Mainstreaming Natural Capital 2025

Images: Getty Images Disclaimer This document is published by the World Economic Forum as a contribution to a project, insight area or interaction. The findings, interpretations and conclusions expressed herein are a result of a collaborative process facilitated and endorsed by the World Economic Forum but whose results do not necessarily represent the views of the World Economic Forum, nor the entirety of its Members, Partners or other stakeholders. © 2025 World Economic Forum. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system.Contents Introduction 1 Understanding natural capital 1.1 Legacy economic models and metrics are no longer fit-for-purpose 1.2 Natural capital approaches provide a clearer picture of nature’s value to business and society 1.3 The public sector is beginning to embrace natural capital approaches 1.4 Natural capital initiatives in the private sector are relatively nascent 2 Challenges to mainstreaming natural capital 2.1 Unclear market mechanisms to value and/or price nature in economic and financial systems 2.2 Lack of regulations and incentives for nature 2.3 Data and capacity challenges 2.4 Unique challenges for businesses 2.5 Lack of public-private collaboration 2.6 Political and cultural challenges 3 Advancing the natural capital agenda 3.1 Embedding natural capital approaches in the public sector 3.2 Boosting data, science, analytics and capacity building 3.3 Integrating natural capital into financial accounting 3.4 Empowering traditional finance and markets to price in the full value of nature 3.5 Redefining social and cultural values for systems change 4 Next steps Contributors Acknowledgements Endnotes3 4 4 6 7 9 10 10 11 11 12 12 12 13 13 14 15 15 16 17 18 18 19 Mainstreaming Natural Capital: Advancing the Global Agenda to Integrate Nature in Decision-Making 2