Natural Capital: The future of land investments (Cristina Hastings Newsome and Skye Macpherson, Nuveen Natural Capital)

Natural Capital: The future of land investments (Cristina Hastings Newsome and Skye Macpherson, Nuveen Natural Capital)

19 June 2023

In a recent sponsored interview in Agri Investor, Cristina Hastings Newsome and Skye Macpherson of Nuveen Natural Capital - which manages farmland and timberland assets on behalf of institutional investors - discussed the future of land investments.

The duo highlighted the importance of soils, forests, air, rivers, oceans, and biodiversity, which all form the foundation of our economic system, and argued that better management of natural capital could enhance asset resilience, potentially increasing financial value over time.

Measuring natural capital is a new science, with standards only recently being established. The team expects natural capital accounting to be refined over time, similar to financial reporting.

They also discussed the use of technology to optimize natural capital usage, such as see-and-spray technology for applying herbicides, drip irrigation, reservoir lining for water conservation, and satellite imagery for identifying restoration areas.

They explained that Nuveen seeks to provide diversified investment solutions to their clients across the natural capital spectrum, trying to balance growing crops and managing natural capital assets to create a more resilient and consistent return on investments across their portfolios.

Lastly, they stressed the increasing consumer awareness about the food supply chain and the environmental impact of farming, suggesting that blockchain and other technologies could prove the sustainability of the produce's origins.

TLG Management Partners