The Financial Times journalist, Gillian Tett suggests, ‘If you want to hide something in the twenty-first-century world, you don't need to create a James Bond-style plot. Just cover it in acronyms’114 The world of accounting for nature is no different, with numerous acronyms and confusing terms. Here are some terms you will encounter and their definitions.
Biodiversity
The United Nations’ Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) definition,
‘The variability among living organisms from all sources, including inter alia, terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part; this includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems’115
Ecosystem
The Natural Capital Protocol defines an ecosystem as,
‘A dynamic complex of plants, animals, and microorganisms, and their non-living environment, interacting as a functional unit. Examples include deserts, coral reefs, wetlands, and rainforests (MA 2005a). Ecosystems are part of natural capital’116
Extinction accounting (EA)
To show how the loss, or absence of a species is in fact also a financial loss to business through the absence of the species’ contribution to the ecosystem and to ‘ecosystem services.’117
Keystone actors
Keystone actors are organisations that, through their activities and businesses, shape global ecosystems.118
Keystone species
An organism that helps define an entire ecosystem, such as a bee, which is a pollinator for fruits, nuts and other crops.
Materiality
The Integrated Reporting <IR> framework defines materiality as,
‘A matter is material if it could substantively affect the organization’s ability to create value in the short, medium or long term’119
Nature
The TNFD defines nature as, ‘a construct of four realms — land, ocean, freshwater and atmosphere’120
Natural capital
The Integrated Reporting <IR> framework definition,
‘All renewable and non-renewable environmental resources and processes that provide goods or services that support the past, current or future prosperity of an organization. It includes:
Air, water, land, minerals and forests
Biodiversity and ecosystem health.’ 121
Science Based Targets (SBTs)
‘Measurable, actionable, and time-bound objectives, based on the best available science, that allow actors to align with Earth’s limits and societal sustainability goals’.122
Wicked problem
‘A problem or policy issue that is difficult to solve because of multiple, incomplete, intractable, contradictory, contested and/ or changing requirements that are difficult to recognise, often without a single solution’.123
