The contents of this document should not be perceived as investment advice.
Reading & references
Why
What
Reports worth reading
This guide has been developed using a wide range of publications from across the natural capital industry. The report is divided into sections, as shown in the diagram above. Click on any section to access further reading and resources related to that topic, including guidance on which parts of the supporting documents are most relevant. This is a continually expanding collection of evidence that we will keep building over time.
What is natural capital?
What: Sustainable agriculture
Views on Natural Capital and Evidence Use in Agricultural Policy
Hutton Institute (2024)
This report examines how evidence on natural capital is used—or ignored—in shaping agricultural policy.
Read this report to understand how evidence-based policymaking can unlock new opportunities for regenerative land investment.
Most relevant section: Evidence Use in Policy and Barriers to Uptake.
What: Sustainable forestry
Sustainable Investing in Timberland and Agriculture
Manulife (2024)
This report analyses how institutional investors are managing timberland and agriculture as sustainable, income-generating assets.
Read this report to explore investment models for sustainable forestry hat balance long-term yield with environmental stewardship.
Most relevant sections: Asset-class Mechanics and Investor Case Studies.
Ecological Forestry and Insurance Risk
WTW & The Nature Conservancy (2024)
This report links sustainable forestry management with insurance and investment risk reduction.
Read this report to see how ecological forestry can support long-term portfolio resilience and mitigate financial risk.
Most relevant section: Insurance Risk in Forestry and Ecological Investment Models.
What: Nature based solutions
Natural Flood Management (NFM) Programme
DEFRA (2025)
This report explains how the UK government is scaling up natural flood management as a practical and investable model for climate resilience. It shows how land-use interventions, such as rewetting, woodland creation, and soil restoration, deliver both environmental and economic value.
Read this report to understand how the UK is designing measurable nature-based interventions that attract investment.
The most useful sections are the Introduction and Evaluation of Pilot Projects.
Investing in Nature-based Solutions
EIB / European Commission (2023)
This report explains how public and private finance can collaborate to scale up investment in nature-based infrastructure. It presents case studies, financing models, and structural challenges that limit capital flows.
Read this report to discover what financing pathways and partnerships are working to mobilise large-scale nature investment.
Most relevant sections: Financing Mechanisms and Barriers to Private Capital Mobilisation.
Decent Work in Nature-based Solutions
UNEP (2024)
This report examines the social and employment benefits of investing in nature-based solutions.
Read this report to see how NbS can generate inclusive, sustainable employment alongside environmental outcomes.
Financing Nature-based Solutions: Barriers and Opportunities
WWF UK (2022)
This report identifies the major barriers holding back private investment in NbS and proposes policy and data interventions to overcome them.
Read this report to understand the current perceived 'barriers' to NBS and the opportunities for overcoming these.
Most relevant section: Barriers to Investment and Enablers for Scaling.
Enabling Investment in Natural Flood Management
GFI (2025)
This publication demonstrates how natural flood management can evolve into an investable, finance-ready investment theme.
Read this report to understand different models for financing NFM projects and how they can be replicated to deliver resilience returns.
Most relevant section: Project Finance Mechanisms and Data Frameworks.
The Rebalance Earth Guide to Nature-Based Solutions: Practical Infrastructure for a Changing World
Rebalance Earth (2025)
This report presents practical frameworks and case studies for scaling nature-based solutions that generate measurable carbon and biodiversity outcomes.
Read this report to identify which types of NbS projects align with your investment objectives and how to structure financing for them.
Most relevant section: Infrastructure Requirements and Project Typologies.
RETHINKING RESILIENCE: How a new era of extremes is changing how utilities invest
Global Water Intelligence and Xylem (2025)
This report explores how the utilities sector is changing investment strategies in response to extreme climate events.
Read this report to learn how nature-based and hybrid infrastructure can enhance asset protection and community resilience.
Most relevant section: Investment Patterns in Utilities and Nature-Based Resilience.
Why should investors consider natural capital?
Why: Portfolio benefits
Supervisory Framework for Nature-related Financial Risks
OECD (2024)
This report examines how financial supervisors and regulators are beginning to account for nature-related financial risks in the global system. It highlights supervisory tools and forward-looking regulatory expectations.
Read this report to understand how regulatory policy is evolving to treat nature degradation as a systemic risk.
Most relevant sections: Supervisory Approaches and Regulatory Frameworks.
State and Trends of Carbon Pricing
World Bank (2024)
This global review provides a detailed overview of carbon pricing mechanisms, comparing policies across regions and assessing their investment implications.
Read this report to understand how carbon pricing influences global capital flows and the economics of nature-based mitigation.
The most relevant sections are: Regional Pricing Mechanisms and Investment Implications.
Capital at risk: nature through an investment lens
Blackrock (August 2024)
This report details how nature degradation is emerging as a core financial risk impacting asset valuations and investment performance.
Read this report to see how major asset managers like BlackRock are pricing nature risk into portfolio construction and risk-adjusted returns.
Most relevant sections: Investment Lenses on Nature and Risk-adjusted Returns.
S&P Global Sustainable1 Nature Dependency Analysis
World Economic Forum (2025)
This report provides a comprehensive sector-by-sector analysis of corporate dependencies on nature and ecosystem services.
Read this report to identify which industries are most exposed to nature degradation and how investors can quantify those dependencies and then they can act to ensure they have resiliencde.
Most relevant section: Dependency Analysis and Sectoral Exposure.
UK Flood Risk Assessment
Aviva (2025)
This report explains how climate change is reshaping flood risk in the UK and how insurers are adapting their models.
Read this report to understand how nature-based adaptation can reduce portfolio exposure and enhance climate resilience.
Most relevant section: Methodology and Investment Implications.
UK Institutional Allocations to Natural Capital
Gresham House (2024)
This report reviews how UK institutional investors are allocating capital toward natural capital projects.
Read this report to understand current market participation and identify where further institutional engagement is likely to grow.
The most relevant section is “Current Allocations and Decision Drivers.”
Business on the Edge: Building Industry Resilience to Climate Hazards
World Economic Forum (2024)
This report examines how businesses are adapting to intensifying climate hazards through resilience and adaptation strategies.
Read this report to see how nature-based solutions and climate adaptation are becoming central to corporate risk management.
Most relevant section: Resilience Strategies for Climate-Exposed Industries.
Climate Change Trade-Offs: What does it take to keep our world insurable?
Allianz Research (2024)
This report explores how climate change is pushing global insurance systems to their limits and what must change to maintain insurability.
Read this report to understand how natural capital investments can strengthen resilience and safeguard insurability.
Most relevant section: Adapting Insurance to Climate Extremes.
Mainstreaming Natural Capital: Advancing the Global Agenda to Integrate Nature in Decision-Making
World Economic Forum (2025)
This report outlines the global frameworks and policy pathways driving the integration of natural capital into decision-making systems.
Read this report to see how leading organisations are embedding nature into governance, investment, and reporting structures.
Most relevant section: Integrating Nature into Corporate and Policy Decision-Making.
Why: Structural opportunities
Mainstreaming Natural Capital
WEF (2025)
This report explores how natural capital is being embedded into corporate strategy and financial systems worldwide. It highlights how leading organisations are integrating ecosystem value into business models.
