While it may seem perverse to say so, in cold mechanistic terms the Earth’s value to humans lies in it providing us with the means to carry on doing stuff – not in either its inherent value (what we would pay to keep it) or in its value when broken up and traded (what we would get if we sold it).
A focus upon social utility – the overall wellbeing that a company brings to society – is a defining characteristic of the companies that will thrive and shape the 21st century.