We create a bespoke team for each project, so our clients benefit from high quality outputs at exceptional value.
Our Core Team
James Spurgeon
Natural capital & impact valuation expert
James has 30 years’ experience in impact valuation - quantifying and valuing natural, social and human capital impacts and dependencies for businesses, financial institutions and governments. He has undertaken hundreds of environmental and social valuation studies and developed numerous related sustainability decision-support tools for clients in many different sectors in the UK and worldwide.
Key areas of expertise include the TNFD, EU-CSRD, nature positive, natural capital assessments and accounting, ecosystem service assessments, water valuation, the blue economy, coral reef valuation, environmental/nature markets and sustainable financing.
James was a lead author of the Natural Capital Protocol and the Integrated Capitals Assessment Principles, and an author of the Natural Capital Protocol Finance Supplement. He has written many other business guides covering natural and social capital accounting, and ecosystem and water valuation.
James sits on the Advisory Panel of the Capitals Coalition and is the Technical Advisor to the Value Accounting Network. He was previously a technical advisor to the Prince of Wales’ Impact Value Working Group, and leader of the EU Business and Biodiversity ‘Natural Capital Accounting’ work-stream .
James has an MBA focusing on sustainability and environmental markets, an MSc in coastal resource management focusing on environmental valuation, and a BSc in Zoology. James loves wildlife, books, films, travelling, outdoor activities and attempting to keep his hand in at a wide range of both ball and water-based sports.
“James is beyond doubt one of the world leaders in the application of a capitals approach and valuation. With a wide range of experience in different sectors and as a valued member of the Capitals Coalition Advisory Panel, I respect and rely on his wise advice and counsel.”
Mark Gough, CEO, Capitals Coalition
Robert West
Consultant
Robert joined Sustain Value in February 2023 and since then has been involved in multiple natural capital projects. He contributed to two TNFD pilot studies, one for a major financial institution and another for a multinational extractives company based in West Africa. He is currently engaged in developing Natural Capital Accounts (NCA) for a national government in the Middle East and provides research support to the Capitals Coalition on integrated capitals assessments. Additionally, Robert is involved in a project with a development bank, aiming to develop an innovative finance mechanism to protect coral reefs across four countries in Southeast Asia.
Prior to joining Sustain Value, Robert gained two years of experience as a Consultant for the World Health Organization in Almaty, Kazakhstan. He worked on a range of projects, from co-authoring an in-depth country assessment of Slovenia to performing detailed data analysis on the results of a pan-European health survey during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Robert holds an MSc in Global Environmental Politics from the University of Edinburgh, where he earned a distinction and received the Best Overall Performance award. His research focused on global biodiversity governance, theoretical and practical approaches to valuing nature, and the integration of ecological and economic thinking. He also has a first in his BA in Geography from the University of Leeds, where he received the highest mark in the year for his dissertation.
Outside of work, Robert seeks to spend as much time outdoors as possible. He is a keen trail runner, hiker, sailor and wildlife enthusiast. He is currently based in Bogotá, Colombia, where he is making the most of being in the second most biodiverse country on Earth.
Samir Fryatt
Analyst
Samir is an advanced data analyst who harnesses his skills to quantify natural capital and value the benefits it provides to society through ecosystem services. He is highly proficient with various software packages (particularly ArcGIS, QGIS, and R) and has a wealth of experience in data analysis including his Biodiversity & Conservation MSc from the University Leeds.
Since joining Sustain Value, Samir has helped create ecosystem service maps and natural capital accounts for a national government in the Middle East; developed and presented training programmes on tools and data requirements for the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD); compared nature metric requirements for the TNFD and EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) for mining operations in West Africa; and supported a site prioritisation analysis for coral reef insurance and sustainable financing products for Indonesia and Fiji. He is currently developing a GIS based tool for screening company sites for their sensitivity in relation to biodiversity and water.
Samir is based in Leeds, UK and is a passionate mountaineer, skier, and hiker.
We aim to bring an optimal blend of expertise for every assignment. Our core team is expanded, as necessary, by the following networks:
We have an extensive global network of experienced independent experts.
We have several partner organisations who complement and strengthen our client offering.
We regularly use high calibre graduates to provide research and analysis input on our projects.
With this network-based structure, our business model has minimal overheads - so we can offer clients top expertise at highly competitive prices.