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Protecting & Promoting Natural Systems: A Crucial Step Forward for Business and Community

ACT's Natural Solutions Initiative is featured in part one of this two-part series of Amplify, which explores the concept of nature-positivity, defining what is meant by nature positive and examining the role of enterprise in creating a nature positive world.

The five articles in this issue, written by thought leaders in their respective arenas, explore the concept of nature positivity and offer a suite of approaches for meaningful business engagement. They attempt to pivot business leaders from “carbon tunnel vision” to a broader view of planetary issues that represent significant risk to business and the world economy. 

The final article explores how nature can contribute solutions to the climate crisis by supporting community-resilience efforts that not only address climate but also support a plethora of interrelated issues like ecological, cultural, and services values. Alison Shaw and Kacia Tolsma introduce nature-based solutions as actions to protect and restore ecosystems that simultaneously benefit people and nature.

With examples from across Canada, Shaw and Tolsma show how nature-based investments in forests, wetlands, and wastewater and stormwater management have saved significant amounts of money for towns from Nova Scotia to the Pacific Coast. The authors’ approach to placing nature on the balance sheet and within profit and loss accounting is backed up by a section outlining current and emerging financially focused frameworks, including TNFD. This article is persuasive in prioritizing nature-based investments that can meet a variety of challenges, and the examples from towns across Canada can easily be transferred to corporate lands.