The World Economic Forum (WEF) has released a community paper encouraging uptake of natural capital accounting in all businesses.
Titled Mainstreaming Natural Capital, the paper summarises the incredible progress made to date in embedding the value of natural capital in decision-making, including through:
- global standards for natural capital accounting in the System of Environmental Economic Accounting (SEEA)
- expanded frameworks for assessing nature risks and opportunities in the Taskforce on Nature-Related Financial Disclosures (TNFD).
The WEF’s paper recognises that discussion of natural capital has expanded beyond a dedicated community of practitioners and now includes governments, businesses, investors and civil society organisations, with the potential for wider and more connected application of sustainable development solutions.
The community paper poses and addresses the following questions:
- What market mechanisms can systematically value and/or price nature?
- How can we make data more accessible, solve methodological challenges, and build greater capacity?
- How do we make natural capital approaches more accessible for businesses?
- How can we enhance public-private collaboration to mainstream natural capital?
- How can we elevate nature in politics and culture?
The WEF recognizes the value of the natural capital approach
The WEF inaugurated the Natural Capital Initiative in 2024 to elevate natural capital on the global socioeconomic agenda and bring natural capital based decision making into the mainstream.
Their broader efforts to unlock greater financing for nature include:
- Mainstreaming natural capital in global socioeconomic systems
- Guiding the finance sector’s transition to nature positive
- Championing innovative financial instruments to tackle the global biodiversity finance gap.
In 2025, the WEF will inaugurate a ‘Global Futures Council on Natural Capital’ in 2025. This council will include 20 experts with diverse backgrounds who will work on problem-solving and engagement in natural capital over the next two years.
Find out more about the WEF’s approaches to natural capital in the community paper here.