Businesses and investors are increasingly looking to embed the value they receive from nature, people and society into their decision-making.
Many recognise their impacts and dependencies on the capitals. What they need now is a clear pathway to include this value in the decisions they make.

Understanding the value of their impacts and dependencies on the capitals can be a watershed moment for organizations, who often realize that issues they had considered to be immaterial in fact directly underpin their success.

By providing organizations with tools to identify and measure the value they receive from natural, social and human capital (as well as produced capital), the capitals approach provides a holistic understanding of the system in which organizations operate, leading to integrated decision-making with broad benefits across the capitals. 

But, this approach is nascent and a significant skills and knowledge gap exists within organizations looking to apply the capitals approach.

The Capitals Coalition now offers two free online courses to address this challenge – Valuing Nature and People to Inform Decision-making and Transforming Business: Valuing Social & Human Capital.

Valuing Nature and People to Inform Decision-making

The course, supported by We Value Nature, follows the steps outlined in the Natural Capital Protocol and the Social & Human Capital Protocol – Frame, Scope, Measure & Value and Apply.

The course will introduce individuals working in the private sector to the fundamental aspects of the capitals approach and provide guidance on where to start when adopting the approach within an organization. This course is introductory and no prior knowledge of natural, social or human capital is required.

Each module contains multiple instructor-led videos which provide business cases and case studies from leading companies. Interviews with business leaders provide expert insight and best practice to learners and cover the journey organizations have taken to embed the approach across their operations.

Read the course curriculum in full here.

Register here.

Transforming Business: Valuing Social and Human Capital

This course, developed with Nature^Squared, WBCSD-BCTI and Social Value International, provides a comprehensive introduction to the capitals approach and businesses’ relationship with social and human capital, presents an overview of relevant frameworks and initiatives and touches upon the current regulatory and reporting landscape related to social and human capital.

The course covers the steps of a capitals assessment, starting with an introduction to social and human capital, and the business case for tackling inequality and respecting human rights. Then presenting the benefits of undertaking a social and human capitals assessment and best practices for stakeholder engagement.

Learners will be introduced to the concepts of impacts and dependencies, impact drivers, and will learn how to measure and value these in relation to their business activities. Finally, the course will provide guidance on how to apply the results of your assessment and communicate about the outcomes.

Read the course curriculum in full here.

Register here.