In 2023 a new aspect of the Environment Act – Biodiversity Net Gain - will come into force. It will require all land development schemes in England to deliver a mandatory 10% biodiversity net gain to be maintained for a period of at least 30 years.
This has obvious implications for developers, land owners, and firms looking to expand their operations as development proposals must “leave biodiversity in a better state than before”.
To discuss how this may impact members we are holding a webinar in September and are delighted to welcome an expert speaker from Natural England to answer member questions.
Environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) is a rising priority for companies that wish to do good and deliver on consumer demand for sustainable business practices. Climate has rightly dominated the conversation due to the time frames in which action is needed to avert a severe climate crisis. Biodiversity has taken longer to build up momentum in the ESG landscape, despite its relationship with a healthy planet, climate and life support services.
This techUK webinar will be the first of many focused on nature and biodiversity. Members have expressed an interest in how they can promote biodiversity on their campuses, in their offices and on shared estates. This is not only for the intrinsic existence value of nature, but for the human well-being, economic and resilience value that incorporating a nature positive approach can bring.
Our guest speaker will cover:
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The technicalities of the BNG legislation,
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The biodiversity metrics that will be used to measure progress, and
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Several tried and tested measures to promote a healthy local ecosystem around your workplace.
The format will be a presentation, followed by a discussion/Q&A section.
This free webinar will take place on the 30 September (14:00-14:45). Please register to secure your place.
Who should attend?
You should attend if:
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Your company is building a new site or expanding an existing one in the next 18 months
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You are interested in how you can adapt your business to be nature positive
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You are interested in promoting biodiversity as part of CSR or climate commitments
Speaker:
Dr Nick White – Natural England
Nick works across Government (national and local), and with developers, NGOs, and academia to advance policy, practice, and standards around net gain (biodiversity, natural capital and environmental). The current focus of Nick’s work is the biodiversity net gain legislation, the biodiversity metric and biodiversity net gain standards and guidance. Nick is also working on the evolving approach to marine net gain.
Nick’s work explores how biodiversity, and the natural environment can contribute towards wider social and economic benefits. He has a strong interest in green infrastructure, especially in relation to urban areas and its ability to enhance wider (grey) infrastructure resilience.
Further resources on biodiversity net gain can be found here:
https://youtu.be/loDGyw_jh1s - animated video
Biodiversity Net Gain Brochure (blog.gov.uk) – BNG brochure
techUK - Committed to Climate Action
Visit our Climate Action Hub to learn more or to register for regular updates.
techUK helps our members to embed climate and sustainability considerations into their operations. For more information on our Climate, Environment and Sustainability Programme please visit our Climate Action Hub and click ‘contact us’.
Weronika Dorociak
Weronika joined techUK as a Programme Manager for Sustainability in October 2023.
Lucas Banach
Lucas Banach is Programme Assistant at techUK, he works on a range of programmes including Data Centres; Climate, Environment & Sustainability; Market Access and Smart Infrastructure and Systems.
Craig Melson
Craig is Associate Director for Climate, Environment and Sustainability and leads on our work in these areas ranging from climate change, ESG disclosures and due diligence, through to circular economy, business and human rights, conflict minerals and post-Brexit regulation.
