The field
What is natural capital accounting?
An introduction to the field: what accounts are, how they differ from one-off assessments, and where the international standard fits.
Natural capital accounting organises information about ecosystems, environmental assets and their relationships with the economy and society. It provides consistent measures that can be repeated over time and used in public policy, business decisions, research and community debate.
How accounts differ from one-off assessments
Unlike a single environmental study or valuation, accounts are structured, repeatable and comparable. They use agreed definitions and classifications so that measures can be compared across places and updated year after year — in much the same way that economic accounts track the economy.
That repeatability is what makes accounts useful in decisions. A one-off study answers a question at a moment in time; an account lets you ask the same question next year, and the year after, and see what has changed.
Natural capital, ecosystem and environmental-economic accounting
Environmental-economic accounting is the broad field that links environmental information to the economy. Ecosystem accounting focuses on ecosystems — their extent, condition and the services they provide. Natural capital accounting often describes the same work from the perspective of the assets, or stocks, that underpin those services.
The terms overlap, and the Society uses natural capital accounting as an inclusive label for the field.
The role of the SEEA
The United Nations System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA) is the international statistical standard for this work. It provides the concepts, classifications and accounting rules that make accounts consistent and comparable. The SEEA has two main parts:
- The Central Framework — physical flows, environmental assets and environmental activity, in the terms of the national accounts.
- Ecosystem Accounting — the extent and condition of ecosystems and the services they supply to the economy and to people.
The Central Framework is currently being updated, with global consultations running through 2026 and completion expected in 2028. The Society's technical working group is a channel for coordinated practitioner input to that process.
Links with corporate reporting and disclosure
Businesses and financial institutions are developing their own approaches to measuring and disclosing their dependence and impact on nature. These build on many of the same ideas as the SEEA. A shared professional community can help public and private approaches learn from one another, rather than duplicating each other's work.
Decisions informed by accounts
Accounts have informed water management, land use planning, environmental policy, corporate sustainability strategy and national reporting on progress. In each case the value came from having a consistent, repeatable picture rather than a single snapshot.
Where to go next
The Society's technical working group