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UK’s biggest nature charities publish shared Nature Markets Principles to help combat corporate greenwashing

• Principles cover carbon credits, biodiversity units and nutrient credits
• Charities aim to encourage responsible private investment in nature recovery
• Projects should be led by science to deliver biggest benefits for nature

The Wildlife Trusts, RSPB, Woodland Trust and National Trust have today published a set of principles for ensuring ‘nature markets’ truly deliver for nature, climate and people. 

With an estimated £6 billion annual funding gap for UK nature recovery across land and sea, the UK Government has set an ambitious target to grow annual private investment in nature by at least £500 million by 2027, rising to over £1 billion by 2030. It published its Nature Markets Framework in May and is working with the British Standards Institute to develop robust standards for green financing.

Nature markets are based on the sale of environmental ‘credits’ such as carbon credits, biodiversity units, nutrient credits, and natural flood management payments. They are generated by nature-based solutions that have the capacity to deliver multiple benefits for society and the environment, as well as opening up new income streams for rural communities and farmers.

The current lack of regulation for these emerging markets has led to concerns that poor quality or low ambition schemes could create a ‘wild west’ that allows certain industries or businesses to greenwash, while also missing out on opportunities to maximise benefits for nature and people.

Essex WT - Saltmash restoration

2020 vision

The Wildlife Trusts, RSPB, Woodland Trust and National Trust have worked with Finance Earth and Federated Hermes – a global leader in responsible investment management – to co-develop Nature Markets Principles, a set of voluntary principles for science-based investment, to support high integrity natural capital markets in the UK. 

Finance Earth, in partnership with Federated Hermes, will manage the Government-backed UK Nature Impact Fund that aims to stimulate institutional investment at scale in high quality nature restoration projects across the UK. The UK Nature Impact Fund intends to adopt the Nature Markets Principles and apply them across all of its activities in UK nature markets. 

James Alexander, Chair of Finance Earth, says:

“These principles have been co-developed as a stop-gap to influence market practice today and to contribute to the much needed emerging Government policy and regulation. The Nature Markets Principles have been informed by a range of credible UK and international sources, as well as the practical delivery experience of the UK’s leading nature charities whose aim is to support the development and long-term operation of high-integrity, high quality and high impact UK markets for nature restoration and enhancement.

“Enshrined in the principles are the need for projects to be science-based, transparent and verifiable, ideally in perpetuity and benefiting local communities as well as society more broadly. There are also stipulations about who the producers of the credits will do business with, ruling out those companies dependent on environmentally damaging activities such as fossil fuel extraction.”

Dr Rob Stoneman, Director of Landscape Recovery at The Wildlife Trusts, says: “Nature-based credit schemes present a real opportunity to restore nature and create regeneration and prosperity in the countryside – if done in the right way. 

“These principles send a firm message from some of the UK’s top deliverers of nature-based solutions that we will only engage with the highest integrity schemes. Buyers must stand up to scrutiny and truly contribute to nature’s recovery in the UK, while benefiting local communities. We welcome the business community and others working in this space to join us in upholding these principles.”

Adult beaver at Knapdale

Steve Gardner

Rebecca Munro, Director of Income and Conservation Investment at RSPB, says:

“We are in the middle of a nature and climate crisis, but we know that businesses want to have a greater role in being part of the solution. Well-regulated nature markets could be one way that we help grow business investment in restoring nature and responding to climate change, all whilst benefiting local communities.”

Alistair Maltby, Director of Estate and Woodland Outreach at the Woodland Trust, says:

“Everyone involved in nature conservation is alive to the risk of greenwash. The nature market principles are an important step in tackling this. They ensure only projects which genuinely contribute to nature's recovery are included, and only those businesses with a clear commitment to that objective can invest. The principles set out the foundations for a high integrity market and we want them to be adopted as widely as possible, to help to deliver the funding that is urgently needed to assist nature’s recovery."

Patrick Begg, Outdoors & Natural Resources Director at the National Trust, says:

“It should be everyone’s business to help restore nature. Which is why we are so supportive of unlocking ways for the corporate sector and investors to play their part.  And now that we know just how important nature is in underpinning so much of our daily lives and our economy, it makes complete sense to find new ways to crowd in the necessary investment to restore and protect it long term.

“These principles set out the framework needed to make sure that any investments are powerful and impactful. Our aim is that they not only create real and sustained outcomes for nature, but also that they provide business and investors with the level playing field and consistency they will need to invest long term, at scale and with confidence.”

Eoin Murray, Head of Investment, Federated Hermes Limited, says: 

“Science-based investment in nature-based solutions not only offers opportunities to create value to investors but it is crucial for addressing climate change, promoting green growth, and enhancing wellbeing. We are therefore pleased to have collaborated with the UK’s largest nature charities on the creation of the Nature Markets Principles and believe this cross-sector partnership presents an exciting opportunity to contribute toward a paradigm shift in conservation financing. This approach acknowledges the complexity of the social and ecological systems it invests into and the Principles lay the groundwork for significant institutional investment in high-integrity nature restoration."

