20 THE CLIMATE CHALLENGE
is trust. With onsite BNG, developers can see how the requirement is being met because it’s happening on their doorstep. With offsite, this is all happening elsewhere, on land the developer isn’t familiar with or in control of. Most are established as a collaborative project between BNG providers and landowners, who have a vested interest in working with providers because it provides them with guaranteed revenue and helps with transitioning to more sustainable agricultural practices. We always do everything we can to ensure our clients understand where their units are coming from and how they’re looked after, providing them with as much or as little detail as they deem necessary. Further to that, renovating and rewilding the land increases the overall land quality, which offers long-term benefi ts to the wider landscape. The work we do to establish Habitat Banks has trickle down effects, including mitigating fl ood risk, establishing restorative graing, promoting fl oral diversity that encourages pollinators (which is good for crops) and much more.
This is especially important because it demonstrates that the establishment of abitat Banks is directly benefi cial to both arable and pastoral farming. In sum, the level of investment in offsite BNG from BNG provider and landowner alike makes the biodiversity even more reliable, because constant care and attention are going into monitoring and maintaining it to the highest standards.
Such assurances carry through the entire process, from enquiry right through to delivery. Each project is different, and the scale of our operation combined with the scope of our in-house expertise means that we can fi t our approach to anything from a tiny housing development project all the way to large scale infrastructure projects. Even if the planning journey carries uncertainties, or the BNG requirements do, our sales team (themselves planning and biodiversity specialists) offer ongoing support throughout this process to make certain that the right solution is delivered. This isn’t a ‘hit and run’ service, it’s fl uid and tailored from start to fi nish. A survey conducted by Housebuilder & Developer in February 2025 showed that 50% of developers fi nd achieving 10% BN ‘somewhat diffi cult’, and a further 1% fi nd it ‘very diffi cult’. The fact of it is that the experience doesn’t need to be diffi cult services like ours are living proof of this.
Of course, none of this matters if the BNG delivery is simply too expensive in the context of a project’s budget. Some reports suggest that the low cap for Biodiversity Units is £25,000. In
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A LOT OF THE COMMON ISSUES RAISED AROUND OFFSITE BNG STEM FROM TEETHING PROBLEMS
fact, single whole Biodiversity Units can cost less and as referenced above, we can sell fractional Biodiversity Units, down to a factor of 0.01, so even the smallest of projects can affordably meet its requirements. We only ever provide developers with exactly the amount of BNG units they need, whether that’s 25 or 0.01.
WHAT TO CONSIDER The fi rst consideration is ensuring that you are using the right metric and therefore have a steer on how many Biodiversity Units you require. For SMEs, the Small Sites Metric can be used for this, although advice should be sought from an ecological consultant on whether this is the best course of action, on a site by site basis. This process can seem daunting, but we are able to provide support, and with that information gathered, create a plan perfectly tailored to your needs. We’re also on hand to ensure that you understand the roles and responsibilities associated with offsite BNG delivery. 30 years is a long time, and we want to do everything we can to give you the assurance that we’re meeting your BNG requirements through our monitoring and reporting methods.
Other considerations, such as whether an ongoing supply will be needed for future projects, the ratifi cation of your BNG documentation and what to do if you need to reach out, will all be covered during the process of getting you set up.
LOOKING AHEAD
This is a developing market, and as demonstrated, a lot of the common issues raised around it stem from teething problems which have either already been dealt with or will be very soon. The market is growing at a remarkable speed, and we are evolving at the same pace. Organisations like ours are also at work ensuring that the policy continues to mature in line with what customers, landowners, and the habitats themselves need the most, turning today’s barriers into tomorrow’s myths.
Nathan Jenkinson MCIEEM is strategic account director at Environment Bank
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