Natural capital accounting: revisiting the elephant in the boardroom

Abstract

This research is motivated by a growing belief that natural capital accounting (NCA) can assist organisations in increasing their stewardship over the ecological elements they effect and in some cases control. However, these beliefs are largely based on conceptual developments about the use of NCA. It has been argued that by monetising these effects and elements, there is increased likelihood that managers will integrate these representations into decision making processes. This perspective is not without its critique, with issues raised over potential unintended consequences. The research examines practices of one of the first major organisations to implement and utilise NCA. It aims to better understand how NCA assists with increasing stewardship, what other roles NCA assumes, the difficulties experienced in its use, and who constitute the wider influencers. Our findings suggest that, as with many new accounting frameworks, tools, and techniques, the implementation, calculation and use of NCA is far from straightforward.