

With support from Axfoundation, Axfood was the first company in Sweden to have done an EP&L.

Doing an environmental profit and loss (EP&L) analysis involves monetarily valuing the natural capital that a company uses to run its business. The report Natural Capital at Risk: The Top 100 Externalities of Business presents calculations showing that the top 100 external environmental costs impact the global economy by about USD 4.7 trillion per year in terms of economic consequences from greenhouse gas emissions, loss of natural resources, loss of ecosystem services such as carbon storage in forests, climate change and air pollution related health care costs.

Axfood First in Sweden with EP&L

Together with Axfoundation, Axfood is the first company in Sweden to have done an EP&L, and it’s of two products that are very important to Axfood: beef and tomatoes. Using the firm Trucost, tomatoes from Holland, Sweden and Spain were analyzed along with beef from Brazil, Sweden and Ireland. The results will serve as support in Axfood’s purchases of these goods. Read the summary of the results.

In the spring of 2014, Filippa K decided to be the first fashion company in Sweden to do an EP&L of a number of selected items.

More information

An analysis by natural capital consulting firm Trucost centered on soybean and palm oil crop production in Brazil underscores the environmental value of agroforestry cultivation. It also offers vivid evidence of why more companies should account for the environmental impact of their business practices. Read more.

More information on EP&L can be found at Natural Capital Coalition.