ISO 14054:2025
(Main)Natural capital accounting for organizations — Principles, requirements and guidance
Natural capital accounting for organizations — Principles, requirements and guidance
This document provides terminology, principles, requirements and guidance for the preparation of natural capital accounts for organizations. Natural capital accounts quantify the impacts from the organization’s activities on natural capital, or the dependencies of the organization on natural capital, or both. The scope of natural capital accounts can be expanded to cover activities in the organization’s value chain. There are two types of natural capital accounts, each with supporting schedules: a) the natural capital income statement; b) the natural capital balance sheet. This document is applicable to all types of organizations (e.g. public, private (both listed and unlisted) or non-governmental organizations) across all sectors, and of any size (such as small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and larger businesses) and to one or more sites at which they operate. This document does not apply to national, sub-national or sector-wide natural capital accounts.
Comptabilité du capital naturel pour les organismes — Principes, exigences et recommandations
General Information
Standards Content (Sample)
International
Standard
ISO 14054
First edition
Natural capital accounting for
2025-10
organizations — Principles,
requirements and guidance
Comptabilité du capital naturel pour les organismes — Principes,
exigences et recommandations
Reference number
© ISO 2025
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ii
Contents Page
Foreword .v
Introduction .vi
1 Scope . 1
2 Normative references . 1
3 Terms and definitions . 1
3.1 Terms related to natural capital .1
3.2 Terms related to a natural capital account.3
3.3 Terms related to natural capital accounting.6
4 Principles . 7
4.1 General .7
4.2 Rigour .7
4.3 Completeness .7
4.4 Consistency .7
4.5 Credibility .7
4.6 Relevance .7
4.7 Transparency .7
5 Process of preparing a natural capital account . 8
5.1 General .8
5.2 Define the purpose of the natural capital accounting .9
5.3 Define the organization .9
5.4 Select the scope of the natural capital account .10
5.5 Select the type of natural capital account .10
5.6 Natural capital register .11
5.7 Undertake a materiality assessment .11
5.8 Identify interested parties and the extent of their involvement. 12
6 Collect data and conduct data quality assessment .13
6.1 General . 13
6.2 Attribution and apportionment . .14
6.3 Monetary valuation .14
6.4 Discounting of monetary values . 15
7 Natural capital income statement .15
7.1 General . 15
7.2 Increases in natural capital and associated natural capital benefits .17
7.3 Decreases in natural capital and associated natural capital benefits .17
7.4 Completed natural capital income statement .17
8 Natural capital balance sheet . .18
8.1 General .18
8.2 Natural capital risk register .19
8.3 Physical flow account .19
8.4 Monetary flow account . 20
8.5 Cost schedules . 20
8.5.1 General . 20
8.5.2 Maintenance cost schedule . 20
8.5.3 Production cost schedule .21
8.6 Completed natural capital balance sheet .21
9 Documentation, interpretation and integration .23
9.1 Documentation . 23
9.2 Interpretation . 25
9.2.1 Interpreting the natural capital income statement . 25
9.2.2 Interpreting the natural capital balance sheet . 26
9.3 Integration. 26
iii
9.3.1 Integration of natural capital accounting with financial accounting. 26
9.3.2 Integration of natural capital accounting into decision-making and reporting .27
Annex A (informative) Graphical representations in natural capital accounting .28
Annex B (informative) Examples of an organization’s purpose for natural capital accounting.30
Annex C (informative) Illustrating the choice of natural capital account and scope .32
Annex D (informative) Monetary valuation context and background .34
Annex E (informative) Hypothetical case study of a natural capital income statement and a
natural capital balance sheet of a farm .36
Bibliography . 41
iv
Foreword
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v
Introduction
This document presents the terminology, principles, requirements and guidance used to prepare natural
capital accounts to ensure the process is transparent, repeatable and generates information that is useful
for decision-making.
By combining financial, environmental and socio-economic information, natural capital accounting reveals
the value of nature to an organization or its value chain, and the rest of society, and the value of the impacts
or dependencies on nature from an organization’s activities or those attributed to its value chain. Both
market and non-market values are included in natural capital accounts, making the best use of qualitative,
quantitative and monetary methods of measurement.
A natural capital account is prepared for internal use and can also be reported externally. Users of natural
capital accounts can also identify the links to their financial accounts and disclosures.
