Thanks to Richard Ashley EA Chair calls for courts to make fines for water pollution proportionate to companies’ turnover The Chair of the Environment Agency Emma Howard Boyd has called for courts to make fines for water pollution incidents proportionate to the companies’ turnover, saying that the water companies are responsible for “at least one serious pollution […]
The latest set of UK natural capital accounts have just been published, estimating the volume of services and value of Britain’s natural capital between 1997 and 2015. According to the accounts, the partial asset value of UK natural capital was estimated to be £761 billion in 2015. 58% of this value was attributable to cultural […]
Thanks to Bruce Horton ‘I listened to an IEMA webinar giving an update of UK and EU legal and policy changes relating to Brexit. One thing that was mentioned was the EA Enforcement and Sanctions Guidance that is currently being consulted on (closes 29th January). Apparently this proposes the use of a natural capital calculator […]
The Natural Capital Coalition has published This is Natural Capital 2017. It is the first annual review of trends and activities within the natural capital concept. It includes headline facts (e.g. 68 countries are currently planning to produce natural capital accounts) and perspectives from a number of leading experts on the topic. Meanwhile, The UK’s […]
A recent study by the London Borough of Barnet includes the publication of a Corporate Natural Capital Account that quantifies the value of its parks and open spaces. It shows the benefits from open spaces are around 10 times the cost to maintain them. Natural capital refers to natural assets, such as parks and gardens, which […]
Defra: A review of 145 UK projects and initiatives involving private sector investment to improve natural capital has just been published by Defra. The aim was to provide a preliminary oversight of the current state of private sector investment in natural capital and ideas on how this can be scaled up. DEFRA required a rapid review […]
The University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership ‘The launch of the Natural Capital Protocol has led businesses to become more aware of their impacts and dependencies upon the natural environment. However, the metrics that are used to quantify impacts and dependencies across businesses are inconsistent and do not link to commercial drivers. This working […]
The UK Network of Environmental Economists and the Natural Capital Initiative recently hosted a joint seminar to discuss changing policy priorities and uncertainty post-Brexit. Chaired by Joan Walley, Chair of the Aldersgate Group, participants “included economists, environmental scientists and others working for private companies, public agencies and NGOs covering a wide variety of sectors including water, […]