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On March 18th, The Future Economy Network (FEN) hosted a morning session entitled “The role of Natural Capital” which was attended by a large range of delegates. Before the event began, the attendees enjoyed some pre-sessional networking in small breakout rooms facilitated by the FEN team.
Katherine Piper, Director of the Future Economy Network, welcomed attendees to the event and highlighted the benefits of joining the network. Katherine also shared updates about the Carbon Neutral Hub in Bristol, Future Leap as well as briefly running through plans for the Festival of Sustainable Business, in light of new Government guidance towards the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jenny Hughes and Bruce Horton from Stantec kicked off the morning session by reviewing how natural capital can be applied in decision-making for businesses. As advocates for nature-based solutions within business, Jenny and Bruce tackled questions such as:
· What is Natural Capital?
· Why should businesses care?
· And how do we measure natural capital?
Next up, we welcomed Caroline Bush, a Senior Associate at Osborne Clarke, who presented on the changing relationship between law and natural capital. She highlighted the growing value placed on natural capital at both local and global levels and the future importance of practices such as ESG in ensuring the longevity of nature-based solutions within the sphere.
Finally, Rebecca Nohl, a Scientific Advisor for the Dasgupta Review provided insightful commentary on the report and the relationship that exists between economics and nature. Rebecca discussed the role of our financial system in allowing for sustainable engagement with nature and how we can use financial flows to enhance our natural environment.
Throughout, the audience were encouraged to ask questions which stimulated widespread debate on the changing attitudes towards natural capital. Multiple attendees made use of the 60 second pitch opportunity, including Garrett Creative, Claric Legal, Urban Landscape Architects and the Environmental Education Project. Thank you to all of the speakers and attendees, which without our events calendar would not be possible.
Write up written by Laura O’Brien, MSc Climate Change Science and Policy, University of Bristol