The Nature Conservancy in 2018

The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a U.S.-based environmental NGO with $7 billion in assets and a presence in 72 countries in 2018. TNC originated in 1951 as a land trust, acquiring land in order to conserve it. Over the last 20 years, it developed a pragmatic conservation philosophy that embraces both the economic and intrinsic value of nature. Rather than working against economic development, TNC partners with industry and other stakeholders to find more nature-friendly ways of doing business—a posture that irks some in the environmental movement. This case focuses on TNC under Mark Tercek, a Goldman Sachs veteran who became TNC’s CEO in 2008 and steered the organization toward a greater focus on influencing large-scale, complex challenges. As an example of TNC’s approach and of the tension that often exists between nature preservation, economic development, and food production, the case explores TNC’s work in aquaculture, a diverse and fast-growing global industry that is a vital source of food and income in many countries, but that also has a troubling environmental record. The case invites an evaluation of TNC’s strategy, its potential to influence the aquaculture industry, and the factors that can affect the success of partnerships between NGOs and firms. The case also allows for an assessment of the contributions that aquaculture can make to global protein supplies and the challenges that aquacultural expansion poses.