Read this report to understand how mainstream investors and companies are operationalising nature-based accounting and investment.
Most relevant sections: Market Architecture and Business Adoption of Natural Capital.
Natural Capital: The Battle for Control
Green Alliance / WWF-UK (2022)
This report analyses the power dynamics and governance structures shaping ownership and control of natural capital.
Read it to understand the distributional challenges of building fair, transparent markets for nature.
The most relevant section is “Governance and Value-chain Control.”
Private Finance for Nature
World Biodiversity Forum (2025)
This report showcases how private finance can close the biodiversity funding gap through blended models and public–private partnerships.
Read this report to discover real-world examples of institutional capital being channelled into measurable conservation outcomes.
Most relevant section: Mobilising Private Capital for Biodiversity.
Global Institutional Investor Survey
Pollination Nature Finance (May 2025)
This report provides insight into institutional investors’ current attitudes toward nature-based finance.
Read this report to understand the key barriers to institutional investment and the conditions required to unlock capital flows into natural assets.
The most relevant section is “Investor Barriers and Unlocking Capital.”
Nature and Investors Survey (2024–25)
Responsible Investor (2025)
This survey assesses global investor sentiment around nature, biodiversity, and disclosure frameworks such as TNFD.
Read this report to compare how investors are defining, valuing, and allocating to nature-related opportunities.
Most relevant section: Investor Sentiment and Allocation Trends.
Economic and financial impacts of nature degradation and biodiversity loss
European Central Bank (2024)
This report outlines how biodiversity loss threatens macroeconomic and financial stability in Europe.
Read this report to understand why central banks are treating ecosystem decline as a systemic financial risk.
Most relevant section: Systemic Risk Pathways and Financial Impacts.
This is why the European Central Bank says that destroying nature will destroy the economy
World Economic Forum (2023)
This article explains the ECB’s findings that link biodiversity loss directly to inflation, supply-chain disruption, and systemic economic instability.
Read this report to see how nature loss translates into macroeconomic risk and why investors should pay attention.
Most relevant section: Nature Loss and Financial Stability.
Planetary solvency–finding our balance with nature Global risk management for human prosperity
University of Exeter and Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (2025)
This report introduces the concept of “planetary solvency,” arguing that ecological health underpins economic and actuarial solvency.
Read this report to understand how nature degradation threatens long-term financial resilience and solvency modelling.
Most relevant section: Risk and Solvency Implications of Biodiversity Loss.
How to allocate natural capital to your portfolio
Nature-related Risk Handbook
UK Climate Financial Risk Forum (2024)
This handbook outlines how financial institutions can integrate nature-related risks into governance, lending, and investment processes. It provides templates and frameworks for assessing biodiversity and ecosystem exposure.
Read this report to learn how banks and asset managers are incorporating nature-related risk management into financial decision-making.
Most relevant sections: Emerging Practice on Risk Management and Case Studies.
Portfolio construction for Natural Capital portfolios
Fulcrum Asset Management (October 2025)
This report provides practical guidance for building and managing natural capital investment portfolios.
Read this report to explore how asset managers are developing risk–return frameworks tailored to nature investments.
Most relevant section: Asset Selection and Portfolio Frameworks.
Net Zero: The Second Stage The need for quality in the carbon credit market
Octopus Capital (2025)
This report explores how the carbon credit market is evolving to prioritise integrity, transparency, and measurable impact.
Read this report to understand what buyers are demanding in high-quality credits and how the market is maturing.
Most relevant section: The Evolution of Quality in Carbon Markets.
Why the time to allocate is now
Net Zero Navigator: Carbon Markets Opportunities
HSBC (2025)
This report analyses how voluntary and compliance carbon markets are developing globally, highlighting emerging opportunities for institutional investors.
Read this report to understand where credible, high-value carbon investment opportunities are emerging and how market standards are improving.
Most relevant sections: Market Trends and Investment Opportunity Areas sections.
Finance for Nature: Scaling Solutions
WEF (2025)
This report sets out the key tools, partnerships, and standards needed to scale private investment into nature-based solutions.
Read this report to explore the emerging market infrastructure and financial frameworks driving the next phase of nature finance.
Most relevant section: Scaling Finance and Market Infrastructure.
Carbon Credits Market for Agriculture, Forestry, and Land Use - A Global and Regional Analysis
BIS Research (2025)
This forward-looking analysis forecasts the growth of agricultural, forestry, and land-use carbon markets over the next decade.
Read this report to identify where innovation and credit supply will emerge globally, helping investors anticipate future market opportunities.
Most relevant sections: Regional Market Outlook and Startup Case Studies.
The Dasgupta Review
(HM Treasury, 2021)
This landmark review establishes the economic value of biodiversity and argues for embedding nature into financial and policy systems.
Read this report to understand why nature is a foundational component of economic prosperity and why finance must account for it.
Most relevant section: Economics of Biodiversity and Policy Implications.
Long-Term Carbon Credit Supply Outlook 2025
BloombergNEF (2025)
This report forecasts global carbon credit supply and demand to 2035, pinpointing key regional markets and constraints.
Read this report to see where the carbon market is expanding, and how these projections inform long-term investment strategy.
Most relevant section: Supply Outlook by Region and Market Bottlenecks.
Full reference list
Agri Investor (2025) South Yorkshire’s natural capital bet: A 40-year journey to the future. https://www.agriinvestor.com/south-yorkshires-natural-capital-bet-a-40-year-journey-to-the-future/ (Accessed: August 19, 2025).
Association of British Insurers (2025) Record UK flood insurance claims in 2024 – Rising costs and risks. https://www.unda.co.uk/news/record-uk-flood-insurance-claims-in-2024-rising-costs-and-risks/ (Accessed: September 12, 2025).
Bayer (2025) The Value of Pollinators To the Ecosystem and Our Economy. https://www.bayer.com/en/agriculture/article/economic-value-pollinators (Accessed: August 19, 2025).
BCG (2023) Moving Beyond Net Zero to Nature Positive. https://www.bcg.com/publications/2023/moving-beyond-net-zero-to-nature-positive (Accessed: September 2, 2025).
Bilal, A. and Kanzig, D.R. (2024) The Macroeconomic Impact of climate change: Global vs local temperature, Nber (National Bureau of Economic Research) Working Paper Series. report 32450. National Bureau of Economic Research. http://www.nber.org/papers/w32450 (Accessed: June 10, 2025).
Committee on Climate Change (2025) Scotland’s Carbon Budgets - Climate Change Committee. https://www.theccc.org.uk/publication/scotlands-carbon-budgets/.
Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), 2021. Biodiversity and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development – Policy Brief. Available at: https://www.cbd.int/development/doc/biodiversity-2030-agenda-policy-brief-en.pdf [Accessed 11 June 2025].
Dohle, M. and NetZero Investor (2024) 'Lessons on timber investing from Germany’s largest pension fund,' Netzeroinvestor, 16 October. https://www.netzeroinvestor.net/news-and-views/lessons-on-timber-investing-from-germanys-largest-pension-fund.
Environment Agency (2023) Building back better and mainstreaming property flood resilience. https://environmentagency.blog.gov.uk/2023/05/22/building-back-better-and-mainstreaming-property-flood-resilience/ (Accessed: June 10, 2025).
