Overview
Natural capital accounting is a tool to measure the changes in the stock and condition of natural capital (ecosystems) at a variety of scales and to integrate the flow and value of ecosystem services into accounting and reporting systems in a standard way.
Based on the United Nations new statistical framework, it provides a common set of rules and methods to track changes in ecosystems and their services across policy areas.
The EU strives to promote environmentally responsible business practices. Natural capital accounting has the potential to provide a concrete basis for business performance reporting by explicitly mapping out impacts and/or dependencies on natural resources and placing monetary value on them.
See some good practises:
- EU LIFE project Transparent - Developing a standardized methodology for natural capital accounting in business:
- Align project - Aligning Accounting Approaches for Nature
Policy
On 11 July 2022, the Commission adopted a proposal to amend Regulation (EU) 691/2011 on European environmental economic accounts adding new modules. One of these is on Ecosystem accounts, including ecosystem extent accounts (for 12 broad types of ecosystems), ecosystem services accounts in physical terms for seven ecosystem services, and ecosystem condition accounts for five types of ecosystems and using nine condition indicators in total.
The Regulation (EU) 2024/3024 entered into force on 6 December 2024.