The process of providing comprehensive and transparent information can help an organization:
— identify its impacts and dependencies, and that of its value chain, on natural capital, and the associated
risks and opportunities;
— communicate information and implications within the organization and with external interested parties;
— conduct scenario analysis to support strategy, risk management and operational decisions;
— consider the options for investing in natural capital or to manage impacts and dependencies on natural
capital;
— monitor natural capital and the impacts or dependencies on nature from an organization’s activities or
its value chain over time, including the effectiveness of the organization’s actions.
This document is intended to be used by those who will be preparing the natural capital accounts. These
can be environmental and sustainability professionals, accountants, economists and others, with sufficient
ecological, economic and other relevant knowledge, working in collaboration.
Natural capital accounts aim to provide information to managers of organizations, and interested parties
such as investors, auditors, assurance and certification bodies, regulators, policy makers, non-governmental
organizations, customers and the wider public. The process of preparing natural capital accounts can be as
informative as the results presented in the natural capital accounts.
A group of organizations that depend on the same natural capital (e.g. natural capital in a specific location
such as a water basin), or that are considering collaborating to change their impacts, may prepare joint
natural capital accounts specific to the shared natural capital. The information used to create the natural
capital accounts including their supporting schedules can come from different sources such as financial
accounts, environmental management systems, environmental, social and governance analysis, and other
economic, social and environmental analyses undertaken by the organization, or academic or official
publications (e.g. national or subnational natural capital accounts) or grey literature.
This document foresees that the process for preparing natural capital accounts includes scope choices, data
from different sources and of different quality, and assumptions. It requires that the process and results
be documented transparently. The requirements of this document can also be a basis for auditing natural
capital accounts.
vi
International Standard ISO 14054:2025(en)
Natural capital accounting for organizations — Principles,
requirements and guidance
1 Scope
This document provides terminology, principles, requirements and guidance for the preparation of natural
capital accounts for organizations.
Natural capital accounts quantify the impacts from the organization’s activities on natural capital, or the
dependencies of the organization on natural capital, or both.
The scope of natural capital accounts can be expanded to cover activities in the organization’s value chain.
There are two types of natural capital accounts, each with supporting schedules:
a) the natural capital income statement;
b) the natural capital balance sheet.
This document is applicable to all types of organizations (e.g. public, private (both listed and unlisted)
or non-governmental organizations) across all sectors, and of any size (such as small to medium-sized
enterprises (SMEs) and larger businesses) and to one or more sites at which they operate.
This document does not apply to national, sub-national or sector-wide natural capital accounts.
2 Normative references
There are no normative references in this document.
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.
ISO and IEC maintain terminology databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:
— ISO Online browsing platform: available at https:// www .iso .org/ obp
— IEC Electropedia: available at https:// www .electropedia .org/
3.1 Terms related to natural capital
3.1.1
natural capital
stock of renewable and non-renewable natural resources (e.g. plants, animals, air, water, soils, minerals) of
a given quality existing at a point in time that separately or in combination yield a flow of benefits to people
Note 1 to entry: Natural capital includes both living and non-living aspects. It includes biotopes, mountains, fields,
forests, meadows, unimproved land, minerals, oceans, glaciers, ice sheets, freshwater, microorganisms, wild fauna
and flora, electromagnetic spectrum, and geospatial orbit.
Note 2 to entry: Natural capital underpins all the other forms of capital (social, human, intellectual, financial and
manufactured). Natural capital, often in combination with other forms of capital, provides natural capital benefits
(3.1.4) over time.
Note 3 to entry: Natural capital includes assets owned by an organization (3.2.6), by others, or by no one. Natural
capital accounting (3.2.4) considers all natural capital assets regardless of ownership.
[SOURCE: ISO 14030-2:2021, 3.2.8, modified — “separately or in combination yield a flow of benefits to
people” added to definition. Notes to entry added.]
3.1.2
ecosystem
dynamic complex of communities of plants, animals and micro-organisms and their non-living environment
interacting as a functional entity
Note 1 to entry: Examples of ecosystems include deserts, coral reefs, oceans, glaciers, ice sheets, freshwater rivers,
lakes, wetlands, rainforests, boreal forests, grasslands, urban parks, and cultivated farmlands. See the Convention on
[6]
Biological Diversity, Article 2 , for more examples. Ecosystems can be influenced by human activity.
Note 2 to entry: There are numerous ecosystem classification systems. For example, the International Union for
[7]
Conservation of Nature Global Ecosystem Typology (IUCN GET) accommodates unique local ecosystem types and
integrates all ecosystem types globally into a single structure. Most countries, and often subnational regions, have
ecosystem classifications.