Global AgInvesting (2024) Rest Super Makes its First Alternative Impact Investment in Cibus Fund II. https://globalaginvesting.com/rest-super-makes-its-first-alternative-impact-investment-in-cibus-fund-ii/ (Accessed: August 19, 2025).
Global Water Intelligence and Xylem (2025) RETHINKING RESILIENCE, GWI2. https://amp.xylem.com/m/4cd9d0faf65084d2/original/rethinking-resilience.pdf (Accessed: September 12, 2025).
Global Water Intelligence and Xylem (2025) RETHINKING RESILIENCE: How a new era of extremes is changing how utilities invest, Global Water Intelligence. "
Gresham House and Mallow Street (2024) Natural Capital Report 2024, Gresham House. https://greshamhouse.com/news-media/natural-capital-investments/ (Accessed: June 13, 2025).
Munich Re (2024) Natural disaster risks - Rising trend in losses | Munich Re. https://www.munichre.com/en/risks/natural-disasters.html (Accessed: June 10, 2025).
NetZero Investor (2024) Bayerische Versorgungskammer: Investing in timber as an inflation hedge. https://longviewnetworks.maglr.com/net-zero-investor-spark/bayerische-versorgungskammer-investing-in-timber-as-an-inflation-hedge.
NOAA (2023) Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters | National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI). https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/billions/ (Accessed: June 10, 2025).
PensionsAge (2022) 'Essex Pension Fund commits £100m to carbon offset fund,' Pensions Age Magazine, 10 November. https://www.pensionsage.com/pa/Essex-pension-fund-announces-100m-anchor-commitment-in-carbon-offset-fund.php."
Ritchie, H. and Roser, M. (2019) Land use. https://ourworldindata.org/land-use#:~:text=At%20the%20global%20level%2C%20per,it%20was%20in%20the%201960s.
Rodell, M. et al. (2023) 'Changing intensity of hydroclimatic extreme events revealed by GRACE and GRACE-FO,' Nature Water, 1(3), pp. 241–248. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44221-023-00040-5.
Room 151 (2022) Essex Pension Fund commits £100m to carbon offset impact fund. https://www.room151.co.uk/151-news/essex-pension-fund-commits-100m-to-carbon-offset-impact-fund/ (Accessed: August 19, 2025).
BloombergNEF (uses the same population, GDP and food demand assumptions in both scenarios. Total land demand comparison is illustrative as demand categories are not necessarily additive. Renewables are wind and solar, biofuels include plastics.
University of Exeter and Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (2025) Planetary solvency–Finding our balance with nature Global risk management for human prosperity, Institute and Faculty of Actuaries. https://actuaries.org.uk/document-library/thought-leadership/thought-leadership-campaigns/climate-papers/planetary-solvency-finding-our-balance-with-nature/ (Accessed: June 13, 2025)
World Bank Group (2024) 'Global carbon pricing revenues top a record $100 billion,' World Bank, 21 May. https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2024/05/21/global-carbon-pricing-revenues-top-a-record-100-billion.
World Economic Forum (2023) This is why the European Central Bank says that destroying nature will destroy the economy. https://www.weforum.org/stories/2023/06/nature-loss-financial-risk-biodiversity/ (Accessed: June 10, 2025)
World Economic Forum (2024) Business on the Edge: Building Industry Resilience to Climate Hazards, World Economic Forum. https://reports.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Business_on_the_Edge_2024.pdf (Accessed: June 13, 2025).
World Economic Forum and PwC (2020) Nature Risk Rising: Why the Crisis Engulfing Nature Matters for Business and the Economy, World Economic Forum. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_New_Nature_Economy_Report_2020.pdf (Accessed: June 11, 2025).
La Caisse (2025) Environment. https://www.lacaisse.com/en/sir/2024/environment#section-5 (Accessed: August 19, 2025).
Ezpanded sources for graphs
Correlation matrix of real and traditional assets 1995-2024: Asset classes are represented by the following indexes: U.S. equities – S&P 500 Total Return; U.S. bonds – Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate; U.S. REITs – FTSE Nareit All Equity REITs; Gold – LBMA Gold Price; U.S. Annual Cropland – NCREIF Annual Cropland Index; U.S. Permanent Cropland – NCREIF Permanent Cropland Index; U.S. Timberland – NCREIF Timberland Property Index; U.K. Forestry – Gresham House internal benchmark. Inflation: UK CPI (ONS). FX: Bank of England GBP/USD, applied via standard pass-through to local returns. Portfolios are long-only and fully invested; where shown, institutional constraints are Equity ≥ 50%, Bonds ≥ 25%, Real assets (aggregate) ≤ 20%, and ≤ 5% per real asset. Mean–variance optimisation based on historical returns is illustrative and not investment advice; appraisal-based indices may understate volatility and smooth drawdowns.
The contents of this document should not be perceived as investment advice.
Reading & references
Why
What
Reports worth reading
This guide has been developed using a wide range of publications from across the natural capital industry. The report is divided into sections, as shown in the diagram above. Click on any section to access further reading and resources related to that topic, including guidance on which parts of the supporting documents are most relevant. This is a continually expanding collection of evidence that we will keep building over time.
What is natural capital?
What: Sustainable agriculture
Views on Natural Capital and Evidence Use in Agricultural Policy
Hutton Institute (2024)
This report examines how evidence on natural capital is used—or ignored—in shaping agricultural policy.
Read this report to understand how evidence-based policymaking can unlock new opportunities for regenerative land investment.
Most relevant section: Evidence Use in Policy and Barriers to Uptake.
What: Sustainable forestry
Sustainable Investing in Timberland and Agriculture
Manulife (2024)
This report analyses how institutional investors are managing timberland and agriculture as sustainable, income-generating assets.
Read this report to explore investment models for sustainable forestry hat balance long-term yield with environmental stewardship.
Most relevant sections: Asset-class Mechanics and Investor Case Studies.
Ecological Forestry and Insurance Risk
WTW & The Nature Conservancy (2024)
This report links sustainable forestry management with insurance and investment risk reduction.
Read this report to see how ecological forestry can support long-term portfolio resilience and mitigate financial risk.
Most relevant section: Insurance Risk in Forestry and Ecological Investment Models.
What: Nature based solutions
Natural Flood Management (NFM) Programme
DEFRA (2025)
This report explains how the UK government is scaling up natural flood management as a practical and investable model for climate resilience. It shows how land-use interventions, such as rewetting, woodland creation, and soil restoration, deliver both environmental and economic value.
Read this report to understand how the UK is designing measurable nature-based interventions that attract investment.
The most useful sections are the Introduction and Evaluation of Pilot Projects.
Investing in Nature-based Solutions
EIB / European Commission (2023)
This report explains how public and private finance can collaborate to scale up investment in nature-based infrastructure. It presents case studies, financing models, and structural challenges that limit capital flows.
Read this report to discover what financing pathways and partnerships are working to mobilise large-scale nature investment.
Most relevant sections: Financing Mechanisms and Barriers to Private Capital Mobilisation.
Decent Work in Nature-based Solutions
UNEP (2024)
This report examines the social and employment benefits of investing in nature-based solutions.
