In response to the Sustainability Value: A New Definition of Value? item in last week’s BVWire, a Business Valuation Resource's customer shared a valuation report with us that included a reduction in the discount rate based on the target company’s “green” initiative.  The appraiser reduced the company-specific risk calculation by 0.1 based on the appraiser’s judgment that the small food business, which had eliminated nearly all of its waste by working with suppliers to get rid of packaging, was “more sustainable than competitors and was building a stronger brand in the market.”   In this particular case, the reduction in discount rate increased the final fair market value approximately $20,000.  The appraiser suggested that other BV consultants might consider adding language to their valuation reports along the lines of “no adjustment of value was considered based on the environmental practices” for target companies that are less committed to this issue—“at least this would show that you considered sustainability in your analysis,” he told the BVWire.