For decades, decision-makers have been guided by economic approaches that emphasize productivity and profit, where important trade-offs are not fully captured. TCA establishes a structured process for engaging stakeholders and analyzing potential outcomes, helping leaders make the best all-around decisions for people and nature.
The TCA movement gained momentum in 2016, when the Global Alliance for the Future of Food formed a TCA Community of Practice. Stakeholders from philanthropy, civil society, policy, business, finance, and academia convened to harmonize principles, identify knowledge gaps, and accelerate adoption across sectors.
In 2018, the UN Environment Programme published the Economics of the Environment and Biodiversity for Agriculture and Food Systems (TEEBAgriFood) Evaluation Framework, developed with 150 scholars from 33 countries. The framework is now widely used to guide how the true costs and benefits of agrifood systems are assessed. Governments, businesses, and civil society leaders around the world have adapted and applied this framework in a wide range of contexts.
In 2020, the TCA community established the TCA Accelerator as a hub for coordination, advocacy, and shared learning. It has also built momentum for TCA. In 2021, the UN Food Systems Summit elevated TCA on the global stage. Leaders coalesced around a definition of TCA as ”an evolving holistic and systemic approach to measure and value the positive and negative environmental, social, health and economic costs and benefits to facilitate business, consumer, investor and/or policy decisions.” (UNEP, Capitals Coalition, and Global Alliance for the Future of Food, 2021)
In 2023 and 2024, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) devoted consecutive editions of its flagship State of Food and Agriculture report to the topic, quantifying hidden costs and recommending national assessments to guide policy action.
