A summit on opportunities and challenges associated with bringing nature into major energy, transport, technology and defence projects.
Led by Environment Bank, one of the UK’s leading biodiversity net gain (BNG) specialists, the event brought senior civil servants, government representatives, industry experts and environmental teams together.
Among other things, the event looked at how nationally significant infrastructure projects (NSIPs) are particularly complex and as such need to factor nature in at the earliest possible planning stages.
Developers and land owners such as National Grid and Network Rail, and major redevelopment projects like Everton Stadium in Liverpool, have already set high benchmarks for collaboration on BNG, but more needs to be done to ensure such standards become business as usual, rather than the exception.
‘I am delighted that the Government is rightly forging ahead with applying BNG to Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects next year and that industry and business are gathered here today to ensure that this important policy is implemented effectively so it works for both developers and the environment,’ said Toby Perkins, MP for Chesterfield and Chair of the Environmental Audit Committee.
Although BNG regulation was introduced in a bid to stop continued nature decline in across Britain – which ranks as one of the world’s worst countries for species and habitat loss – it is not without monetary merit. According to Wildlife Trusts, the market has capacity to ad £250million to the UK economy each year, and create almost 2,500 full-time jobs. Earlier this month, another prominent environmental organisation, Natural England, unveiled a new strategy which it believes can reposition nature recovery as a catalyst for economic growth.
Image: Environment Bank
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