Natural capital – our ecosystems, biodiversity, and natural resources – underpins economies, societies and individual wellbeing. The values of its myriad benefits are, however, often overlooked or poorly understood. They are rarely taken fully into accountthrough economic signals in markets, or in day to day decisions by business and citizens, nor indeed reflected adequately in the accounts of society. The steady loss of forests, soils, wetlands and coral reefs is closely tied to this economic invisibility. So too are the losses of species and of productive assets like fisheries, driven partly by ignoring values beyond the immediate and private. We are running down our natural capital stock without understanding the value of what we are losing. Missed opportunities to invest in this natural capital contribute to the biodiversity crisisthat is becoming more evident and more pressing by the day. The degradation of soils, air, water and biological resources can negatively impact on...

This Briefing Document, by Tomorrow’s Company, summarises the international initiative on ‘The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity’ (TEEB), and focuses on the roles that businesses can play in that initiative. It presents the business case for the conservation of ecosystems and biodiversity. The Tomorrow's Company Briefing Documents are intended to provide the reader with a comprehensive introduction to a particular topic. You can find the full list of Briefing Documents on forceforgood.com here. 

This Briefing Document, by Tomorrow’s Company, summarises microfinance and its increasing importance. It also briefly describes the most controversial issues surrounding different facets of microfinance. 

An outstanding presentation put together by Joshua Bishop and of great value and contribution to 'The economics of ecosystems and biodiversity' (TEEB)  for business report.

This article looks at inherent problems associated with seeking economic growth above all else.  In particular it advocates the creation of a more stable system; one that does not constantly need extra-resources, which the world can no longer supply. John Fullerton is a former Managing Director of JPMorgan, where he worked for 18 years in New York, London, and Tokyo, and subsequently was CEO of an energy focused hedge fund. He is now seeking to launch an investment fund for high impact sustainability initiatives and is working on “The Purpose of Capital,” a book about the role of investment capital in sustainable economics. He is a friend and supporter of the E. F. Schumacher Society in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. John can be reached at john@level3cap.com.