Note 3 to entry: People are part of ecosystems and, like all other living organisms, affect the processes taking place, as
well as deriving benefits from them.
[SOURCE: ISO 14050:2020, 3.2.3, modified — Notes to entry added.]
3.1.3
ecosystem service
ecological service
benefit people obtain from one or several ecosystems (3.1.2)
Note 1 to entry: Ecosystem services classification systems help collate data that can be used across natural capital
accounts (3.2.1). There are currently several prominent ecosystem services classifications: the Common International
[8]
Classification of Ecosystem Services (CICES) (version 5.1 or higher) , the United States Environmental Protection
[9]
Agency (USEPA) National Ecosystem Services Classification System (NESCS) , Intergovernmental Science-Policy
[10]
Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) and the United Nations System of Environmental-
[11]
Economic Accounting (UN SEEA), Chapter 6 .
[SOURCE: ISO 14050:2020, 3.2.4, modified — Admitted term and Note to entry added.]
3.1.4
natural capital benefit
good or service derived from natural capital (3.1.1) that are used and appreciated by people and which
contribute to individual and societal well-being (human welfare)
Note 1 to entry: Natural capital benefits can result from current or future use or appreciation of natural capital and
the knowledge that it exists, i.e. use and non-use motivations.
Note 2 to entry: Natural capital benefits include ecosystem services (3.1.3) and benefits from abiotic elements of nature.
Note 3 to entry: It is acknowledged that natural capital can also provide disservices or disutilities such as pests (e.g.
vector-borne disease, mosquitos, ticks) and pollution (e.g. natural arsenic in groundwater, areas with naturally higher
ionizing radiation).
3.1.5
biodiversity
variability among living organisms on the earth, including the variability within and between species, and
within and between ecosystems (3.1.2)
[SOURCE: ISO 14050:2020, 3.8.22, modified — Admitted term deleted.]
3.2 Terms related to a natural capital account
3.2.1
natural capital account
statement relating to natural capital benefits (3.1.4) and natural capital values (3.2.19) showing the impacts
(3.2.13) and dependencies (3.2.16) of an organization (3.2.6) or its value chain (3.2.8) on natural capital (3.1.1)
and costs
Note 1 to entry: The natural capital account is prepared according to the procedure specified in this document.
Note 2 to entry: Natural capital accounts comprise either a natural capital income statement (3.2.2) or a natural capital
balance sheet (3.2.3), or both, each with supporting schedules.
3.2.2
natural capital income statement
statement showing the increases and decreases in natural capital benefits (3.1.4) related to the activities
within the chosen natural capital account (3.2.1) scope during the natural capital accounting period (3.2.5)
3.2.3
natural capital balance sheet
statement showing natural capital values (3.2.19) and costs related to the activities within the chosen natural
capital account scope during the natural capital accounting period (3.2.5)
3.2.4
natural capital accounting
process of creating a natural capital account (3.2.1)
3.2.5
natural capital accounting period
time period during which the activities of an organization (3.2.6) occur or are projected to occur for which
impacts (3.2.13) and dependencies (3.2.16) on natural capital (3.1.1) are quantified
Note 1 to entry: The natural capital accounting period for the natural capital income statement (3.2.2) is the
organization’s financial reporting period. The natural capital income statement includes impacts in the impact horizon
(3.2.15) and dependencies in the dependency horizon (3.2.18). The same reporting date is applied to increases and
decreases in natural capital benefits (3.1.4).
Note 2 to entry: The natural capital accounting period for the natural capital balance sheet (3.2.3) is determined by
the lifetime of the natural capital, changes in natural capital and the planning horizon of the organization. The natural
capital balance sheet includes impacts in the impact horizon and dependencies in the dependency horizon.
Note 3 to entry: The reporting date for both the natural capital income statement and natural capital balance sheet
is the end date of the organization’s financial reporting period. The same reporting date is applied to natural capital
values (3.2.19) and costs.
3.2.6
organization
person or group of people that has its own functions with responsibilities, authorities and relationships to
achieve its objectives
Note 1 to entry: The concept of an organization includes, but is not limited to sole-trader, company, corporation, firm,
enterprise, authority, partnership, charity or institution, or part or combination thereof, whether incorporated or not,
public or private.
Note 2 to entry: Organization in this document can refer to the organization commissioning the natural capital account
(3.2.1) or the organization whose impacts (3.2.13) and dependencies (3.2.16) on natural capital (3.1.1) are assessed, i.e.
the organization that is the subject of the natural capital account. The two can be the same.
