Experts Explore Assigning Economic Value to Nature's Intangible Benefits

Sorenson Impact Institute leads efforts to bridge gap between impact investors and ecological experts

Published on Feb. 11, 2026

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A new initiative from the Sorenson Impact Institute at the University of Utah is working to assign economic value to the intangible benefits of nature, such as spiritual, biodiversity, and aesthetic values. This is crucial for protecting natural resources like the shrinking Great Salt Lake, which provides essential habitat for millions of animals and migratory birds. The Institute is bringing together impact investors, scientists, economists, and other experts to develop frameworks for quantifying these hard-to-measure benefits and creating new investment opportunities to protect the environment.

Why it matters

Assigning economic value to nature's intangible benefits can help drive investment and protection of critical ecosystems like the Great Salt Lake, which is facing an ecological crisis due to water diversion and climate change. Bridging the gap between the financial and scientific communities is key to unlocking new funding sources for conservation efforts.

The details

The Great Salt Lake in Utah generates around $2 billion in annual economic value through mineral extraction, brine shrimp, recreation, and the ski industry. However, the lake has lost about 50% of its volume in recent decades, exposing toxic lakebed and threatening the entire ecosystem. The Sorenson Impact Institute is working to develop new frameworks and metrics to quantify the lake's spiritual, biodiversity, and aesthetic values that are not captured in traditional economic measures. This includes short-term ecological indicators to support longer-term investment outcomes. The Institute is also convening experts from finance, science, and conservation to generate ideas and a roadmap for incorporating intangible natural values into impact investing strategies.

  • In 2025, the Sorenson Impact Institute launched its Nature-based Solutions (NbS) initiative.
  • In 2024, Dr. Nalini Nadkarni joined the Sorenson Impact Institute as a Senior Fellow in Residence.

The players

Sorenson Impact Institute

A research institute at the University of Utah that is working to expand the market for Nature-based Solutions through applied research and strategic initiatives.

Dr. Nalini Nadkarni

A forest ecologist and Professor Emeritus at the University of Utah who joined the Sorenson Impact Institute in 2024 as a Senior Fellow in Residence.

Great Salt Lake

The largest saltwater lake in the Western Hemisphere, located in Utah, that provides essential habitat for millions of animals and migratory birds.

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What they’re saying

“With deep connections in both the impact investment arena and with academic and environmental institutions, the Institute is uniquely positioned to play a catalytic role in amplifying impact and driving effective ecological outcomes.”

— Dr. Nalini Nadkarni, Senior Fellow in Residence, Sorenson Impact Institute (Forbes)

“Frameworks about nature that go beyond utilitarian values are already creating opportunities for investors. As more attention is given, and as appropriate metrics and communication pathways are developed, we will see a further extension of those earlier efforts to encompass an increasing number of intangible and previously unmonetizable values.”

— Dr. Nalini Nadkarni, Senior Fellow in Residence, Sorenson Impact Institute (Forbes)

What’s next

The Sorenson Impact Institute plans to convene a multi-day event bringing together experts in understanding and assessing intangible natural values with those in the world of impact investing. The goal is to generate a white paper outlining critical next steps to guide future work in this area.

The takeaway

Assigning economic value to nature's intangible benefits, such as spiritual, biodiversity, and aesthetic values, can unlock new sources of investment and funding to protect critical ecosystems like the Great Salt Lake. By bridging the gap between the financial and scientific communities, the Sorenson Impact Institute is pioneering innovative approaches to quantify these hard-to-measure benefits and drive impactful conservation outcomes.