New Guide shows how the forest products sector can value nature into their business decision-making

The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and the members of the Forest Solutions Group (FSG) today launch the Forest Products Sector Guide to the Natural Capital Protocol, developed on behalf of the Natural Capital Coalition, with technical support from PwC.

• In partnership with the Natural Capita Coalition, members of WBCSD’s Forest Solutions Group (FSG) launch the Forest Products Sector Guide to the Natural Capital Protocol.
• The Guide helps practitioners from the sector to integrate natural capital into their business decision- making.
• It is the fruit of an extensive engagement process with key stakeholders from all continents.
• Eight leading businesses have pilot-tested the Guide and shared their experience through case studies

Geneva, 25 July 2018: In the forest products sector, business dependencies on natural capital (the stock of renewable and non-renewable resources that combine to yield a flow of benefits to people) are particularly well defined. The activities of the sector depend on – and impact – many services provided by nature, including water provision and purification, and climate regulation. Also, forests and forest products have the ability to capture and store carbon, and therefore the inherent potential to demonstrate carbon neutrality.

The Guide offers a standardized framework to support businesses along the forest products value chain in identifying, measuring, and valuing their impacts and dependencies on natural capital. A clearer understanding of this complex relationship with nature will inform better decision-making, strategy and communication.

To ensure broad endorsement and uptake by the sector, the content of the Guide was developed through an extensive engagement process with key stakeholders from across all continents. Eight leading businesses have also applied the Guide to concrete cases of natural capital assessments, provided feedback on the content and shared their experience through case studies.

The Guide is designed to inspire other businesses along the forest products value chain to experiment with natural capital assessments, re-think their relationship with nature and trigger action and meaningful conversations from the forests to the boardrooms.