Societal Impact of the Catalan Cork Industry: Measuring Its Socioeconomic and Environmental Value

Silvia Ayuso (), Albert Hereu and Eduard Ventalló
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Silvia Ayuso: Escola Superior de Comerç Internacional (ESCI-UPF), Pompeu Fabra University, 08003 Barcelona, Spain
Albert Hereu: Catalan Cork Institute Foundation, 17200 Palafrugell, Spain
Eduard Ventalló: Catalan Cork Institute Foundation, 17200 Palafrugell, Spain

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 13, 1-17

Abstract: Despite widespread recognition of the potential of cork oak forests and the cork industry to generate societal value, few comprehensive efforts have been made to quantify this value. This paper seeks to analyze and monetarily assess the overall value that the Catalan cork industry creates for society. To achieve this, it applies Integrated Social Value (ISV) analysis, a social accounting model that evaluates both the economic and social value generated by an organization for its stakeholders. Additionally, it incorporates the valuation of ecosystem services to provide a more holistic perspective. The magnitudes of the performed value estimations show that the environmental value of the analyzed Catalan cork companies is at least as high as the socioeconomic value. This study makes two key contributions. First, it extends the application of the ISV model to an entire industry—comprising interconnected companies operating within the same business sphere—while addressing specific challenges in the value calculation. Second, it integrates ISV analysis with the existing framework for valuing ecosystem services, thereby capturing the environmental value of the natural resources on which the industry relies.

Keywords: socioeconomic value; social accounting; integrated social value; environmental value; ecosystem services valuation; monetization; stakeholders; cork industry (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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