Handbook on Environmental Value Factors

Abstract

With the new version of "The Handbook on Environmental Value Factors – Methodological Convention 4.0", UBA provides a comprehensive update of its environmental value factors for Greenhouse gases and other pollutants and a number of economic activities. The new handbook replaces the Methodological Convention 3.2. Environmental value factors reflect the societal benefits of environmental protection – and the costs that society incurs if environmental protection is neglected. They translate the environmental impact of pollutant emissions or economic activities into monetary units and thus enable comparison and aggregation across different environmental impacts. The value factors can be used, for example, in the corporate sector to support management decisions, monetize the environmental impacts of financial investments and sustainability reporting. In the public sector, they can help to assess the impact of regulation and infrastructure investments.