On 17 March, we were thrilled to convene a Breakfast Masterclass on scaling investments into Natural Capital, hosted at Lombard Odier, featuring one of the pioneers in natural capital and sustainable forestry investments, David Brand, Executive Chair of Standwell Forests Investments and Founder of New Forests, alongside Jack Hurd, Head of the Earth Systems Agenda at the World Economic Forum.

The session brought together expert investors in the field to explore how the development of natural capital as an asset class within global portfolios can be accelerated. Drawing on decades of leadership in the sector, their insights highlighted examples of scaled investments across sustainable forestry, regenerative agriculture, restoration, and sustainable land use. Both experts noted that while sustainable forestry investments have delivered strong long-term performance and diversification benefits, natural capital altogether remains a very small share of global investments and is mostly limited to private markets. A central theme was the need to rethink land use and unlocking the full “option value” of land. As one speaker noted, “forests are still operating within the wrong business model”.

These keynotes were followed by a focused and lively roundtable discussion on how proven investment models with strong financial returns can be scaled and replicated. Participants of the Masterclass explored how evolving investment approaches, improved measurement of ecosystem performance through innovative tools such as geospatial mapping, and stronger collaboration across finance and policy are required help unlock investment-ready opportunities in natural capital.

This event forms part of a Building Bridges programme focused on Scaling Natural Capital Markets throughout the year and at Building Bridges 2026.