Read this report to see how NbS can generate inclusive, sustainable employment alongside environmental outcomes.
Financing Nature-based Solutions: Barriers and Opportunities
WWF UK (2022)
This report identifies the major barriers holding back private investment in NbS and proposes policy and data interventions to overcome them.
Read this report to understand the current perceived 'barriers' to NBS and the opportunities for overcoming these.
Most relevant section: Barriers to Investment and Enablers for Scaling.
Enabling Investment in Natural Flood Management
GFI (2025)
This publication demonstrates how natural flood management can evolve into an investable, finance-ready investment theme.
Read this report to understand different models for financing NFM projects and how they can be replicated to deliver resilience returns.
Most relevant section: Project Finance Mechanisms and Data Frameworks.
The Rebalance Earth Guide to Nature-Based Solutions: Practical Infrastructure for a Changing World
Rebalance Earth (2025)
This report presents practical frameworks and case studies for scaling nature-based solutions that generate measurable carbon and biodiversity outcomes.
Read this report to identify which types of NbS projects align with your investment objectives and how to structure financing for them.
Most relevant section: Infrastructure Requirements and Project Typologies.
RETHINKING RESILIENCE: How a new era of extremes is changing how utilities invest
Global Water Intelligence and Xylem (2025)
This report explores how the utilities sector is changing investment strategies in response to extreme climate events.
Read this report to learn how nature-based and hybrid infrastructure can enhance asset protection and community resilience.
Most relevant section: Investment Patterns in Utilities and Nature-Based Resilience.
Why should investors consider natural capital?
Why: Portfolio benefits
Supervisory Framework for Nature-related Financial Risks
OECD (2024)
This report examines how financial supervisors and regulators are beginning to account for nature-related financial risks in the global system. It highlights supervisory tools and forward-looking regulatory expectations.
Read this report to understand how regulatory policy is evolving to treat nature degradation as a systemic risk.
Most relevant sections: Supervisory Approaches and Regulatory Frameworks.
State and Trends of Carbon Pricing
World Bank (2024)
This global review provides a detailed overview of carbon pricing mechanisms, comparing policies across regions and assessing their investment implications.
Read this report to understand how carbon pricing influences global capital flows and the economics of nature-based mitigation.
The most relevant sections are: Regional Pricing Mechanisms and Investment Implications.
Capital at risk: nature through an investment lens
Blackrock (August 2024)
This report details how nature degradation is emerging as a core financial risk impacting asset valuations and investment performance.
Read this report to see how major asset managers like BlackRock are pricing nature risk into portfolio construction and risk-adjusted returns.
Most relevant sections: Investment Lenses on Nature and Risk-adjusted Returns.
S&P Global Sustainable1 Nature Dependency Analysis
World Economic Forum (2025)
This report provides a comprehensive sector-by-sector analysis of corporate dependencies on nature and ecosystem services.
Read this report to identify which industries are most exposed to nature degradation and how investors can quantify those dependencies and then they can act to ensure they have resiliencde.
Most relevant section: Dependency Analysis and Sectoral Exposure.
UK Flood Risk Assessment
Aviva (2025)
This report explains how climate change is reshaping flood risk in the UK and how insurers are adapting their models.
Read this report to understand how nature-based adaptation can reduce portfolio exposure and enhance climate resilience.
Most relevant section: Methodology and Investment Implications.
UK Institutional Allocations to Natural Capital
Gresham House (2024)
This report reviews how UK institutional investors are allocating capital toward natural capital projects.
Read this report to understand current market participation and identify where further institutional engagement is likely to grow.
The most relevant section is “Current Allocations and Decision Drivers.”
Business on the Edge: Building Industry Resilience to Climate Hazards
World Economic Forum (2024)
This report examines how businesses are adapting to intensifying climate hazards through resilience and adaptation strategies.
Read this report to see how nature-based solutions and climate adaptation are becoming central to corporate risk management.
Most relevant section: Resilience Strategies for Climate-Exposed Industries.
Climate Change Trade-Offs: What does it take to keep our world insurable?
Allianz Research (2024)
This report explores how climate change is pushing global insurance systems to their limits and what must change to maintain insurability.
Read this report to understand how natural capital investments can strengthen resilience and safeguard insurability.
Most relevant section: Adapting Insurance to Climate Extremes.
Mainstreaming Natural Capital: Advancing the Global Agenda to Integrate Nature in Decision-Making
World Economic Forum (2025)
This report outlines the global frameworks and policy pathways driving the integration of natural capital into decision-making systems.
Read this report to see how leading organisations are embedding nature into governance, investment, and reporting structures.
Most relevant section: Integrating Nature into Corporate and Policy Decision-Making.
Why: Structural opportunities
Mainstreaming Natural Capital
WEF (2025)
This report explores how natural capital is being embedded into corporate strategy and financial systems worldwide. It highlights how leading organisations are integrating ecosystem value into business models.
Read this report to understand how mainstream investors and companies are operationalising nature-based accounting and investment.
Most relevant sections: Market Architecture and Business Adoption of Natural Capital.
Natural Capital: The Battle for Control
Green Alliance / WWF-UK (2022)
This report analyses the power dynamics and governance structures shaping ownership and control of natural capital.
Read it to understand the distributional challenges of building fair, transparent markets for nature.
The most relevant section is “Governance and Value-chain Control.”
Private Finance for Nature
World Biodiversity Forum (2025)
This report showcases how private finance can close the biodiversity funding gap through blended models and public–private partnerships.
Read this report to discover real-world examples of institutional capital being channelled into measurable conservation outcomes.
Most relevant section: Mobilising Private Capital for Biodiversity.
Global Institutional Investor Survey
Pollination Nature Finance (May 2025)
This report provides insight into institutional investors’ current attitudes toward nature-based finance.
Read this report to understand the key barriers to institutional investment and the conditions required to unlock capital flows into natural assets.
The most relevant section is “Investor Barriers and Unlocking Capital.”
Nature and Investors Survey (2024–25)
Responsible Investor (2025)
This survey assesses global investor sentiment around nature, biodiversity, and disclosure frameworks such as TNFD.
Read this report to compare how investors are defining, valuing, and allocating to nature-related opportunities.
Most relevant section: Investor Sentiment and Allocation Trends.
Economic and financial impacts of nature degradation and biodiversity loss
European Central Bank (2024)
This report outlines how biodiversity loss threatens macroeconomic and financial stability in Europe.
Read this report to understand why central banks are treating ecosystem decline as a systemic financial risk.
Most relevant section: Systemic Risk Pathways and Financial Impacts.
This is why the European Central Bank says that destroying nature will destroy the economy
World Economic Forum (2023)
This article explains the ECB’s findings that link biodiversity loss directly to inflation, supply-chain disruption, and systemic economic instability.
Read this report to see how nature loss translates into macroeconomic risk and why investors should pay attention.
Most relevant section: Nature Loss and Financial Stability.
Planetary solvency–finding our balance with nature Global risk management for human prosperity
University of Exeter and Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (2025)
This report introduces the concept of “planetary solvency,” arguing that ecological health underpins economic and actuarial solvency.
Read this report to understand how nature degradation threatens long-term financial resilience and solvency modelling.
Most relevant section: Risk and Solvency Implications of Biodiversity Loss.
