The Natural Capital Protocol will be officially launched on 13 July after businesses completed testing a draft of the global framework for measuring and valuing their direct and indirect impacts and dependencies on nature.
The protocol, which is being developed by the Natural Capital Coalition, has been piloted by more than 50 companies, including ten firms described as ‘deep-divers’, which elected to apply it in full. They were: The Coca-Cola Company, F. Hoffmann-La Roche, Kering, Natura, The Dow Chemical Company, Hugo Boss, Nestlé, Olam International, Nespresso and Shell. More than 40 other companies have applied stages of the framework to their operations to test and validate the approach, while a further 500 organisations have provided feedback.
On the extent of business interest, Mark Gough, executive director at the coalition, said: ‘The levels of support and constructive ideas we have received is astounding, and the community is proving that collaboration on this scale can deliver robust and practical results.”
Dr Gemma Cranston, senior programme manager at the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership, which led the testing phase, said feedback from the pilots was being collated. ‘Testing the protocol with companies is essential to ensure the final product is relevant, accessible and valuable to businesses. The input and contributions from all the pilot testers are a fundamental part of the process.’
Gough said the coalition had already received significant interest from organisations wanting to use it to help them include nature in their future decision-making.
Sector guides will also be published in July, he confirmed.
