The Social Carbon Foundation is proud to share its whitepaper introducing its groundbreaking Nature Stewardship Credits (NSCs) - a new transformative environmental asset designed to value holistic impacts from nature-based solutions (NbS). NSCs integrate biodiversity, socio-economic impact, and governance metrics to recognise the full spectrum of benefits that conservation, restoration, and sustainable land management can offer.

"NSCs represent a new and unique form of environmental finance," said Mike Davies, CEO. "This holistic approach provides a framework for valuing conservation efforts, recognising not only ecological conservation/restoration but also the critical social and governance benefits needed for sustainable, community-driven environmental stewardship. To deliver NbS at scale we need initiatives that look beyond just nature and deliver sustainable livelihoods – NSCs provides the mechanism to make this possible at scale”.

Developed in collaboration with NATURAL STATE, NSCs are designed with insights from practitioners and conservation experts. The NSC framework includes a Nature Stewardship Index (NSI), which evaluates project outcomes across three dimensions:

• Biodiversity Index: Measures ecosystem restoration, habitat health, and species diversity.

• Socio-Economic Index: Captures benefits to local communities, including sustainable livelihoods, economic resilience, and community well-being.

• Governance Index: Assesses local governance, transparency, and participation in natural resource management.

Modular and Flexible Application

The NSC framework is designed for versatility, making it an adaptable tool for diverse environmental projects. NSCs can be issued as standalone assets to track biodiversity and social impacts, stacked with existing carbon projects, or used to robustly quantify additional co-benefits.

A call for pilots

The whitepaper highlights potential pilot projects, including one with First Nations in Canada, where NSCs hope to support conservation efforts that respect Indigenous sovereignty and promote community development. Another pilot project in Zambia, would focus on community-led conservation and forest restoration, demonstrating NSCs' capacity to empower local communities while protecting vital ecosystems.

Projects interested in piloting the approach can share their interest by reaching out to: nsc@socialcarbon.org

Download the Whitepaper

The Nature Stewardship Credit whitepaper is now available for download. To learn more about how NSCs can transform conservation and support sustainable livelihoods, visit https://www.socialcarbon.org/s/Nature-Stewardship-Credits-Whitepaper.pdf.

About Social Carbon Foundation

Social Carbon Foundation is a registered charity headquartered in the United Kingdom. Our high integrity standards and process innovation catalyse scalable nature-based-solutions to mitigate climate change, enhance biodiversity, and support sustainable livelihoods.

Social Carbon Foundation is a carbon standard setter and has developed and manages the SOCIALCARBON standard, which goes beyond carbon accounting embedding meaningful social, environmental and economic benefits in each of its projects and sharing them with their local stakeholders. As with all standards, it includes independent monitoring and verification requirements and ensures that projects comply with local laws and regulations.