How to allocate natural capital to your portfolio
Portfolio construction for Natural Capital portfolios
Fulcrum Asset Management (October 2025)
This report provides practical guidance for building and managing natural capital investment portfolios.
Read this report to explore how asset managers are developing risk–return frameworks tailored to nature investments.
Most relevant section: Asset Selection and Portfolio Frameworks.
Nature-related Risk Handbook
UK Climate Financial Risk Forum (2024)
This handbook outlines how financial institutions can integrate nature-related risks into governance, lending, and investment processes. It provides templates and frameworks for assessing biodiversity and ecosystem exposure.
Read this report to learn how banks and asset managers are incorporating nature-related risk management into financial decision-making.
Most relevant sections: Emerging Practice on Risk Management and Case Studies.
Net Zero: The Second Stage The need for quality in the carbon credit market
Octopus Capital (2025)
This report explores how the carbon credit market is evolving to prioritise integrity, transparency, and measurable impact.
Read this report to understand what buyers are demanding in high-quality credits and how the market is maturing.
Most relevant section: The Evolution of Quality in Carbon Markets.
Why the time to allocate is now
Net Zero Navigator: Carbon Markets Opportunities
HSBC (2025)
This report analyses how voluntary and compliance carbon markets are developing globally, highlighting emerging opportunities for institutional investors.
Read this report to understand where credible, high-value carbon investment opportunities are emerging and how market standards are improving.
Most relevant sections: Market Trends and Investment Opportunity Areas sections.
Finance for Nature: Scaling Solutions
WEF (2025)
This report sets out the key tools, partnerships, and standards needed to scale private investment into nature-based solutions.
Read this report to explore the emerging market infrastructure and financial frameworks driving the next phase of nature finance.
Most relevant section: Scaling Finance and Market Infrastructure.
Carbon Credits Market for Agriculture, Forestry, and Land Use - A Global and Regional Analysis
BIS Research (2025)
This forward-looking analysis forecasts the growth of agricultural, forestry, and land-use carbon markets over the next decade.
Read this report to identify where innovation and credit supply will emerge globally, helping investors anticipate future market opportunities.
Most relevant sections: Regional Market Outlook and Startup Case Studies.
The Dasgupta Review
(HM Treasury, 2021)
This landmark review establishes the economic value of biodiversity and argues for embedding nature into financial and policy systems.
Read this report to understand why nature is a foundational component of economic prosperity and why finance must account for it.
Most relevant section: Economics of Biodiversity and Policy Implications.
Long-Term Carbon Credit Supply Outlook 2025
BloombergNEF (2025)
This report forecasts global carbon credit supply and demand to 2035, pinpointing key regional markets and constraints.
Read this report to see where the carbon market is expanding, and how these projections inform long-term investment strategy.
Most relevant section: Supply Outlook by Region and Market Bottlenecks.
Full reference list
Agri Investor (2025) South Yorkshire’s natural capital bet: A 40-year journey to the future. https://www.agriinvestor.com/south-yorkshires-natural-capital-bet-a-40-year-journey-to-the-future/ (Accessed: August 19, 2025).
Association of British Insurers (2025) Record UK flood insurance claims in 2024 – Rising costs and risks. https://www.unda.co.uk/news/record-uk-flood-insurance-claims-in-2024-rising-costs-and-risks/ (Accessed: September 12, 2025).
Bayer (2025) The Value of Pollinators To the Ecosystem and Our Economy. https://www.bayer.com/en/agriculture/article/economic-value-pollinators (Accessed: August 19, 2025).
BCG (2023) Moving Beyond Net Zero to Nature Positive. https://www.bcg.com/publications/2023/moving-beyond-net-zero-to-nature-positive (Accessed: September 2, 2025).
Bilal, A. and Kanzig, D.R. (2024) The Macroeconomic Impact of climate change: Global vs local temperature, Nber (National Bureau of Economic Research) Working Paper Series. report 32450. National Bureau of Economic Research. http://www.nber.org/papers/w32450 (Accessed: June 10, 2025).
Committee on Climate Change (2025) Scotland’s Carbon Budgets - Climate Change Committee. https://www.theccc.org.uk/publication/scotlands-carbon-budgets/.
Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), 2021. Biodiversity and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development – Policy Brief. Available at: https://www.cbd.int/development/doc/biodiversity-2030-agenda-policy-brief-en.pdf [Accessed 11 June 2025].
Dohle, M. and NetZero Investor (2024) 'Lessons on timber investing from Germany’s largest pension fund,' Netzeroinvestor, 16 October. https://www.netzeroinvestor.net/news-and-views/lessons-on-timber-investing-from-germanys-largest-pension-fund.
Environment Agency (2023) Building back better and mainstreaming property flood resilience. https://environmentagency.blog.gov.uk/2023/05/22/building-back-better-and-mainstreaming-property-flood-resilience/ (Accessed: June 10, 2025).
Global AgInvesting (2024) Rest Super Makes its First Alternative Impact Investment in Cibus Fund II. https://globalaginvesting.com/rest-super-makes-its-first-alternative-impact-investment-in-cibus-fund-ii/ (Accessed: August 19, 2025).
Global Water Intelligence and Xylem (2025) RETHINKING RESILIENCE, GWI2. https://amp.xylem.com/m/4cd9d0faf65084d2/original/rethinking-resilience.pdf (Accessed: September 12, 2025).
Global Water Intelligence and Xylem (2025) RETHINKING RESILIENCE: How a new era of extremes is changing how utilities invest, Global Water Intelligence. "
Gresham House and Mallow Street (2024) Natural Capital Report 2024, Gresham House. https://greshamhouse.com/news-media/natural-capital-investments/ (Accessed: June 13, 2025).
Munich Re (2024) Natural disaster risks - Rising trend in losses | Munich Re. https://www.munichre.com/en/risks/natural-disasters.html (Accessed: June 10, 2025).
NetZero Investor (2024) Bayerische Versorgungskammer: Investing in timber as an inflation hedge. https://longviewnetworks.maglr.com/net-zero-investor-spark/bayerische-versorgungskammer-investing-in-timber-as-an-inflation-hedge.
NOAA (2023) Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters | National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI). https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/billions/ (Accessed: June 10, 2025).
PensionsAge (2022) 'Essex Pension Fund commits £100m to carbon offset fund,' Pensions Age Magazine, 10 November. https://www.pensionsage.com/pa/Essex-pension-fund-announces-100m-anchor-commitment-in-carbon-offset-fund.php."
Ritchie, H. and Roser, M. (2019) Land use. https://ourworldindata.org/land-use#:~:text=At%20the%20global%20level%2C%20per,it%20was%20in%20the%201960s.
Rodell, M. et al. (2023) 'Changing intensity of hydroclimatic extreme events revealed by GRACE and GRACE-FO,' Nature Water, 1(3), pp. 241–248. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44221-023-00040-5.
Room 151 (2022) Essex Pension Fund commits £100m to carbon offset impact fund. https://www.room151.co.uk/151-news/essex-pension-fund-commits-100m-to-carbon-offset-impact-fund/ (Accessed: August 19, 2025).
BloombergNEF (uses the same population, GDP and food demand assumptions in both scenarios. Total land demand comparison is illustrative as demand categories are not necessarily additive. Renewables are wind and solar, biofuels include plastics.
