ESG2310. Accounting for Nature

Responsible
stewardship of nature is essential to society’s well-being. Businesses
rely on natural resources as inputs for production throughout their value
chains and their business activities affect nature. This session
introduces what nature change means for business including how business
activities impact nature loss and the risks and opportunities businesses face
through their dependency on nature. Regulators and investors are
interested in how companies manage the financial impacts of nature. The session
will cover the regulatory landscape around nature and the various standards and
frameworks to report on nature-related risks and opportunities. The
session will also explain natural capital accounting which enables measurement
of the contribution of the environment to the economy or business and the
impact of the economy or business on the environment. This session will cover
the steps necessary for companies to get started on their nature journey.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify how nature is increasingly important in business considerations
• Recognize the regulatory landscape around nature and the various voluntary nature-related reporting frameworks
• Recall the building blocks of natural capital accounting.
• Recognize the steps to developing a plan for nature action.