How a 'Capitals Approach' links business performance to sustainability goals
At this year’s HSPC Professional Development Conference, sustainability experts Tanis Marquette and Tom Venables presented a compelling case for integrating “natural capital” into environmental, health, and safety (EHS) management systems. Their presentation, “Know Your Worth, Count Your Earth (and the People on It)!”, introduced the audience to a framework known as the Capitals Approach, a model that links business performance to environmental and social sustainability.
“We value much more than which can be bought,” the presenters emphasized, noting that the traditional financial accounting model fails to capture the full picture of business impacts and dependencies on the natural world.
The session laid out a growing sense of urgency. “The past ten years, 2015–2024, are the ten warmest years on record,” one slide read, connecting climate data to financial and reputational risk for businesses. The global decline in biodiversity, down 73% since 1970, is not just an environmental issue but a business one too. Over half of the world’s GDP is now considered exposed to “material nature risk.”
Marquette and Venables argued companies increasingly rely on nature, from clean water and pollination to raw materials, and that disruptions in these services translate into operational, legal, and supply chain risks. “Businesses assume additional reputational, financial and regulatory risk” when ecosystems degrade, they warned.
The Capitals Approach distinguishes between natural capital (such as soil, water, and biodiversity), social capital (relationships and trust), human capital (skills and health), and produced capital (infrastructure and tools). “Capitals are productive sources of value,” the presenters explained. “And this is more than just financial value. It’s everything that makes life worthwhile.”
Marquette brings book perspective to the stage
Marquette is co-author of the book Connecting the Dots: Environment, Health, Safety, and Sustainability (Wiley), which provides a practical framework for linking environmental, health, safety, and sustainability considerations under one cohesive strategy. Her book argues that organizations can no longer afford to manage these issues in silos, a message echoed throughout the session.
By drawing from both the presentation and her published work, Marquette underscored that the Capitals Approach is not just a theory. It is a pathway to embed sustainability and EHS thinking across entire organizations.
Policy drivers and practical tools
The presentation also outlined global policy drivers, such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD), and Canada’s own sustainability reporting standards launched in 2024. These frameworks are reshaping expectations for transparency, risk management, and investment prioritization.
One notable example shared was Canada’s Modern Slavery Act, now in force as of May 2024. It mandates corporate reporting on forced and child labour in global supply chains, a clear link between social capital and environmental governance.
The presentation closed with practical tools and frameworks companies can use to measure and manage their impacts. Marquette and Venables urged attendees to think in systems, not silos, and to prepare for a business landscape where “nature-positive” and “net-positive” strategies will define long-term success.
