Australian Organisations Make Case for Natural Capital Accounting in Resource Sector

Two organisations have collaborated on the release of a new suite of resources geared at helping companies in the Australian mining industry implement natural capital accounting (NCA).

The Cooperative Research Centre for Transformations in Mining Economies (CRC TiME) and CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, announced the news in a press release on Monday (July 15).

NCA is a means of “accounting for impacts on nature over the life of projects.” Mining companies of all stages are increasingly being asked to show how they affect the environment and mitigate their impact accordingly.

Funding for the suite of resources came from the Commonwealth Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW), the initiator of the overarching CRC TiME NCA project.

Bryan Maybee, program leader at CRC TiME, said that risks to economic stability associated with changing climates and declining biodiversity “have generated calls for greater action from the private sector.”

“The prominence of NCA and natural capital assessment in responding to these calls for improved disclosure has accelerated considerably over the last decade,” continued Maybee, who is also associate professor of minerals and energy economics at Curtin University in Perth. “This has seen the emergence of numerous initiatives, frameworks, metrics and targets, all aimed at improving the consistency and comparability of reporting in relation to natural capital.”

Dr. Anthony O’Grady, a CRC TiME project manager and senior principal research scientist in CSIRO's natural capital group, described NCA as a key tool for understanding how the environment and economy interact.

He added that by improving disclosure and sustainability in mining companies, the industry can do a better job of showing environmental accountability — a characteristic many investors would like to see.

The suite of resources includes a business case that analyses the benefits of adopting NCA, along with an indicative roadmap. It also provides guidance on concepts, methods and reporting structures for NCA and risk assessment.

A comprehensive case study report can also be found in the suite. It presents synopses of pilot case studies testing the System of Environmental Economic Accounting-Ecosystem Accounting framework’s applicability in the Australian mining sector. These case studies assisted in the development of the business case and guidance materials.

“These reports have analyzed existing data to facilitate the development of the consistent approach that is needed across the mining sector,” Maybee said. Tests and demonstrations on the potential use of NCA information for strategic forecasting purposes in the mining sector are included in the report as well.

Other CRC TiME partners include Alcoa (NYSE:AA), BHP (ASX:BHP,LSE:BHP,NYSE:BHP), Curtin University, Hanson Construction Materials, Murdoch University, Syrinx Environmental and the University of South Australia.

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Securities Disclosure: I, Gabrielle de la Cruz, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.