Nature uplift from almost an entire network of habitat banks, initially developed for the UK biodiversity net gain (BNG) market, is also available to purchase as voluntary biodiversity credits from Environment Bank, Carbon Pulse has learned.

Corporations can buy units from the same land as either voluntary biodiversity credits “on steroids” or off-site BNG units, for similar prices, said Emma Toovey, chief ecology officer at UK-based private conservation company Environment Bank.

“The demand for off-site units for BNG has a ceiling, but if you can tailor those projects to meet wider natural capital market needs, then that really opens up the opportunity to scale nature recovery,” Toovey said.

“The same great project on the ground can deliver a value for biodiversity that can be sold into different markets.”

Environment Bank, which is funded by asset manager Gresham House, has more than 2,400 hectares of habitat creation underway in the UK, according to its website.

CREDITS ON STEROIDS

The voluntary biodiversity credits market offers an opportunity for telling the story of each nature site with details about their wider benefits for water, carbon, and people, Toovey said.

These credits are available for the same prices as BNG units, with a premium for extra reporting, she said. Potential buyers can enquire by contacting Environment Bank directly.

In May, marketplace Gaia offered BNG units for almost £30,000 per unit on average. Environment Bank’s voluntary credits are in a different league of pricing to those of other voluntary market initiatives – which are usually under $30 a credit.

“We’ve been calling them BNG plus,” said Toovey. “We recognise the voluntary market actually wants something beyond biodiversity unit measurement.”

“The monitoring, reporting, and verification, and the natural capital assessment, provide that additional value. We’re packaging them up on steroids. We’re adding new data sets that tell a bigger story.”

These credits will capitalise on the work done to enable the land for the BNG market by using the same UK government-backed metric to show nature uplift, but with different governance.

“Robust governance mechanisms ensure that accessing the voluntary market does not undermine Environment Bank’s BNG compliance offering. We are able to ensure a level of segregation between the two markets that brings confidence to our customers and wider stakeholders,” said Toovey.

POSITIVE DEMAND SIGNS

In October, Environment Bank announced that it was marketing voluntary biodiversity credits through a ‘nature shares’ system from a 1,200-acre site. These shares will remain distinct from the voluntary biodiversity credits generated from BNG sites.

The company has not yet sold any of these nature shares, Toovey said. “It’s been a slow journey to get nature in the boardroom, but we’re definitely seeing lots of positive signs now.”

“A lot of corporates are in the early stages of thinking about nature. It’s only a matter of time before disclosure triggers new behaviours.”

Buyers could include groups of corporates in the same geography and sector buying credits together, rather than as individuals, to spread the risk, she said. Companies in finance, food, and utility sectors have expressed interest.

Last week, Carbon Pulse revealed credit developer RePlanet hoped to sell biodiversity credits worth $14 million to multiple buyer groups.

Buyers of voluntary credits will be able to further spread risk by purchasing units in several projects across the UK, as they are not tied to compliance location limits, Toovey said.

“We’re finding in conversations there are varying needs for organisations – some which maybe don’t have very clear operational impacts or dependencies, but still want to make a nature positive investment,” she said.

“They’re quite interested in doing something a bit more system-based, so investing in a portfolio of projects that has a general impact across the country.”

The company’s voluntary products and services are still in development as it seeks low-risk ways to stimulate the market, she said.

On the BNG side, Environment Bank has met its targets for sales – which it could not reveal – so far, while it expects demand to pick up at the end of the year, Toovey said.

“We’re relatively confident we’ve scaled them to a size that’s going to sell out in achievable timeframes. Everything’s pointing in the direction of a really thriving off-site market.”

Her comments contrast with those from an 800-ha project manager in Norfolk who last month said that selling all their BNG units could take up to a decade.

By Thomas Cox – t.cox@carbon-pulse.com

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