Corporate Payments for Ecosystem Services in Theory and Practice: Links to Economics, Business, and Sustainability

Paying for green: A scoping review of alternative financing models for nature-based solutions

Nature-based solutions (NBS) are widely regarded as cost-effective responses to climate change and environmental degradation that also provide numerous co-benefits. However, despite significant policy attention, NBS plans often fail to materialize due to public budget shortfalls. Alongside traditional public finance, the international debate increasingly urges the mobilization of private capital for NBS through alternative financing (AF) techniques. In this scoping review, we examine the literature on a) the AF models connected to NBS and b) the drivers and barriers associated with these AF models in terms of their financial technicity and their embeddedness in the political, economic, social, technological, legal/institutional, and environmental/spatial ("PESTLE") context. Although many models are discussed, the results indicate that none can be considered full substitutes for traditional public finance. Barriers and drivers converge around seven overarching tensions: new revenue and risk distribution vs. uncertainty, budgetary and legal pressure vs. political willingness and risk aversion, market demand vs. market failures, private sector engagement vs. social acceptance and risks, legal and institutional conduciveness vs. inertia, and upscaling potential vs. environmental risks and land use. Future research should focus on a) how to further integrate NBS monitoring, quantification, valuation, and monetization into AF models, b) systemic and empirical approaches to improve the understanding of the applicability and transferability of AF models, and c) an exploration of the potential qualities and social risks of AF models in NBS governance arrangements.

Incorporating Sustainability and Maintenance for Performance Assessment of Offshore Oil and Gas Platforms: A Perspective

The existence of external two-fold pressure regarding competitiveness and sustainable development in a capital-intensive industry supports the need for sustainable performance. However, endeavors to create a sustainable framework to measure the performance of the oil and gas (O&G) industry are mostly devoted to the production and supply chain of petrochemical products and rarely focus on a maintenance perspective. Motivated by such scarcity, the goal of this research was to discuss and articulate the performance assessment framework by integrating concepts of maintenance and sustainability in the O&G industry. This study proposed the use of a range of performance measures for assessing sustainability on offshore production and drilling platforms. The conceptual framework consists of four aspects of sustainability categorized into technical, environmental, social, and economic dimensions. Each measure was assigned according to its relevance at the strategic, tactical, and functional levels of maintenance decision making. The conceptual framework resulted in hierarchical clusters of twelve strategic indicators. These indicators consist of conventional measures as well as new ones relating to the safety and reliability on offshore platforms. The potential contribution of the present study is found in its intention to empower a better understanding of sustainable maintenance and encourage those making decisions about practical implementation within the O&G industry. This paper culminates with directions for future studies.