The Importance of Natural Capital in Business

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Natural capital is the stock of renewables and non-renewable natural resources. It includes plants, animals, water and minerals that together provide a flow of benefits to people. Without bees, there's no pollination in almonds or orchards; so almond growers have to pay for them.

We’re seeing more companies and countries start to account for the value of nature. In this episode of ESG Insider, we'll hear from two people well-placed to explain how the world has historically done little to understand the way nature benefits the economy — and how that is now evolving.

For the global perspective, we talk with Martin Lok, Executive Director of the Capitals Coalition, a global collaboration that advocates for companies to identify, measure and value their impacts and dependencies on natural capital, social capital and human capital.

We also explore how the US is moving to put nature on the nation's balance sheet. The Biden administration announced the strategy in January 2023 with the goal of better understanding how nature contributes to the US economy. To learn more about what this strategy entails, we talk with Aniket Shah, Managing Director and Global Head of Environmental, Social and Governance and Sustainability Research at the financial services company Jefferies Group.

Photo source: Getty Images

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