AgForce Natural Capital Portfolio. “Valuing natural systems within agribusiness”

AgForce is looking to better understand and quantify the value of our ‘natural capital’ assets and how we manage these resources through on-ground actions for better environmental, social and economic outcomes, and use this information to back-up our policy work and claims with robust data.

Encompassing sustainability, the development of a Natural Capital portfolio within AgForce aspires to improve on-ground management of these assets for the long-term benefit of all stakeholders. The portfolio embodies climate, mineral and energy resources, land, soil resources, biological resources, water resources and ecosystem assets.

The portfolio will set out an AgForce endorsed vision for agriculture and how industry will incorporate policy and on-ground action to help maintain, restore and recover natural capital for the current and next generation.

Natural Capital Portfolio Vision

• The ability to put a $ figure to land management practices and our natural capital (assets)
• Setting a vision that Government and no other agricultural organisation can or has provided
• A vehicle to link industry policy to on-ground programs and projects for industry outcomes and backed up with robust data and evidence
• An opportunity for AgForce to lead change and implement industry improvement
• Ability to attract support and investment from external sources to delivery on industry and committee needs.

In May 2018, NAB and AgForce Qld signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) agreeing to work together to better understand the value of natural capital to Australian farmers. This collaboration links into the NAB Natural Value strategy, which has been in place under for over 4 years in the bank’s corporate responsibility department (https://www.nab.com.au/about-us/corporate-responsibility/environment/natural-value).

Details of the work associated with the MoU can be found HERE.

The NAB AgForce Natural Capital Project is also conducting a risk profile project (survey) that is being developed to investigate the link between land condition, management practices and financial performance. In conjunction with CSIRO the survey results are expected to be published late 2019.