It's free, just sign up on the Free plan to continue.
No credit card required. Just verify your email.
The UK has just taken a bold step to boost private investment in nature, with the launch of new Nature Investment Standards designed to bring trust and clarity to nature markets.
The government has just published a new set of Nature Investment Standards—a major move aimed at making it easier and safer for landowners to sell environmental benefits from their land.
The standards, developed by Defra and the British Standards Institution (BSI), are designed to support the growing “nature markets” where things like carbon storage, biodiversity uplift and improved water quality can be traded as credits. These markets already exist in places like Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG), but until now, landowners and investors have had to navigate a patchwork of rules and practices. That’s now set to change.
They’re essentially a formal rulebook. The standards outline how to measure, record, and trade environmental outcomes in a way that’s consistent and trusted. This includes:
The idea is to give buyers more confidence and give landowners clearer guidance—so projects can attract investment without the legal or reputational grey areas.
Whether you’re already creating biodiversity units under BNG, planting woodland with EWCO, or exploring agroforestry, these standards provide a stronger footing for turning nature recovery into a reliable income stream.
In practical terms, this means:
The standards also help reduce risk for those considering loans or investment tied to future environmental income—an area that’s growing, but has so far lacked clear backing from regulators.
The government has committed to scaling up private investment in nature to at least £1 billion per year by 2030. These standards are a key building block to make that happen—particularly for landowners with projects that go beyond basic compliance.
For now, the new framework supports voluntary markets, but it’s expected to underpin future regulatory schemes too. The direction of travel is clear: nature recovery is becoming more integrated with mainstream land management and investment.
Want to see how these changes fit with Biodiversity Net Gain, woodland creation, or stacking funding on your land?
AskGrant helps you understand what your land qualifies for, what the returns might look like, and where to go next.
We’ll continue updating our guidance as more detail is released.
🔗 Read the official announcement on GOV.UK
The UK has just taken a bold step to boost private investment in nature, with the launch of new Nature Investment Standards designed to bring trust and clarity to nature markets.
The government has just published a new set of Nature Investment Standards—a major move aimed at making it easier and safer for landowners to sell environmental benefits from their land.
The standards, developed by Defra and the British Standards Institution (BSI), are designed to support the growing “nature markets” where things like carbon storage, biodiversity uplift and improved water quality can be traded as credits. These markets already exist in places like Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG), but until now, landowners and investors have had to navigate a patchwork of rules and practices. That’s now set to change.
They’re essentially a formal rulebook. The standards outline how to measure, record, and trade environmental outcomes in a way that’s consistent and trusted. This includes:
The idea is to give buyers more confidence and give landowners clearer guidance—so projects can attract investment without the legal or reputational grey areas.
Whether you’re already creating biodiversity units under BNG, planting woodland with EWCO, or exploring agroforestry, these standards provide a stronger footing for turning nature recovery into a reliable income stream.
In practical terms, this means:
The standards also help reduce risk for those considering loans or investment tied to future environmental income—an area that’s growing, but has so far lacked clear backing from regulators.
The government has committed to scaling up private investment in nature to at least £1 billion per year by 2030. These standards are a key building block to make that happen—particularly for landowners with projects that go beyond basic compliance.
For now, the new framework supports voluntary markets, but it’s expected to underpin future regulatory schemes too. The direction of travel is clear: nature recovery is becoming more integrated with mainstream land management and investment.
Want to see how these changes fit with Biodiversity Net Gain, woodland creation, or stacking funding on your land?
AskGrant helps you understand what your land qualifies for, what the returns might look like, and where to go next.
We’ll continue updating our guidance as more detail is released.
🔗 Read the official announcement on GOV.UK
