Coordinated by the Earthwatch Institute: Australia, the Oceania Ecosystem Services Forum 2017 held a special business stream offering a unique opportunity to connect with leading companies who are shaping the discourse of natural capital within business, to hear of the latest developments and learn from real-life case studies.

In an increasingly resource-constrained world, we are in danger of degrading our world’s natural capital beyond repair.  If society is to thrive and grow, sustainability needs to be woven into the very fabric of our economy, meaning that natural capital needs to become a part of everyday business decision making. Smart business leaders are adapting, transforming the way they operate and embracing opportunities to adopt best management practice.

The Oceania Ecosystem Services Forum 2017 held a special business stream across 2 ½ days of the conference;  Tuesday 28^th, Wednesday 29^th and Thursday morning 30^th, offering a unique opportunity to connect with leading companies who are shaping the discourse of natural capital within business, to hear of the latest developments and
learn from real-life case studies.

The reliance businesses have on ecosystem services is becoming increasingly evident and the services nature provides can no longer be taken for granted. There are great risks to business including disruption, resource scarcity, financial, legislative and reputational if they continue to undervalue nature’s benefits. Better management of natural capital will not only help tackle some of our biggest global challenges, including climate change, resource scarcity and biodiversity loss, but it will also drive innovation and create opportunities. Hence it is in business’s best interest to factor their impacts and dependencies upon natural capital into their decision making processes.

In a range of inspiring and interactive sessions, Speakers offered:

• Insights into the latest major natural capital and investor trends
• Accounting for ecosystems and navigating through the natural capital protocol
• Managing and understanding risks associated with ecosystem services
• Examples of transformational change and how natural capital thinking is driving innovation
• Cutting-edge case studies that demonstrate the benefits of putting ecosystem services at the heart of decision making

Attending this Oceania event in Brisbane was an opportunity to become part of this growing discussion and help forge your business in to the future.  

• Natural Capital Protocol Workshop – On Tuesday morning a workshop was held for participants to learn how the Protocol was developed, what it is, why it’s relevant to your business and how it can help you make better decisions. Speaking in the workshop was Josh Bishop, WWF Australia, who helped develop the protocol with the Natural Capital Coalition and Daniel Gschwind (Queensland Tourism Industry Council), Camillo Coladonato (Dow Chemical) and Frank Sciarra (Eco Bananas) presented case studies.  View Workshop details and photos here.

• Plenary – On Wednesday afternoon an exhilarating discussion was held between Adam Carlon (Department of Environment and Energy), Dr Matthew Bell (Ernst and Young) and Dr Tim Richards (Qantas) on how government and business are working together to facilitate change, the growing trends by investors and what’s driving change, and how both economic and environmental benefits can co-exist. View Plenary details and photos here.

• Presentations – All day Wednesday and Thursday morning participants at the Forum could hear from a range of speakers covering Risk Management and Tools, Investing in Nature, Innovation and On-ground Action and Ecosystem Services Evaluation.  They learnt of ways business is creating new opportunities to drive change that benefit the triple, if not quadruple bottom line. View Presentation details and photos here.

Proudly supported by ABBI (Australian Business and Biodiversity Initiative).