Opportunities for businesses to use and support development of SEEA-aligned natural capital accounts

Jane Carter Ingram; Kenneth J. Bagstad; Michael Vardon; Charles Rhodes; Stephen M. Posner; Clyde F. Casey; Pierre D. Glynn; Carl D. Shapiro

doi:10.1016/j.ecoser.2022.101434

Opportunities for businesses to use and support development of SEEA-aligned natural capital accounts

Ecosystem Services

By: Jane Carter Ingram, Kenneth J. Bagstad, Michael Vardon, Charles Rhodes, Stephen M. Posner, Clyde F. Casey, Pierre D. Glynn, and Carl D. Shapiro

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoser.2022.101434

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Abstract

Global understanding of the interconnections between the environment and economy has increased, driving the development of frameworks and standards that support the measurement and valuation of natural capital and ecosystem services by both governments and businesses. This paper outlines how businesses can use natural capital accounts (NCA) aligned to the System of Environmental Economic Accounting (SEEA) standard described in this special issue to support identification, management, and valuation of natural capital not typically listed on corporate balance sheets. Such accounts have direct applications for business strategic planning, investment decisions, supply chain management, operations management, risk management, and corporate reporting. Businesses also have important roles to play in advancing SEEA-aligned NCA by providing information that would be useful to include in the accounts and by helping to shape accounts to provide decision-relevant information for both the private and the public sectors. Current pilot SEEA-aligned NCA data and analyses developed for the United States can help address some of the common challenges that businesses face in using natural capital data such as accessibility, quality, and credibility, important for business decision making. However, improvements are needed to fill data gaps and produce more frequent and timely estimates aligned to the temporal resolution needed by businesses.

Additional publication details
Publication type	Article
Publication Subtype	Journal Article
Title	Opportunities for businesses to use and support development of SEEA-aligned natural capital accounts
Series title	Ecosystem Services
DOI	10.1016/j.ecoser.2022.101434
Volume	55
Year Published	2022
Language	English
Publisher	Elsevier
Contributing office(s)	Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center
Description	101434, 11 p.
Google Analytic Metrics	Metrics page