The Natural Capital Project is now the Natural Capital Alliance

The Stanford University-based Natural Capital Project – a pioneer in systematically valuing nature’s benefits in decision-making, policy, and finance – is entering its next chapter with a new name: the Natural Capital Alliance (NatCap). The change marks two decades of collaborative growth and impact – and introduces an innovative tiered membership structure. Open to members from research organizations to financial institutions, the new structure aims to expand on NatCap’s impacts thus far, and transform systems and mindsets.

“NatCap’s change in structure will open the organization to new collaborations, strengthening our network so we are better equipped to transform global decision-making and achieve better outcomes for people and nature worldwide,” said Gretchen Daily, NatCap co-founder and faculty director, and Bing Professor of Environmental Science at Stanford. 

NatCap’s global hub remains at Stanford, and its set of core collaborators at other institutions remain as well: the Stockholm Resilience Centre, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the University of Minnesota’s NatCap TEEMs, WWF, The Nature Conservancy, and Natural Capital Insights. Each member organization brings complementary strengths, networks, and goals. New members will be welcomed by invitation initially; in the future, open calls may be held for applications to specific membership categories with varying levels of commitment and benefits. The 2026 Natural Capital Symposium, being held June 29-July 1 at Stanford University, will be the first official event of the newly constituted NatCap Alliance. Registration for the Symposium opens soon.  

NatCap’s Impact

NatCap collaborates with decision-makers to understand how natural capital approaches can support their goals, and then works with them to co-develop tools and solutions. These approaches are often used as the basis for strategic investments in ecosystems – such as to better manage flooding; mitigate climate change; improve urban heat and mental health; and support water quality, renewable energy, and rural livelihoods.

Hear reflections on NatCap’s approach from Stanford-based NatCap leaders in this Q&A

NatCap’s ecosystem services modeling platform, InVEST, has been used in nearly every country in the world and is downloaded more than 25,000 times each year. In China, NatCap’s tools and approaches helped zone more than half of the country for ecosystem protection and restoration, while improving the livelihoods of 200 million rural land stewards through eco-compensation payments. NatCap is working with leading multilateral development banks to mainstream the values of nature in financing and operations across numerous countries, and with businesses through the Stockholm Resilience Centre’s FinBio program. Together NatCap and collaborators have co-created a new metric for tracking ecological performance and guiding investments in nature, Gross Ecosystem Product (GEP), which serves as a complement to GDP and has been approved by the UN Statistical Commission. 

New ways to engage

NatCap now has a Substack as well as a Bluesky account! 

“With our new name and member categories, NatCap is ready to launch into its next 20 years of impact with a strong operational structure, financial and institutional support across geographies and sectors, and a growing community of collaborators innovating and scaling this work to sustain human and planetary wellbeing into the future,” said Anne Guerry, longtime NatCap leader and newly appointed co-executive director alongside Lisa Mandle (Mary Ruckelshaus is stepping down after 15 years). 

NatCap’s global hub at Stanford University is part of the Woods Institute for the Environment within the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability, and the Department of Biology within Stanford’s School of Humanities & Sciences.