that public and private activity is focused where it will have greatest impact on improving well-being in our society; and, to advise the Government on research priorities to improve future advice and decisions on protecting and enhancing natural capital. The NCC's main form of advice to Government was in the form of annual reports to Government, containing a series of recommendations on what needs to be done to put the economy on a sustainable footing (as far as the environment is concerned). In addition, the Committee was also involved in developing natural capital accounting, both at the national and corporate levels. It worked with the UK's Office for National Statistics and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to help incorporate natural capital into the national accounts. At a corporate level, the Committee developed and tested a new framework for corporate natural capital accounting to go alongside traditional financial accounts. The aim of this project was to work with a small group of organisations to pilot corporate natural capital accounts, then use the lessons learned to produce high level guidance and a template account for other organisations to follow and implement. It would also use the lessons from this work to inform its own advice to Government. The Committee also provided ad hoc advice to Government when requested. As of April 2014, it had given advice on forestry, reform of the Common Agricultural Policy and biodiversity offsetting. In line with its third Term of Reference, the UK NCC produced an advice paper to Government on research priorities. This identified what needs to be done in order to fill the gaps in our knowledge and understanding of natural capital. State of Natural Capital reports Between 2012 and 2015 the NCC's advice mainly took the form of annual reports to Government. It produced its first report in spring 2013 and its second in March 2014. The third State of Natural Capital report was published in January 2015. The first State of Natural Capital report set out a framework for what the NCC thought was needed. This was: to measure and value natural capital in order to better manage it. It highlighted that better management of natural capital can produce economic and wellbeing benefits. The second State of Natural Capital report contained three key messages: Some assets are currently not being used sustainably. The benefits we derive from them are at risk,