Capitals coalition  ‘We have published our latest report on the Principles of Integrated Capitals Assessments, providing the next step in the evolution of a capitals approach. Our latest publication provides a new baseline of best practice for businesses conducting capitals assessments. Rather than considering a single capital – natural, social or human – in your assessment, an integrated capitals assessment considers all forms of capital and their inter-connections using holistic systems-based thinking.

Integrating natural, social, human and produced capital considerations provides organizations with a more holistic understanding of the system in which they operate, leading to better informed decisions with benefits across the capitals.

Capitals assessments undertaken by businesses can vary and may consider single or multiple capitals. Single capital assessments focus on one particular form of capital (natural, social, or human) and multi-capital assessments look at more than one capital. However, to understand the interconnections, trade-offs and synergies between all forms of capital, integrated thinking is needed.

Recognizing this, we united the Natural Capital Coalition and the Social and Human Capitals Coalition in 2020 and developed the Principles of Integrated Capitals Assessments to drive this evolution.

The Principles of Integrated Capitals Assessments aim to provide guidance and consistency in how to apply a capitals approach through integrated thinking, ultimately moving towards a more standardized approach for integrated capitals assessments.

The Principles should be applied by anyone conducting a capitals assessment in order to improve the information available to inform decisions. Although focused on internal decision-making, the decisions and outcomes influenced by capitals assessments are core to effective reporting and disclosure.  Click here to read more