University of Exeter and Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (2025) Planetary solvency–Finding our balance with nature Global risk management for human prosperity, Institute and Faculty of Actuaries. https://actuaries.org.uk/document-library/thought-leadership/thought-leadership-campaigns/climate-papers/planetary-solvency-finding-our-balance-with-nature/ (Accessed: June 13, 2025)
World Bank Group (2024) 'Global carbon pricing revenues top a record $100 billion,' World Bank, 21 May. https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2024/05/21/global-carbon-pricing-revenues-top-a-record-100-billion.
World Economic Forum (2023) This is why the European Central Bank says that destroying nature will destroy the economy. https://www.weforum.org/stories/2023/06/nature-loss-financial-risk-biodiversity/ (Accessed: June 10, 2025)
World Economic Forum (2024) Business on the Edge: Building Industry Resilience to Climate Hazards, World Economic Forum. https://reports.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Business_on_the_Edge_2024.pdf (Accessed: June 13, 2025).
World Economic Forum and PwC (2020) Nature Risk Rising: Why the Crisis Engulfing Nature Matters for Business and the Economy, World Economic Forum. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_New_Nature_Economy_Report_2020.pdf (Accessed: June 11, 2025).
La Caisse (2025) Environment. https://www.lacaisse.com/en/sir/2024/environment#section-5 (Accessed: August 19, 2025).
Ezpanded sources for graphs
Correlation matrix of real and traditional assets 1995-2024: Asset classes are represented by the following indexes: U.S. equities – S&P 500 Total Return; U.S. bonds – Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate; U.S. REITs – FTSE Nareit All Equity REITs; Gold – LBMA Gold Price; U.S. Annual Cropland – NCREIF Annual Cropland Index; U.S. Permanent Cropland – NCREIF Permanent Cropland Index; U.S. Timberland – NCREIF Timberland Property Index; U.K. Forestry – Gresham House internal benchmark. Inflation: UK CPI (ONS). FX: Bank of England GBP/USD, applied via standard pass-through to local returns. Portfolios are long-only and fully invested; where shown, institutional constraints are Equity ≥ 50%, Bonds ≥ 25%, Real assets (aggregate) ≤ 20%, and ≤ 5% per real asset. Mean–variance optimisation based on historical returns is illustrative and not investment advice; appraisal-based indices may understate volatility and smooth drawdowns.
The contents of this document should not be perceived as investment advice.
Reading & references
Why
What
Reports worth reading
This guide has been developed using a wide range of publications from across the natural capital industry. The report is divided into sections, as shown in the diagram above. Click on any section to access further reading and resources related to that topic, including guidance on which parts of the supporting documents are most relevant. This is a continually expanding collection of evidence that we will keep building over time.
What is natural capital?
What: Sustainable agriculture
Views on Natural Capital and Evidence Use in Agricultural Policy
Hutton Institute (2024)
This report examines how evidence on natural capital is used—or ignored—in shaping agricultural policy.
Read this report to understand how evidence-based policymaking can unlock new opportunities for regenerative land investment.
Most relevant section: Evidence Use in Policy and Barriers to Uptake.
What: Sustainable forestry
Sustainable Investing in Timberland and Agriculture
Manulife (2024)
This report analyses how institutional investors are managing timberland and agriculture as sustainable, income-generating assets.
Read this report to explore investment models for sustainable forestry hat balance long-term yield with environmental stewardship.
Most relevant sections: Asset-class Mechanics and Investor Case Studies.
Ecological Forestry and Insurance Risk
WTW & The Nature Conservancy (2024)
This report links sustainable forestry management with insurance and investment risk reduction.
Read this report to see how ecological forestry can support long-term portfolio resilience and mitigate financial risk.
Most relevant section: Insurance Risk in Forestry and Ecological Investment Models.
What: Nature based solutions
Natural Flood Management (NFM) Programme
DEFRA (2025)
This report explains how the UK government is scaling up natural flood management as a practical and investable model for climate resilience. It shows how land-use interventions, such as rewetting, woodland creation, and soil restoration, deliver both environmental and economic value.
Read this report to understand how the UK is designing measurable nature-based interventions that attract investment.
The most useful sections are the Introduction and Evaluation of Pilot Projects.
Investing in Nature-based Solutions
EIB / European Commission (2023)
This report explains how public and private finance can collaborate to scale up investment in nature-based infrastructure. It presents case studies, financing models, and structural challenges that limit capital flows.
Read this report to discover what financing pathways and partnerships are working to mobilise large-scale nature investment.
Most relevant sections: Financing Mechanisms and Barriers to Private Capital Mobilisation.
Decent Work in Nature-based Solutions
UNEP (2024)
This report examines the social and employment benefits of investing in nature-based solutions.
Read this report to see how NbS can generate inclusive, sustainable employment alongside environmental outcomes.
Financing Nature-based Solutions: Barriers and Opportunities
WWF UK (2022)
This report identifies the major barriers holding back private investment in NbS and proposes policy and data interventions to overcome them.
Read this report to understand the current perceived 'barriers' to NBS and the opportunities for overcoming these.
Most relevant section: Barriers to Investment and Enablers for Scaling.
Enabling Investment in Natural Flood Management
GFI (2025)
This publication demonstrates how natural flood management can evolve into an investable, finance-ready investment theme.
Read this report to understand different models for financing NFM projects and how they can be replicated to deliver resilience returns.
Most relevant section: Project Finance Mechanisms and Data Frameworks.
The Rebalance Earth Guide to Nature-Based Solutions: Practical Infrastructure for a Changing World
Rebalance Earth (2025)
This report presents practical frameworks and case studies for scaling nature-based solutions that generate measurable carbon and biodiversity outcomes.
Read this report to identify which types of NbS projects align with your investment objectives and how to structure financing for them.
Most relevant section: Infrastructure Requirements and Project Typologies.
RETHINKING RESILIENCE: How a new era of extremes is changing how utilities invest
Global Water Intelligence and Xylem (2025)
This report explores how the utilities sector is changing investment strategies in response to extreme climate events.
Read this report to learn how nature-based and hybrid infrastructure can enhance asset protection and community resilience.
Most relevant section: Investment Patterns in Utilities and Nature-Based Resilience.
Why should investors consider natural capital?
Why: Portfolio benefits
Supervisory Framework for Nature-related Financial Risks
OECD (2024)
This report examines how financial supervisors and regulators are beginning to account for nature-related financial risks in the global system. It highlights supervisory tools and forward-looking regulatory expectations.
Read this report to understand how regulatory policy is evolving to treat nature degradation as a systemic risk.
Most relevant sections: Supervisory Approaches and Regulatory Frameworks.
State and Trends of Carbon Pricing
World Bank (2024)
This global review provides a detailed overview of carbon pricing mechanisms, comparing policies across regions and assessing their investment implications.
Read this report to understand how carbon pricing influences global capital flows and the economics of nature-based mitigation.
The most relevant sections are: Regional Pricing Mechanisms and Investment Implications.
Capital at risk: nature through an investment lens
Blackrock (August 2024)
This report details how nature degradation is emerging as a core financial risk impacting asset valuations and investment performance.
