Environmental violence and enterprise: The outsized role of business for environmental peacebuilding

Abstract

Environmental violence (EV) is the complex of direct and indirect impacts of human-produced pollution on human health and wellbeing. Today, EV is the single largest cause of human mortality and morbidity, resulting in around 8 to 9 million deaths annually and about 275 million years of poor health every year. By comparison, about 89,000 people die from warfare and terrorism each year combined—more than 100 times fewer. EV also drives mass human migration, which displaces about 24 million people annually and is cited as a growing contributory—or even causal—factor for violent conflict. To realize the promise of business for peace, the implications of EV and the systemic suffering it produces must be addressed. This article examines the role of business in producing and mitigating EV and the possibility of reversing it via regenerative practices. It then maps and measures the primary links between business and EV and outlines paths to environmental peacebuilding. Although business is shown to be a chief contributor to EV, this article ultimately argues that it is also one of the most potent tools for countering it and equitably restoring affected communities and ecosystems.