Understanding the value of nature in land, property and decision making

 

Natural capital describes the natural assets  including land, soils, water, air, habitats and biodiversity from which people, communities and economies derive benefits.

These benefits, often described as ecosystem services, include food production, clean water, carbon storage, flood regulation, recreation, landscape amenity and the contribution that nature makes to health and wellbeing.

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Traditionally, many of these benefits have been poorly represented in economic, land and property decision-making. Natural capital approaches seek to make these relationships more visible, helping decision-makers understand both our dependence upon the natural environment and the consequences of changes to it.

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Natural Capital and Surveying

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Natural capital is increasingly relevant to decisions concerning land, property, development, investment and valuation.

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Chartered surveyors occupy an important position at the interface between the natural environment and economic decision-making. Land management, development, valuation, environmental markets, climate resilience and biodiversity increasingly require an understanding of both conventional property considerations and the wider benefits provided by natural systems.

This reflects a broader change within the surveying profession. RICS now describes sustainability as central to modern surveying practice and recognises the importance of biodiversity, ecosystem health and natural capital across the built and natural environments.

 

Valuing Natural Capital

​Putting a value on natural capital does not necessarily mean placing a financial price on nature.

Natural capital can be considered through a range of quantitative, qualitative and monetary approaches. The appropriate method depends upon the purpose of the assessment, the available evidence and the decision that the analysis is intended to inform.

An important distinction also needs to be made between the economic value of environmental benefits and conventional property valuation. The value attributed to ecosystem services should not automatically be interpreted as the market value of land or property.

The UK Government's Enabling a Natural Capital Approach (ENCA) provides an established framework for considering natural capital in policy and project appraisal, including environmental valuation, natural capital accounting and place-based approaches. The guidance was updated in 2026 to align with the revised HM Treasury Green Book.

Explore the Government's Enabling a Natural Capital Approach guidance

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Natural Capital in Practice

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Natural capital considerations are increasingly relevant across a wide range of activities, including:

• land management and land-use decisions

• property and development

• biodiversity and nature recovery

• climate adaptation and resilience

• flood management

• carbon and environmental markets

• investment and valuation

• organisational sustainability strategies.​

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In England, Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) has created a particularly visible connection between development, land management and biodiversity. The statutory framework requires relevant development to deliver a measurable positive impact on biodiversity, while the wider natural capital approach considers the broader range of benefits and ecosystem services associated with the natural environment.

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Sustain Surveying and Natural Capital

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Sustain Surveying provides independent professional analysis and advice on the implications of natural capital for land, property and the built environment.

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Our approach brings together surveying expertise, sustainability research, RICS standards and guidance, government policy and wider professional evidence to help clients understand how natural capital considerations may affect a particular property, project, organisation or decision.

Advice may include the identification and interpretation of natural capital issues; consideration of ecosystem services and environmental benefits; natural capital implications for land and property decisions; sustainability and valuation considerations; and the relationship between natural capital, biodiversity, climate resilience and emerging environmental markets.

Where an instruction requires specialist ecological, legal, planning or other technical assessment beyond the scope of Sustain Surveying's expertise, the need for appropriate specialist input will be identified.

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Further Insight

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New technology can support natural capital valuation

Dr Gregory Borne MRICS | RICS Land Journal

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Natural capital valuation continues to evolve alongside developments in data and technology. In this RICS Land Journal article, Sustain Surveying founder Dr Gregory Borne explores natural capital and ecosystem-service valuation and considers how emerging technologies may help address some of the challenges associated with identifying and valuing environmental benefits.

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Read “New technology can support natural capital valuation” in RICS Land Journal

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Discuss a Natural Capital Issue

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If you would like to discuss the natural capital implications of a property, area of land, development, project or organisational decision, please contact Sustain Surveying.

 

Professional advice can be provided on a defined project or instruction, with the scope and fee agreed in advance

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