Companies increasingly measure and value the natural resources – or natural capital – used in their operations, shifting financial assessments beyond traditional income statements and balance sheets. This expansive approach enables firms to track their use of natural capital and production of benefits as well as associated impacts. By tracking the use of water, energy, soil, and other natural resources and related emissions, companies can measure their progress in strengthening bottom lines while improving environmental and societal outcomes.
In identifying and quantifying a value chain’s dependence on various ecosystem services – e.g. precipitation, soil quality, and pollination – companies that perform natural capital measurement and valuation provide information vital to strengthening corporate performance and building environmental resiliency. A robust understanding of a company’s use of natural capital helps the firm mitigate risks, as well as identify and exploit opportunities to increase profits and reduce losses. In many cases, the natural capital value chain affects not only the company’s natural resource base but also the livelihoods of local stakeholders.
Indufor helps companies together with local stakeholders to identify the material impacts and dependencies in their value chain. In consultation with firm management, we develop customised measurement and valuation techniques. In decades of work, we have developed guidance for forest sector entities on how to incorporate natural capital valuation in their decision-making and, as a member of the Natural Capital Coalition, we have contributed to the Natural Capital Protocol’s Forest Products Sector Guide.
Our services in this area include:
- Value chain analysis
- Landscape analysis
- Risk assessment
- Impact measurement
- Natural and social capital valuation
- Cost-benefit analysis and scenario planning
- Training on valuation techniques
We combine services on sustainability metrics with expertise in forestry and natural resource management and environmental and social standards. Depending on our client’s needs, we provide concrete recommendations on changes in management practices or policies and guidance on compliance and disclosure in accordance with mandatory or voluntary standards.
In addition to working with private companies, we support other organisations, including governments seeking to understand a particular sector’s reliance and impacts on natural capital, specific interventions’ outcomes, development trajectories, and natural capital’s contributions to the broader economy and social welfare.
Example projects:
- IFC Natural Capital Program: Rwanda, Indonesia, Philippines
- Omidyar Network Rural Valuation Tool
Area Experts
Jeffrey Hatcher is the Managing Director of Indufor North America, which provides sustainability and investment consulting services to public and private clients. He previously served as Director of Global Programs for the Rights and Resources Group where he led analytical projects on forest tenure policies, climate change, and investment risks. He began his career at the FAO Emergency and Land Tenure services in Sudan supporting the implementation of the land policy provisions of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and land restitution for internally displaced people. He holds an MBA with a focus on finance from INSEAD, an MA in Development Studies from the University of Pavia, and a BA in International Relations from the College of William and Mary.
Blair Freeman, Head of Strategy and Sustainability with Indufor Asia Pacific (Australia), holds a Bachelor of Forest Science degree from the University of Melbourne and a Masters of Business Administration from the Australian Graduate School of Management.
Blair has over 20 years of experience in providing advisory services on forest policy, strategic planning, natural resource management and sustainable development, across Australia and the Asia Pacific region.
As project director and project manager, Blair has led a range of complex multi-disciplinary projects, including strategic reviews and program reviews relating to forest industry development, conservation and natural resources management. These projects have encompassed extensive stakeholder consultation and the provision of consulting advice to public and private sector clients, at executive and senior government levels.