Alison is a Director of Natural Capital Solutions Ltd, a consultancy that offers research, advice, technical support and training to organisations across sectors so that they can understand, assess and make strategic decisions about their natural capital assets. Services include ecosystem and natural capital assessment and accounting, and modelling alternative futures of ecosystem service production for decision-making. Organisations across sectors face challenges associated with environmental, social and economic change. Natural capital (our stock of natural assets e.g. soils, water, biodiversity) produces a wide range of benefits for people. These benefits are known as ecosystem services and include food, timber production, regulation of flooding and climate, pollination of crops, and cultural benefits such as aesthetic value and recreational opportunities. To ensure that businesses, government bodies and NGOs can adapt, manage risks and adopt resilient and sustainable practices, it is fundamental to understand how to enhance their natural capital assets, and the ecosystem services that the assets deliver, whilst reducing the impact they have on them. Natural Capital Solutions is able to provide the evidence to enable organisations to make this transition.

My current research focuses on how to implement an ecosystem approach within marine and freshwater ecosystems, building an ecosystem services framework for crop protection risk management, and modelling and mapping ecosystem services in urban ecosystems. I am currently co-ordinating the ‘Living Highways’ project, a collaboration between the University of Sheffield, Amey and the Sheffield and Rotherham Wildlife Trust to find out how management of urban road verges can be altered to enhance biodiversity and ecosystem services. In developing research in this area I have been able to contribute to the formulation of guidance to help corporates use an ecosystem approach when evaluating the environmental externalities of their operations (E.Valu.A.Te: http://www.cpsl.cam.ac.uk/natcap). In so doing, I have worked with a number of multi-national companies, as well as economists and social scientists. My expertise in knowledge exchange allows me to lead on developing strategy for achieving impact from NERC science in my department. I identify where there is potential to achieve impact, providing support and advice to researchers. I also develop partnerships with the business and policy sectors, with a view to forming collaborative research projects and diversifying funding streams. I deliver innovation across the broad spectrum of NERC science ensuring it achieves real world impact.