In the recently published Why nature matters to accountants: a guide to building resilience and value through nature-positive action, produced by the Global Accounting Alliance (GAA), Sharon Flood, former Non-Executive Director of Network Rail, shares how a review of railway line tree cutting signalled a real shift in thinking for the company. 

Flood is referring to an independent review launched by the Rt Hon Jo Johnson in May 2018, following growing safety concerns as trees growing along the railway had begun to create operational problems. 

The review was embraced by Network Rail’s board, who Flood says, “saw a problem and turned it into an opportunity”, tackling the operational safety issue and contributing to nature’s recovery in the process. 

With nature rising up the business agenda, board members need to understand their responsibilities and embrace such opportunities as they present themselves. The GAA guide has a section dedicated to nature-related governance and key steps directors can take to get started.

Taking a nature-positive approach

As the owner, operator and infrastructure manager of Britain’s main railway network, safety is a key concern for Network Rail. At the same time, the rapidly declining state of nature in the UK was also fast becoming a public issue and attitudes were shifting. Residents along railway lines valued the overgrown trees for their screening properties and for the wildlife refuge they provided. 

National green non-governmental organisations were particularly concerned with the practice of felling trees during bird nesting season – what some described as “eco vandalism”. This soon became a campaign led by some very influential bodies. Network Rail had to come up with a new approach.

Policymaking in action

Following commissioning of the review, the Rail Safety and Standards Board and John Varley, an experienced land manager and environmentalist, were tasked with writing a report in July 2018. The so-called ‘Varley Report’ was published in November 2018 and a policy statement followed six months later. The problem had clearly caught the imagination of policymakers.

“The review turned out to be groundbreaking,” says Flood. “It was steeped in nature leadership, but it was pragmatic from the business point of view.” It highlighted that trees are a valuable natural asset, providing important ecosystem services such as the provision of timber, water regulation, erosion protection and carbon storage. 

Network Rail – as a significant UK landowner – welcomed this perspective, seeing an opportunity for re-framing its role in creating wider value through nature stewardship, and the connections to its net zero and decarbonisation pledges.

Until this point, protecting nature was largely off the table for Network Rail from a strategic perspective. But now there was real appetite to harness the opportunity and create something positive, not just for existing communities and stakeholders, but for Network Rail’s own people and for future generations – and for wildlife, too.

Next comes action

A group was formed that was upskilled, including participation in a session by the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership. Even Network Rail’s executive and board committed time to training. A secretariat was established and many conversations took place to understand a plethora of points of view and engage other bodies, such as the Woodland Trust.

Then the work started. One project in Kent focused on coppicing rather than felling. There were no instant results – the benefits from nature-based solutions can take time – but, as the data began to build up, the outcome of this new approach was overwhelmingly positive. “The one act of reducing the use of herbicide in certain places to allow the stumps to regrow changed the mindset,” says Flood. “And we invested in regional sustainability teams. It was a much more inclusive approach.” Reporting on this new approach was developed in parallel with the coppicing itself.

“Coppicing saved money, addressed safety, it was good for carbon, for managing water and it is amazing for biodiversity,” she says. “We also worked with neighbours to get a better understanding of how they were using their land, so we were working with greater knowledge.”

Beyond a robust business case

The business case was robust – it had to be or else the initiative would not have had legs. But it was also operationally robust and the impact on day-to-day operations was huge.

“Importantly, the initiative provided the opportunity for the finance function to take a real role in this scheme,” says Flood. And it was not just members of the finance team that were able to express their connectedness with nature – the impact rippled across other teams in Network Rail, too. And it connected the business with its communities and beyond.

“This was a purpose-driven initiative,” she says. It had a halo effect across the business to the pools of talent employers such as Network Rail seek to attract. As Flood says: “This was the biggest win.”

To find out why nature matters to your role as an accountant working in business or practice, and how you can get started, visit our Why nature matters to accountants hub.