How Could Companies Engage in Sustainable Landscape Management? An Exploratory Perspective

• Main Authors: Paul Opdam, Eveliene Steingröver
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2018-01-01
• Series: Sustainability
• Subjects: landscape governance; landscape services; landscape-inclusive solutions; nature-based solutions; business engagement; green economy; supply chain
• Online Access: http://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/10/1/220

Current concepts that aim to align economic development with sustainability, such as the circular and green economy, often consider natural systems as externalities. We extend the green economy concept by including the landscape as the provider of social, economic and environmental values. Our aim is to explore how companies could engage in creating landscape-inclusive solutions for sustainable landscapes. We propose a conceptual model of the relationship between companies and landscape services based on a demand for landscape benefits by companies, implications for wider society. We present a short overview of how scientists addressed the role of companies in landscape-inclusive solutions. We also give some examples taken from the World Wide Web to illustrate the variety of ways in which companies already invest in landscape services. Our findings suggest that the relationship between companies and landscapes is not yet strongly recognized in sustainability science. However, examples from practice show that some companies do recognize the added values of landscape services, to the extent that they invest in landscape management. We conclude that future research should provide information on the added value of landscape-inclusive solutions to companies, and increase their capacity to engage in regional social–ecological networks.