Biodiversity and Natural Capital
Enhancing the habitats and ecosystem processes that connect and sustain us. Biodiversity loss directly impacts human livelihoods and economic prosperity. It’s fundamental that organizations seeking to decarbonize and address wider sustainability challenges take biodiversity and natural capital into account.
The biodiversity of the natural world has intrinsic value. It’s also critical for the co-benefits it provides to the climate, human health, social cohesion and economic resilience. There is an interdependency among nature, people and society – and a healthy biosphere is what underpins everything.
Biodiversity is a critical issue for all organizations. The organizations that thrive in the 21st century will be those that recognize this and work to understand how a healthy biosphere supports every stage of their operations, from supply chains and circular economy to net zero and decarbonization.
Multi-Disciplinary Thinking Across Sectors
As a multidisciplinary consultancy, we provide clients with strategies and solutions that address their broader objectives across the built and natural environment. Our capabilities in biodiversity and natural capital help to enhance ecological value from initial conception and approvals, through detailed design to construction, development and ongoing operations, as well as site closure and rehabilitation.
We work with clients to support biodiversity and natural capital in a wide range of sectors, including infrastructure (transportation, power and energy, water), development (real estate, construction, urban planning), public sector (all levels of government), financial institutions (private equity, international financing corporations, development banks), mining, industry, conservation authorities and not-for-profit organizations.
Accounting for Natural Capital
Biodiversity isn’t just an environmental issue – it’s also a social and financial issue. By considering “natural capital” – those elements of the natural environment that benefit people, the economy and society – companies and governments are better able to incorporate the value of nature into project planning and decision-making. Our natural capital approach helps clients uncover the true economic costs (externalities) of biodiversity loss and diminished ecosystem function, providing a better understanding of how to manage the associated risks, enhance value and increase resilience in a changing world.
Nature-Based Solutions for the Built Environment
The natural environment provides individuals, local communities and wider society with numerous “ecosystem services” and amenities, such as storm water management, recreation and clean air and water. We provide clients with nature-based solutions for green infrastructure that support ecosystem function by integrating biodiversity into the fabric of the built environment, such as constructed wetlands, vegetated roofs, living shorelines, wildlife corridors and future ready landscapes. Nature-based solutions are also integral for achieving net zero and decarbonization commitments.
Enhancing Habitats and Restoring Ecosystems
Our hands-on capabilities also extend into the field. We design approaches for restoring habitat integrity and improving the processes and function of degraded ecological systems, leading to long-term recovery and resilience. Species inventories, habitat mapping and monitoring, wildlife connectivity assessments and the integration of biodiversity into Environmental and Social Impact Assessments further supports habitat enhancement.
Strategic Advisory and Guidance
We provide organizations with strategic advice and guidance for incorporating a natural capital approach into environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategy, including contributing to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs), as well as public reporting that integrates financial and ecological performance data.
We provide clients with in-house training, capacity building, bespoke toolkit development and access to thought leadership through partnerships and applied R&D. These serve to help organizations understand the challenges and opportunities related to natural capital – and how they can serve to benefit themselves, the natural world and the communities in which we live, work and play.