[SOURCE: ISO 14001:2015, 3.1.4, modified — Note 2 to entry added.]
3.2.7
organizational scope
impacts (3.2.13) and dependencies (3.2.16) of an organization’s (3.2.6) activities on natural capital (3.1.1)
Note 1 to entry: Any operation that the organization owns, controls or for which it has legal or voluntary responsibility
are included in the organizational scope.
3.2.8
value chain
entire sequence of activities or parties that create or receive value through the provision of a good or service
Note 1 to entry: Value includes both market and non-market values.
Note 2 to entry: Value chain includes the activities of suppliers (raw and produced inputs and services), activities
over which the organization (3.2.6) has direct operational control and activities linked to the purchase, use, reuse,
recovery, recycling and final disposal of the organization’s goods and services.
[SOURCE: ISO 14050:2020, 3.5.28, modified – “good or service” replaced “product”. Notes to entry added.]
3.2.9
value chain scope
impacts (3.2.13) and dependencies (3.2.16) of an organization’s (3.2.6)value chain (3.2.8) on natural capital
(3.1.1) regardless of ownership
Note 1 to entry: The impacts and dependencies included are directly associated with an organization’s activities,
including material upstream or downstream impacts and dependencies. For example, water abstraction by the
organization can rely on a water catchment that the organization does not have responsibility for or own. Even then,
the impacts of abstraction on natural capital and other water users are included in the natural capital account (3.2.1).
3.2.10
extended value chain scope
impacts (3.2.13) and dependencies (3.2.16) on natural capital (3.1.1) (regardless of ownership) due to
activities inside or outside the value chain (3.2.8) that are affected by an organization’s (3.2.6) activities
Note 1 to entry: The impacts and dependencies included in a natural capital account (3.2.1) can be directly associated
with the organization’s activities, induced by them or market driven. For example, the impacts of sourcing water can
be limited to the process through which an organization sources the water or can be extended to assess implications
in the market such as the use of a marginal unconstrained technology (e.g. a desalination plant).
3.2.11
interested party
stakeholder
person or organization (3.2.6) that can affect, be affected by, or perceive itself to be affected by a decision or
activity
Note 1 to entry: An organization can undertake a distributional analysis to see which interested parties benefit or lose
as a result of the activities within the chosen scope.
[SOURCE: ISO 14050:2020, 3.1.2, modified — Note to entry added.]
3.2.12
release
emission to air or discharge to water or soil
[SOURCE: ISO 14050:2020, 3.5.19]
3.2.13
impact
change to natural capital (3.1.1), whether adverse or beneficial, wholly or partially resulting from the
activities, goods or services of an organization (3.2.6), its value chain (3.2.8) or its extended value chain
Note 1 to entry: Change in natural capital due to the impacts of an organization affects the organization and others
who depend on that natural capital.
[SOURCE: ISO 14001:2015, 3.2.4, modified — “environmental” deleted from the term. “natural capital” replaced
“the environment” and “the activities, goods or services of an organization, its value chain or its extended
value chain” replaced “an organization’s environmental aspects” in the definition. Note to entry added.]
3.2.14
impact pathway
series of consecutive, causal relationships, starting at an activity and ending at an impact (3.2.13)
Note 1 to entry: For example, an impact pathway can link the emission of pollutants to air to resulting changes in
concentrations in the atmosphere, concentrations to depositions, and to impacts on health, materials, vegetation, and
other receptors as relevant.
[SOURCE: ISO 14050:2020, 3.2.21, modified — “environmental” deleted from the term. “starting at an
activity and ending at an impact” replaced “ultimately starting at an environmental aspect and ending at an
environmental impact”. Note to entry added.]
3.2.15
impact horizon
time period over which the impacts (3.2.13) are considered
Note 1 to entry: The activities of an organization (3.2.6) are those that fall within the natural capital accounting period
(3.2.5).
Note 2 to entry: The impact horizon can span multiple years and varies by activity, and the specific releases (3.2.12)
and resource uses associated with a given activity. For example, combustion of fossil fuels and also of biomass can
lead to emissions in terms of heavy metals and particulate matter. Heavy metals can stay in the biosphere for decades
to centuries during which they can impact living organisms, while particulate matter stays in the atmosphere for
hours to days. Therefore, an upper limit for the impact horizon is considered to be in the order of decades, centuries or
millennia.
