ICAEW has teamed up with 10 partners on a new project that aims to make it easier for organisations to identify and use relevant nature-related information and tools. This will help organisations to better understand and manage their nature-related risks, capture new opportunities and contribute towards global nature-recovery goals.

A-Track (short for Accelerating TRAnsformation through Capitals Knowledge) brings together organisations leading the way on the use of nature-related data and tools, and in business, finance and economic transformation. The other partners are Capitals Coalition, World Business Council for Sustainable Development, Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership, VITO, UNEP-WCMC, Tecnalia, Oppla, Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, University of Stuttgart and IDEEA Group.

A-Track will consolidate and build on existing initiatives and best practice in order to develop, pilot, test, demonstrate and scale innovations across the economy and finance system. Work will cover key areas such as nature-related risk and materiality assessment, natural capital accounting, life-cycle analysis, business models, and innovative finance mechanisms that contribute to nature positive outcomes.

The €11m (£9.4m) project is funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe programme, with co-funding from UK Research and Innovation and the Swiss National Science Foundation. It will contribute to delivery of the European Green Deal, as well as generating knowledge, know-how and materials that will be relevant globally.

Engaging and influencing

ICAEW’s role in the project focuses on engaging and influencing the accounting profession, leveraging our global network of members that lead and advise organisations across all areas of the economy. 

As previously reported, nature is being degraded and biodiversity lost faster than at any other time in human history. This is natural capital on which all businesses and economies depend, so loss of nature means a loss of business value, as well as instability in the finance system and wider economy. 

Accounting professionals are well placed to put nature at the heart of business and financial decision-making through the organisations they advise and lead, and in doing so play a key role in both recovering nature and safeguarding our future economic prosperity.

A-Track builds on and complements ICAEW’s growing programme of work on nature and biodiversity, helping to build understanding of why and how nature matters to the roles and functions that accounting and finance professionals play, and what they can do to embed nature into their day-to-day practices.

Outreach and training

ICAEW will also contribute to joint efforts to consolidate and improve the toolkit that decision-makers need in order to advance natural capital assessment and accounting across the public and private sectors. It will also play a key role in outreach and training, helping the project reach a critical mass of businesses, finance institutions and government bodies.

Richard Spencer, ICAEW’s Director of Sustainability, says: “The global nature crisis is not just an environmental disaster – it’s also a ticking economic timebomb with serious implications for business resilience and financial stability. A-Track’s mission is so important – we need to put nature at the heart of how we do business and run our economies. Professional accountants are key to making this happen at the scale and pace needed.”

Alan Vallance, CEO of ICAEW, adds: “Aligning business and finance with nature recovery goals is crucial to ICAEW’s vision to enable a world of sustainable economies by 2030. A-Track has set ambitious targets in terms of getting business and financial decision-makers on board. ICAEW is proud to be part of the team, engaging our global membership and alliances, and ensuring that the accounting profession is part of the solution.”

Access further insights and materials via ICAEW’s Nature and Biodiversity Hub.