Valuing nature and people to inform business decision-making

The aim of the course is to introduce businesses employees to the Capitals Approach and help them to get started with integrating natural, social and human capitals into business decision-making. This course is an introductory course; no prior knowledge of natural, human or social capital is needed. The course provides a comprehensive introduction to the capitals approach and to undertaking a natural capital assessment, and is available for all employees and leaders, sustainability practitioners, procurement officers, accountants, human resources, auditing, strategy, risk management and finance departments. The material is covered in good depth and will require time and commitment to learning. Due to its comprehensive character, the course may be less suited to C-level management.

The course consists of four modules and its structure follows the internationally recognized Natural Capital Protocol and Social and Human Capital Protocols. The course features many business examples to demonstrate why and how other businesses have integrated natural, social & human capital impacts and dependencies into their decision-making and management practices.

The first two modules guide learners through risks and opportunities related to nature, people and society; introduce the concept of a Capitals Approach and present the business case for undertaking an integrated capitals assessment. The third and fourth modules focus specifically on natural capital and how to get started with a natural capital assessment. These modules guide learners along the scoping stage and introduce students to measuring and valuing natural capital.

By the end of the course, participants are expected to have learned about the different capitals, why it is essential to embed them into business decision-making, and how to get started with a capitals assessment. Future course specializations will build upon this introductory course, by providing additional content on social and human capital and allowing the learner to go more in depth with the content and application.

This course has been developed by the Capitals Coalition, supported by We Value Nature, a collaboration between ICAEW, WBCSD, IUCN & Oppla, with the support of Nature^Squared.

• Why it is important to include nature, people and society in business decision-making

• How businesses impact and depend on natural, human and social capital and how that translates into risks and opportunities.

• How to get started with a capitals assessment.

• The course helps you to understand how to drive change at the organizational level and teaches you what you can do to make a difference as individual

Syllabus

Syllabus - What you will learn from this course
Week 1
The Role of Businesses in Addressing the Great Challenges of Nature Loss, Climate Change and Inequality
Week 2
Better Managing Risks and Opportunities by Adopting a Capitals Approach
Week 3
Getting Started with a Natural Capital Assessment: Defining the Objective and Determining the Appropriate Scope
Week 4
Measuring and Valuing Impacts and Dependencies to Integrate Natural Capital in Decision-Making

FAQ

When will I have access to the lectures and assignments?

Access to lectures and assignments depends on your type of enrollment. If you take a course in audit mode, you will be able to see most course materials for free. To access graded assignments and to earn a Certificate, you will need to purchase the Certificate experience, during or after your audit. If you don't see the audit option:

What will I get if I purchase the Certificate?

When you purchase a Certificate you get access to all course materials, including graded assignments. Upon completing the course, your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile. If you only want to read and view the course content, you can audit the course for free.

Is financial aid available?

Yes. In select learning programs, you can apply for financial aid or a scholarship if you can’t afford the enrollment fee. If fin aid or scholarship is available for your learning program selection, you’ll find a link to apply on the description page.

What is the target audience?

This course is an introductory course; no prior knowledge of natural, human or social capital is needed. The course provides a comprehensive introduction to the capitals approach and to undertaking a capitals assessment, and is available for all employees and leaders, particularly sustainability practitioners, procurement officers, accountants, human resources, auditing, strategy, risk management and finance departments. The material is covered in good depth and will require time and commitment to learning. Due to its comprehensive character, the course may be less suited to C-level management.

What support can I expect from Capitals Coalition?

Capitals Coalition will provide support throughout your learning journey. Once a week, a course instructor will log in to Coursera to manage the discussion prompts and to answer questions. Discussions also take place on the Capitals Community where you can interact with instructors, learners and course speakers.

Capitals Coalition aims to organize multiple Q&A and/or more in-depth meetings either at Coursera or at the Capitals Coalition community, allowing students the opportunity to exhange directly with the instructor and special guests. Register your interest about education here to be invited to those meetings.  

What is the Capitals Community?

The Capitals Community is an online platform where you can connect directly with other businesses and organizations of the Capitals Coalition network. These are organizations, ranging from newcomers to forefront leaders, that are, just like you, on a journey to apply integrated capitals approaches in their work. The platform provides the community with a networking space as well as a place to share your work, reports, events and work opportunities. By facilitating engagement, fostering collaboration, and highlighting the progress that is being made, the Capitals Community aims to mainstream a capitals approach.

Who has created this course?

The course has been develop by the Capitals Coalition supported by We Value Nature. Additional support from Nature^Squared and video production by Hustle Creatives.

The We Value Nature campaign has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 821303

What is the estimated workload for this course?

The material is covered in good depth and will require time and commitment to learning. Time dedicated to learning will depend on how many optional materials you choose to review. We recommend you dedicate about 4-5 hours to mandatory content and another 3-4 hours to optional content.

Reviews

A fantastic course to help get you started on your capitals journey! Full of videos, documents, case studies and short quizzes to motivate you from week to week.