A downloadable PDF copy of the full Nature Markets Principles can be found here.

Editor’s notes

Read the full Nature Markets Principles here. 

The background and rationale for the Nature Markets Principles are contained in the attached blog post which will be carried by the Wildlife and Countryside Link here. In short:

  • HMG is committed to restoring nature, including a legally-binding commitment to halt the decline in species abundance by 2030 and a pledge to protect and effectively manage 30% of its land and sea for nature by 2030; 
  • To meet this ambitious target, a huge step up is required in private investment into nature restoration to create, enhance or protect natural capital such as woodlands, peatlands and other multi-benefit natural habitats and systems, collectively known as “nature-based solutions”;
  • Natural capital markets in the UK are nascent but rapidly growing;
  • HMG is helpfully committed to developing appropriate policy, regulation and standards in these markets, including with the British Standards Institution (BSI);
  • In the short-term there remains a void in principles for high integrity market engagement which could lead to low quality and poor practice and has the potential to damage market credibility and reduce the social and environmental impact achieved;  
  • This is why Finance Earth, the RSPB, the National Trust, The Wildlife Trusts, the Woodland Trust and Federated Hermes Limited have co-developed a set of voluntary principles for science-based investment to support high integrity natural capital markets in the UK; and
  • The Nature Markets Principles are designed as a stop-gap solution to influence market practice today and to contribute to emerging government policy and regulation. 

There are seven supply-side project development principles: 

1 Science-based Nature Recovery 

2 Environmental and Social Safeguarding 

3 Additionality 

4 Permanence and Financial Prudence 

5 Seek Co-Benefits 

6 Verifiability 

7 Transparency 

There are 2 demand-side principles to apply to ecosystem service buyers and investors: 

8 Buyer Screening Criteria 

9 Commitment to Best Practices 

Supporting Material
Please find attached (embargoed 1000 Tuesday 26th September):

  • A full copy of the Nature Markets Principles, downloadable from here. 
  • Landscape and portrait versions of a 1 page Executive Summary of the 9 principles
  • The Blog post which will be carried by Wildlife and Countryside Link here.

 

About the organisations

The National Trust is Europe’s largest conservation charity. It looks after nature, beauty and history for everyone to enjoy. It does this with the help of millions of members, volunteers, staff and donors. With that support, it cares for the miles of coastline, woodlands, countryside and protects hundreds of historic buildings, gardens and precious collections. 

The RSPB is the UK’s largest nature conservation charity, inspiring everyone to give nature a home. Together with its partners, it protects threatened birds and wildlife so our towns, coast and countryside will teem with life once again. It plays a leading role in BirdLife International, a worldwide partnership of nature conservation organisations.

The Wildlife Trusts are making the world wilder and helping to ensure that nature is part of everyone’s lives. It is a grassroots movement of 46 charities with more than 900,000 members and 38,000 volunteers. No matter where you are in Britain, there is a Wildlife Trust inspiring people and saving, protecting, and standing up for the natural world. With the support of its members, it cares for and restores special places for nature on land and runs marine conservation projects and collect vital data on the state of our seas. Every Wildlife Trust works within its local community to inspire people to create a wilder future – from advising thousands of landowners on how to manage their land to benefit wildlife, to connecting hundreds of thousands of school children with nature every year.

The Woodland Trust is the largest woodland conservation charity in the UK. It has over 500,000 supporters. It wants to see a UK rich in native woods and trees for people and wildlife. The Trust has three key aims: 1. To protect ancient woodland, which is rare, unique and irreplaceable; 2. To restore damaged ancient woodland, bringing precious pieces of our natural history back to life; and, 3. To plant native trees and woods with the aim of creating resilient landscapes for people and wildlife. Established in 1972, the Woodland Trust now has over 1,000 sites in its care, covering approximately 29,000 hectares. Access to its woods is free so everyone can benefit from woods and trees.

Finance Earth is a social enterprise that helps make finance work for nature, climate and communities. It is the UK’s leading environmental impact investment boutique, providing regulated financial advisory and fund management services across the natural and built environment both in the UK and internationally. Finance Earth works with its partners to  create and develop projects, and the investment vehicles to fund them, that positively balance outcomes for nature, climate, communities, and investors.

Federated Hermes, Inc. is a global leader in active, responsible investment management, with $704 billion in assets under management, as of June, 30, 2023. We deliver investment solutions that help investors target a broad range of outcomes and provide equity, fixed-income, alternative/private markets, multi-asset and liquidity management strategies to more than 11,000 institutions and intermediaries worldwide. Our clients include corporations, government entities, insurance companies, foundations and endowments, banks and broker/dealers. Headquartered in Pittsburgh, Federated Hermes has more than 2,000 employees in London, New York and offices worldwide. For more information, visit FederatedHermes.com. 

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