South West nature recovery specialist EnTrade, has joined forces with global engineering and sustainable development consultancy Arup, to go nationwide and accelerate private investment in nature recovery.
The joint venture between Arup and EnTrade will allow the model it has established in its Bristol Avon and Somerset Catchment Markets to be scaled up across the country. Those pilot projects have led to significant environmental improvements, with 94 hectares of nature-based projects now established, backed by private investment of over £1.3 million.
As the UK’s first end-to-end environmental market operator, EnTrade facilitates investment from companies into local nature-based projects that enhance water quality, biodiversity and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This enables farmers and land managers to earn income from environmental projects and helps businesses to meet their environmental goals.
The news is likely to be welcomed by property developers as these need to demonstrate that developments will deliver at least a 10% increase in local biodiversity value in order to secure planning permission.
According to EnTrade, the UK is one of the most nature-depleted countries on Earth and faces a nature finance gap of at least £44bn per year. Scaling up nature markets could make a significant contribution to closing this gap and accelerating nature recovery.
The EnTrade – Arup partnership makes it easy for businesses and landholders to trade certified environmental services such as nutrient reduction and biodiversity gain in a fair, efficient and transparent way. The partners are in the advanced stages of launching at least two new regional nature markets in 2025.
EnTrade managing director Guy Thompson said: “Nature is in crisis and we need a fundamental re-think on how we fund nature recovery. EnTrade has been at the forefront of thinking about how well-designed and regulated markets can efficiently deliver verified environmental improvements.”