Read this report to see how major asset managers like BlackRock are pricing nature risk into portfolio construction and risk-adjusted returns.
Most relevant sections: Investment Lenses on Nature and Risk-adjusted Returns.
S&P Global Sustainable1 Nature Dependency Analysis
World Economic Forum (2025)
This report provides a comprehensive sector-by-sector analysis of corporate dependencies on nature and ecosystem services.
Read this report to identify which industries are most exposed to nature degradation and how investors can quantify those dependencies and then they can act to ensure they have resilience.
Most relevant section: Dependency Analysis and Sectoral Exposure.
UK Flood Risk Assessment
Aviva (2025)
This report explains how climate change is reshaping flood risk in the UK and how insurers are adapting their models.
Read this report to understand how nature-based adaptation can reduce portfolio exposure and enhance climate resilience.
Most relevant section: Methodology and Investment Implications.
UK Institutional Allocations to Natural Capital
Gresham House (2024)
This report reviews how UK institutional investors are allocating capital toward natural capital projects.
Read this report to understand current market participation and identify where further institutional engagement is likely to grow.
The most relevant section is “Current Allocations and Decision Drivers.”
Business on the Edge: Building Industry Resilience to Climate Hazards
World Economic Forum (2024)
This report examines how businesses are adapting to intensifying climate hazards through resilience and adaptation strategies.
Read this report to see how nature-based solutions and climate adaptation are becoming central to corporate risk management.
Most relevant section: Resilience Strategies for Climate-Exposed Industries.
Climate Change Trade-Offs: What does it take to keep our world insurable?
Allianz Research (2024)
This report explores how climate change is pushing global insurance systems to their limits and what must change to maintain insurability.
Read this report to understand how natural capital investments can strengthen resilience and safeguard insurability.
Most relevant section: Adapting Insurance to Climate Extremes.
Mainstreaming Natural Capital: Advancing the Global Agenda to Integrate Nature in Decision-Making
World Economic Forum (2025)
This report outlines the global frameworks and policy pathways driving the integration of natural capital into decision-making systems.
Read this report to see how leading organisations are embedding nature into governance, investment, and reporting structures.
Most relevant section: Integrating Nature into Corporate and Policy Decision-Making.
Why: Structural opportunities
Mainstreaming Natural Capital
WEF (2025)
This report explores how natural capital is being embedded into corporate strategy and financial systems worldwide. It highlights how leading organisations are integrating ecosystem value into business models.
Read this report to understand how mainstream investors and companies are operationalising nature-based accounting and investment.
Most relevant sections: Market Architecture and Business Adoption of Natural Capital.
Natural Capital: The Battle for Control
Green Alliance / WWF-UK (2022)
This report analyses the power dynamics and governance structures shaping ownership and control of natural capital.
Read it to understand the distributional challenges of building fair, transparent markets for nature.
The most relevant section is “Governance and Value-chain Control.”
Private Finance for Nature
World Biodiversity Forum (2025)
This report showcases how private finance can close the biodiversity funding gap through blended models and public–private partnerships.
Read this report to discover real-world examples of institutional capital being channelled into measurable conservation outcomes.
Most relevant section: Mobilising Private Capital for Biodiversity.
Global Institutional Investor Survey
Pollination Nature Finance (May 2025)
This report provides insight into institutional investors’ current attitudes toward nature-based finance.
Read this report to understand the key barriers to institutional investment and the conditions required to unlock capital flows into natural assets.
The most relevant section is “Investor Barriers and Unlocking Capital.”
Nature and Investors Survey (2024–25)
Responsible Investor (2025)
This survey assesses global investor sentiment around nature, biodiversity, and disclosure frameworks such as TNFD.
Read this report to compare how investors are defining, valuing, and allocating to nature-related opportunities.
Most relevant section: Investor Sentiment and Allocation Trends.
Economic and financial impacts of nature degradation and biodiversity loss
European Central Bank (2024)
This report outlines how biodiversity loss threatens macroeconomic and financial stability in Europe.
Read this report to understand why central banks are treating ecosystem decline as a systemic financial risk.
Most relevant section: Systemic Risk Pathways and Financial Impacts.
This is why the European Central Bank says that destroying nature will destroy the economy
World Economic Forum (2023)
This article explains the ECB’s findings that link biodiversity loss directly to inflation, supply-chain disruption, and systemic economic instability.
Read this report to see how nature loss translates into macroeconomic risk and why investors should pay attention.
Most relevant section: Nature Loss and Financial Stability.
Planetary solvency–finding our balance with nature Global risk management for human prosperity
University of Exeter and Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (2025)
This report introduces the concept of “planetary solvency,” arguing that ecological health underpins economic and actuarial solvency.
Read this report to understand how nature degradation threatens long-term financial resilience and solvency modelling.
Most relevant section: Risk and Solvency Implications of Biodiversity Loss.
How to allocate natural capital to your portfolio
Portfolio construction for Natural Capital portfolios
Fulcrum Asset Management (October 2025)
This report provides practical guidance for building and managing natural capital investment portfolios.
Read this report to explore how asset managers are developing risk–return frameworks tailored to nature investments.
Most relevant section: Asset Selection and Portfolio Frameworks.
Nature-related Risk Handbook
UK Climate Financial Risk Forum (2024)
This handbook outlines how financial institutions can integrate nature-related risks into governance, lending, and investment processes. It provides templates and frameworks for assessing biodiversity and ecosystem exposure.
Read this report to learn how banks and asset managers are incorporating nature-related risk management into financial decision-making.
Most relevant sections: Emerging Practice on Risk Management and Case Studies.
Net Zero: The Second Stage The need for quality in the carbon credit market
Octopus Capital (2025)
This report explores how the carbon credit market is evolving to prioritise integrity, transparency, and measurable impact.
Read this report to understand what buyers are demanding in high-quality credits and how the market is maturing.
Most relevant section: The Evolution of Quality in Carbon Markets.
Why the time to allocate is now
Net Zero Navigator: Carbon Markets Opportunities
HSBC (2025)
This report analyses how voluntary and compliance carbon markets are developing globally, highlighting emerging opportunities for institutional investors.
Read this report to understand where credible, high-value carbon investment opportunities are emerging and how market standards are improving.
Most relevant sections: Market Trends and Investment Opportunity Areas sections.
Finance for Nature: Scaling Solutions
WEF (2025)
This report sets out the key tools, partnerships, and standards needed to scale private investment into nature-based solutions.
Read this report to explore the emerging market infrastructure and financial frameworks driving the next phase of nature finance.
Most relevant section: Scaling Finance and Market Infrastructure.
Carbon Credits Market for Agriculture, Forestry, and Land Use - A Global and Regional Analysis
BIS Research (2025)
This forward-looking analysis forecasts the growth of agricultural, forestry, and land-use carbon markets over the next decade.
Read this report to identify where innovation and credit supply will emerge globally, helping investors anticipate future market opportunities.
Most relevant sections: Regional Market Outlook and Startup Case Studies.
The Dasgupta Review
(HM Treasury, 2021)
This landmark review establishes the economic value of biodiversity and argues for embedding nature into financial and policy systems.
Read this report to understand why nature is a foundational component of economic prosperity and why finance must account for it.