3.2.16
dependency
reliance on, or use of, natural capital (3.1.1) by an organization (3.2.6), its value chain (3.2.8) or its extended
value chain
Note 1 to entry: Reliance means different things to different organizations and can include revenue generation,
operational continuity, cost management, reputation, delivering non-financial objectives and responsibilities.
3.2.17
dependency pathway
causal relationship starting at an environmental condition and ending at an effect on an organization (3.2.6)
Note 1 to entry: Natural capital (3.1.1) provides multiple benefits including ecosystem services (3.1.3). There is not a
single linear relationship between quality and quantity of natural capital and natural capital benefits (3.1.4). There can
be many possible and nonlinear combinations.
[SOURCE: ISO 14007:2019, 3.1.7, modified — “environmental” deleted from the term. “ultimately” deleted
from the definition. Note to entry added.]
3.2.18
dependency horizon
time period over which dependencies (3.2.16) are considered
Note 1 to entry: The dependency horizon is determined by the lifetime of the natural capital (3.1.1), changes in natural
capital and the planning horizon of the organization (3.2.6). It is the same as the natural capital accounting period (3.2.5)
for both the natural capital income statement (3.2.2) and natural capital balance sheet (3.2.3) noting that the organization
that is the subject of the natural capital account (3.2.1) is dependent on natural capital only when it is active.
Note 2 to entry: Costs in both the natural capital income statement and natural capital balance sheet are also quantified
over the same dependency horizon.
Note 3 to entry: The dependency horizon can span multiple years. The natural capital the organization, its value chain
(3.2.8) or its extended value chain depends on can change over the dependency horizon. For example, the energy
transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources means that the dependency on the former reduces over time
and can even stop at one point, while the dependency on the latter increases or can potentially only start at some point
in the future (i.e. the related dependency does not exist yet). Therefore, a dependency on a given natural capital can be
shorter than the natural capital accounting period.
3.2.19
natural capital value
present value (3.3.4) of annual monetary values, incorporating natural capital benefits (3.1.4) over the
dependency horizon (3.2.18) and impacts (3.2.13) over the impact horizon (3.2.15) related to the activities
within the chosen scope during the natural capital accounting period (3.2.5) of the natural capital balance
sheet (3.2.3)
Note 1 to entry: Natural capital values are shown in the upper part of the natural capital balance sheet.
3.2.20
cost schedule
schedule showing maintenance or production costs
Note 1 to entry: To avoid double counting, activities that can both restore, maintain or enhance natural capital (3.1.1)
and produce market and non-market goods and services are costed only once.
Note 2 to entry: Cost schedules input into the lower part of the natural capital balance sheet (3.2.3).
3.2.21
maintenance cost schedule
schedule of costs for activities that are undertaken, committed or projected to restore, maintain or enhance
the quality or quantity of natural capital (3.1.1)
3.2.22
production cost schedule
schedule of costs for activities that are undertaken, committed or projected to produce market and non-
market goods and services
3.3 Terms related to natural capital accounting
3.3.1
base case scenario
projection of future flows of natural capital benefits (3.1.4) and production and maintenance costs across
the natural capital accounting period (3.2.5) of a natural capital balance sheet (3.2.3) based on the best
information available to the organization (3.2.6)
Note 1 to entry: As much as possible, the definition of base case scenario captures the changes in the quality or
quantity of natural capital (3.1.1), including cumulative impacts (3.2.13) of the organization’s activities and the
resulting changes in natural capital benefits (3.1.4). The changes can reflect past performance and known or expected
trends. Trends can be influenced by, among other factors, pending regulations, organizational commitments, changes
to the organization’s activities, the activities of its value chain (3.2.8) and wider environmental and social influences
such as climate change or demographic change.
Note 2 to entry: The user of this document can compare different future scenarios to see the implications of actions
that the organization considers taking or to test key assumptions.
3.3.2
discount rate
percentage rate at which monetary values at different future times are converted to the present value (3.3.4)
3.3.3
materiality
relevance and significance with respect to the decision context
Note 1 to entry: Both financial and impact (3.2.13) and dependency (3.2.16) information can be material when assessing
relevance and significance.
3.3.4
present value
sum of expected positive or negative flows of future monetary values that have been discounted to bring
them to today’s value using a discount rate (3.3.2)
3.3.5
price year
year for which monetary data are valid
Note 1 to entry: The price year is usually the year for which present value (3.3.4) is calculated.
