The loan will enable Nature Impact to restore more than 120 acres of degraded UK farmland, and is the first private commercial debt package from Triodos based on a Biodiversity Net Gain unit model.
Triodos Bank UK has announced its first private sector loan based on a biodiversity net gain (BNG) unit model, which has enabled environmental consultancy Nature Impact to purchase more than 120 acres of degraded farmland in the southeast of England.
This is the first private commercial debt package from Triodos based on a BNG unit model, and will help with the restoration and creation of wildlife habitats, including native wildflower meadows, traditional orchards, woodland, ponds, wetlands and hedgerows. The loan amount was £725,000 (€877,627).
Speaking to Impact Investor, Simon Crichton, head of nature, food and resource at Triodos Bank said the firm has been working for more than eight years to find financially sustainable models in the UK for investing in nature restoration.
“We are working on a variety of different models because there will need to be different approaches for the wide variety of different ecosystems, landowners and stakeholders,” Crichton said.
“As we share learning across the countries we operate in, we hope that similar approaches to this BNG unit model will be adopted across other markets,” he added.
BNG framework
The BNG framework, which was introduced in England earlier this year, places a legal requirement on property developers to demonstrate a minimum net gain of 10% of biodiversity, ensuring that habitats are left in a measurably better state than they were before the development took place.
If this net gain cannot be achieved on site, BNG units can be bought from local nature projects and used to offset the difference.
Founded in 2023, Nature Impact works to establish BNG habitat banks, with these units being sold to developers across London and the southeast.
“Biodiversity Net Gain has the potential to drive huge growth in UK nature markets, something we desperately need right now as we grapple with the shocking decline in our nation’s biodiversity,” said Tom Nelson, co-founder of Nature Impact.
UK nature restoration
Over the past year, Triodos told Impact Investor it has lent an additional £4.6m (€5.5m) to BNG projects which include a loan of £3.85m to tree-planting charity, Avon Needs Trees, to create new woodland across 422 acres of land in the southwest of England.
Furthermore, as part of its biodiversity targets, Triodos said it has committed to making at least €500m in investments, loans and contributions to nature-based solutions by 2030.
Last year, Triodos facilitated a £20m loan to Oxygen Conservation, funding the purchase of 23,000 acres of land in Scotland. Additionally, Triodos said it has given loans to other local nature impact groups including a £2m charity bond to Trees for Life in 2021, as well as a loan to Heal Rewilding in late 2022 to fund the purchase of 460 acres of land in Somerset.
Laura Rumph, senior relationship manager for nature, food and resource at Triodos, said: “Triodos has been advocating for the critical role of the financial system in reversing biodiversity loss for more than four decades, and we are proud of our heritage in financing nature-based solutions.”
Rumph added that she hopes that this loan will grow confidence among investors in the potential of BNG projects.
