Earlier last week the B4E Climate Summit was held in London. The President of COP20, Peruvian Minister for the Environment Manuel Pulgar-Vidal Otalora, asked over 100 sustainability and business professionals what corporates, government and society needed to do to become Net Positive.

Simple. Just put more back than you take, right?

If WWF’s latest Living Planet report is an indicator, with over half the world’s animals disappearing since the 1970’s, as a society we are falling way short of net positive biodiversity outcomes.

But can a business define what it means to be net positive or even neutral? How about specifically on carbon, water, or forests? How can they measure and report their impact on both their direct and indirect water use, for example? It seems it is not that easy to describe the point at which you are water neutral.

Net positivism was discussed throughout the day, after it was seeded by the morning’s panel of business and NGO leaders. Where is the neutral line, how far is net positive financially viable and who should regulate this?

Businesses could be encouraged to introduce their own method of measuring and controlling rather than waiting for regulations. Mark Kenber, CEO of the Climate Group, pointed to organisations that are introducing their own carbon pricing as an example of where business can lead and take action ahead of regulation. It was suggested that with ambition, deeper research, analysis and collaboration we can attempt to quantify what it means to be net positive. But what then?

Collaboration was another key focus throughout most discussions. Amongst all the great ideas for businesses to become net positive, there seemed to be a consensus that corporates, civil society, governments and ‘citizens’ needed to work together to research and implement solutions for creating a restorative economy.

I asked David Nussbaum, WWF-UK Chief Executive, where he thought business could start. 'Every business should be asking themselves what they can do to restore nature that has been lost. We need more disruptive thinking, well beyond 'business as usual', and innovative partnerships that drive change at scale'.

Many of the solutions discussed on the day are being written up to be sent to Lima in December. We have twelve months until COP21. Will Net Positive be on the table as a way of framing the debate or is that too ambitious?

In any case, Manuel Pulgar-Vidal might tell you not to go to Paris. His closing remark to the morning’s introduction highlighted his ambition for COP20 and beyond. “Don’t come to Lima, unless you want to change the world”.

Dean Cambridge, WWF-UK