Most relevant section: Economics of Biodiversity and Policy Implications.
Long-Term Carbon Credit Supply Outlook 2025
BloombergNEF (2025)
This report forecasts global carbon credit supply and demand to 2035, pinpointing key regional markets and constraints.
Read this report to see where the carbon market is expanding, and how these projections inform long-term investment strategy.
Most relevant section: Supply Outlook by Region and Market Bottlenecks.
Full reference list
Agri Investor (2025) South Yorkshire’s natural capital bet: A 40-year journey to the future. https://www.agriinvestor.com/south-yorkshires-natural-capital-bet-a-40-year-journey-to-the-future/ (Accessed: August 19, 2025).
Association of British Insurers (2025) Record UK flood insurance claims in 2024 – Rising costs and risks. https://www.unda.co.uk/news/record-uk-flood-insurance-claims-in-2024-rising-costs-and-risks/ (Accessed: September 12, 2025).
Bayer (2025) The Value of Pollinators To the Ecosystem and Our Economy. https://www.bayer.com/en/agriculture/article/economic-value-pollinators (Accessed: August 19, 2025).
BCG (2023) Moving Beyond Net Zero to Nature Positive. https://www.bcg.com/publications/2023/moving-beyond-net-zero-to-nature-positive (Accessed: September 2, 2025).
Bilal, A. and Kanzig, D.R. (2024) The Macroeconomic Impact of climate change: Global vs local temperature, Nber (National Bureau of Economic Research) Working Paper Series. report 32450. National Bureau of Economic Research. http://www.nber.org/papers/w32450 (Accessed: June 10, 2025).
Committee on Climate Change (2025) Scotland’s Carbon Budgets - Climate Change Committee. https://www.theccc.org.uk/publication/scotlands-carbon-budgets/.
Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), 2021. Biodiversity and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development – Policy Brief. Available at: https://www.cbd.int/development/doc/biodiversity-2030-agenda-policy-brief-en.pdf [Accessed 11 June 2025].
Dohle, M. and NetZero Investor (2024) 'Lessons on timber investing from Germany’s largest pension fund,' Netzeroinvestor, 16 October. https://www.netzeroinvestor.net/news-and-views/lessons-on-timber-investing-from-germanys-largest-pension-fund.
Environment Agency (2023) Building back better and mainstreaming property flood resilience. https://environmentagency.blog.gov.uk/2023/05/22/building-back-better-and-mainstreaming-property-flood-resilience/ (Accessed: June 10, 2025).
Global AgInvesting (2024) Rest Super Makes its First Alternative Impact Investment in Cibus Fund II. https://globalaginvesting.com/rest-super-makes-its-first-alternative-impact-investment-in-cibus-fund-ii/ (Accessed: August 19, 2025).
Global Water Intelligence and Xylem (2025) RETHINKING RESILIENCE, GWI2. https://amp.xylem.com/m/4cd9d0faf65084d2/original/rethinking-resilience.pdf (Accessed: September 12, 2025).
Global Water Intelligence and Xylem (2025) RETHINKING RESILIENCE: How a new era of extremes is changing how utilities invest, Global Water Intelligence. "
Gresham House and Mallow Street (2024) Natural Capital Report 2024, Gresham House. https://greshamhouse.com/news-media/natural-capital-investments/ (Accessed: June 13, 2025).
Munich Re (2024) Natural disaster risks - Rising trend in losses | Munich Re. https://www.munichre.com/en/risks/natural-disasters.html (Accessed: June 10, 2025).
NetZero Investor (2024) Bayerische Versorgungskammer: Investing in timber as an inflation hedge. https://longviewnetworks.maglr.com/net-zero-investor-spark/bayerische-versorgungskammer-investing-in-timber-as-an-inflation-hedge.
NOAA (2023) Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters | National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI). https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/billions/ (Accessed: June 10, 2025).
PensionsAge (2022) 'Essex Pension Fund commits £100m to carbon offset fund,' Pensions Age Magazine, 10 November. https://www.pensionsage.com/pa/Essex-pension-fund-announces-100m-anchor-commitment-in-carbon-offset-fund.php."
Ritchie, H. and Roser, M. (2019) Land use. https://ourworldindata.org/land-use#:~:text=At%20the%20global%20level%2C%20per,it%20was%20in%20the%201960s.
Rodell, M. et al. (2023) 'Changing intensity of hydroclimatic extreme events revealed by GRACE and GRACE-FO,' Nature Water, 1(3), pp. 241–248. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44221-023-00040-5.
Room 151 (2022) Essex Pension Fund commits £100m to carbon offset impact fund. https://www.room151.co.uk/151-news/essex-pension-fund-commits-100m-to-carbon-offset-impact-fund/ (Accessed: August 19, 2025).
BloombergNEF (uses the same population, GDP and food demand assumptions in both scenarios. Total land demand comparison is illustrative as demand categories are not necessarily additive. Renewables are wind and solar, biofuels include plastics.
University of Exeter and Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (2025) Planetary solvency–Finding our balance with nature Global risk management for human prosperity, Institute and Faculty of Actuaries. https://actuaries.org.uk/document-library/thought-leadership/thought-leadership-campaigns/climate-papers/planetary-solvency-finding-our-balance-with-nature/ (Accessed: June 13, 2025)
World Bank Group (2024) 'Global carbon pricing revenues top a record $100 billion,' World Bank, 21 May. https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2024/05/21/global-carbon-pricing-revenues-top-a-record-100-billion.
World Economic Forum (2023) This is why the European Central Bank says that destroying nature will destroy the economy. https://www.weforum.org/stories/2023/06/nature-loss-financial-risk-biodiversity/ (Accessed: June 10, 2025)
World Economic Forum (2024) Business on the Edge: Building Industry Resilience to Climate Hazards, World Economic Forum. https://reports.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Business_on_the_Edge_2024.pdf (Accessed: June 13, 2025).
World Economic Forum and PwC (2020) Nature Risk Rising: Why the Crisis Engulfing Nature Matters for Business and the Economy, World Economic Forum. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_New_Nature_Economy_Report_2020.pdf (Accessed: June 11, 2025).
La Caisse (2025) Environment. https://www.lacaisse.com/en/sir/2024/environment#section-5 (Accessed: August 19, 2025).
Expanded sources for graphs:
Correlation matrix of real and traditional assets 1995-2024: Asset classes are represented by the following indexes: U.S. equities – S&P 500 Total Return; U.S. bonds – Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate; U.S. REITs – FTSE Nareit All Equity REITs; Gold – LBMA Gold Price; U.S. Annual Cropland – NCREIF Annual Cropland Index; U.S. Permanent Cropland – NCREIF Permanent Cropland Index; U.S. Timberland – NCREIF Timberland Property Index; U.K. Forestry – Gresham House internal benchmark. Inflation: UK CPI (ONS). FX: Bank of England GBP/USD, applied via standard pass-through to local returns. Portfolios are long-only and fully invested; where shown, institutional constraints are Equity ≥ 50%, Bonds ≥ 25%, Real assets (aggregate) ≤ 20%, and ≤ 5% per real asset. Mean–variance optimisation based on historical returns is illustrative and not investment advice; appraisal-based indices may understate volatility and smooth drawdowns.