The Economic Burden of Air Pollution’s Health Impact. Evaluating Single Businesses Value Chains on a Global Scale

Abstract

Air pollution is a major cause of morbidity and mortality. Since air pollution tends to concentrate around theemission point, its precise geographical assessment is particularly important. With the present work, we proposea new method to assess the impacts of any company’s emissions on human health and the economy. We addressthe challenge of discovering, measuring, and managing the risks associated with externalities from air emissions.The methodology is accessible via the online tool for companies (Impact Valuation Engine). Our method allowsspatially explicit analysis of the local impacts for each individual asset of the company; the outputs are specificat a resolution of 0.5° × 0.5°. For financial institutions, we provide the aggregated impacts embedded in theirinvestment portfolios. Our analysis can help financial institutions reduce the overall footprint of their portfolios,meet sustainable investment targets, and comply with current regulations such as Sustainable Finance DisclosureRegulation and European Union Taxonomy.