4 Principles
4.1 General
The principles described in this clause are fundamental to preparing natural capital accounts and are the
basis for the requirements and guidance described in Clauses 5 to 9. These principles also support decision-
making in situations not directly covered by the requirements and guidance.
4.2 Rigour
Technically robust information, data and methods are used. Uncertainties in data and models are assessed
and documented. Double counting is avoided.
4.3 Completeness
All relevant information about natural capital and its interactions with other capitals is included in the
preparation of natural capital accounts. Where material information is missing, gaps are identified to enable
appropriate interpretation of the accounts.
NOTE All capitals (natural, social, human, produced (intellectual, financial and manufactured)) are related to
each other to some degree. Thus, it is possible that any change in natural capital can also impact other capitals and
vice versa.
4.4 Consistency
Assumptions, methods and data are applied in the same way and documented throughout a natural capital
account to arrive at conclusions in accordance with the purpose and scope of the natural capital account(s)
and to facilitate comparisons over time, and, where relevant, across organizations.
4.5 Credibility
Natural capital accounts are prepared in a transparent and unbiased manner, and the information provided
to interested parties is truthful, full and fair, substantive and not misleading.
4.6 Relevance
The selected natural capital, the benefits it provides, the impacts and dependencies, data sources,
assumptions, boundaries and methods are relevant and appropriate to the needs and requirements of the
purpose and scope of the natural capital account(s).
4.7 Transparency
Data, models and assumptions are clearly documented to enable an appropriate interpretation of results.
5 Process of preparing a natural capital account
5.1 General
This clause describes the process and provides requirements and recommendations for preparing a natural
capital account. It applies equally to the preparation of the natural capital income statement and natural
capital balance sheet, and to the chosen scope unless otherwise stated.
Going through this process (working with different types of data, and across disciplines, different internal
departments and interested parties) generates its own learning in addition to the information that will be
documented in the natural capital account.
The natural capital accounting shall include the following steps:
a) define the purpose of the natural capital account (see 5.2);
b) define the organization (see 5.3);
c) select the scope of the natural capital account in line with the stated purpose (see 5.4);
d) select either one or both types of natural capital account, i.e. the natural capital income statement or
natural capital balance sheet, according to the purpose (see 5.5);
e) prepare the natural capital register as a supporting schedule (see 5.6);
f) undertake a materiality assessment (see 5.7);
g) identify interested parties and determine the extent of their involvement in the process of creating the
natural capital account (see 5.8);
h) collect data from within and outside the organization and conduct a data quality assessment (see
Clause 6);
i) prepare other supporting schedules and natural capital account(s) (see Clauses 7 and 8);
j) document the whole process, interpret the natural capital account(s) prepared and integrate these into
wider decision-making (see Clause 9).
See Figure A.1 for a flowchart of this process.
NOTE In practice, this is not a linear process. The purpose of the natural capital account, data availability and
reliability, expectations of different interested parties, and so on, are likely to influence each other. For example, in the
data collection step, the organization can decide that there are not enough data to fulfil the initial purpose or scope
and that these need to be revised. Such revisions are summarized when documenting the natural capital accounting
process.
An organization shall update or prepare new natural capital accounts when there are relevant changes to its
operations or its relationship to natural capital. Regular preparation of natural capital accounts can improve
the quality of the accounts, provide additional insight and track progress in line with the purpose of natural
capital accounting (see 5.2).
The following questions should be asked to help the organization choose the purpose (see 5.2), the scope
(see 5.4) and type (see 5.5) of natural capital account(s):
— What, at this time, are the internal and external drivers for preparing the natural capital account(s) for
the organization?
— How will the natural account be used and what decisions will it inform?
— Are there any statutory or voluntary commitments that the organization has made with respect to
natural capital that should be included in or benefit from natural capital accounting?
— What would the natural capital account(s) provide that other methods or assessments would not?
— Who are the key (internal and external) interested parties that should be engaged with while preparing
the natural capital account(s)?
— Who are the (internal and external) audiences for the result(s)?
— What data are likely to be available? What level of spatial disaggregation of data is possible?
5.2 Define the purpose of the natural capital accounting
The organization shall define the purpose of natural capital accounting so that the natural capital account(s)
can add value to the organization, inform its decisions and its communication with interested parties. For
examples of how natural capital accounting can be used, see Annex B.
While both natural capital income statement and natural capital balance sheet show impacts and
dependencies of an organization on natural capital directly or through its value chain, they provide different
information that can suppo
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