Climateworks Centre is an Australian non-profit organisation that bridges research and action, to achieve the system-level transitions required to reach net zero emissions across Australia, Southeast Asia and the Pacific. It works across economic sectors including the land, food and oceans sectors which are both vulnerable to climate change and also part of the climate change solution.

Climateworks Centre brings together key stakeholders to understand what a sustainable Australian food, agriculture and land use system might look like and how it can be achieved. As a result of this participatory approach with experts in government, the private sector, research and community organisations, Climateworks Centre has contributed to growing momentum around natural capital, with a boom in recent projects including the Natural Capital Investment Initiative.

Project Overview

The widespread adoption of innovative and sustainable land practices relies on measuring and valuing environmental ‘assets’ to encourage the adoption of best practices. ‘Natural capital’ has both financial and non-financial value, it encourages sustainable land practices.

A myriad of approaches to measuring natural capital have emerged across industries and land use types, but this fragmentation is currently a barrier to more widespread adoption for improved decision-making and the development of environmental markets at scale. There is widespread agreement that convergence around a common language and core set of natural capital measurements is required. Given the global momentum in this space, convergence will happen over the next decade, presenting a unique opportunity for Australia to position itself at the forefront, play a role in guiding the international outcome and secure its leadership in global agricultural markets.

The Natural Capital Investment Initiative seeks to meet this market need for convergence on a common language and core set of natural capital measurements by developing an open-source, Natural Capital Measurement Catalogue covering all major private land use types including agriculture, forestry, conservation and indigenous-managed lands. The Natural Capital Measurement Catalogue is designed to facilitate the integration of natural capital considerations into land management, business, financial and government decision-making. The Natural Capital Investment Initiative also aims to encourage private and public incentives for land managers at all scales to regularly measure and improve natural capital.

The Natural Capital Measurement Catalogue aims to create an overarching framework that incorporates and aligns with existing international and national measurement frameworks and industry sustainability standards. It also recognises that different natural capital measures and methodologies serve different objectives and consequently allows for varied approaches to measuring elements of natural capital.

Macdoch Foundation funds Phase 2 of this work which involves the prototyping, piloting and testing of the Natural Capital Measurement Catalogue.

For more information, visit Climateworks Centre