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Arup advances discussions to take ownership of EnTrade

Tue, 20 Jan 2026 10:33:11 GMT

EnTrade, the UK's leading marketplace for nature recovery and currently owned jointly by Arup and YTL UK, has announced proposals for Arup to take full ownership of the business.

EnTrade is the pioneer in creating market-based solutions that mobilise private capital to support nature recovery and unlock economic growth. EnTrade has developed a unique platform to facilitate these markets and has successfully run two pilot markets, delivering £1.36 million in environmental credit trades to fund new habitat creation, water quality improvements and enable housing developers to meet their environmental obligations in an efficient and transparent way.

The EnTrade board has praised the pioneering work of the team, and particularly the leadership of Managing Director, Guy Thompson. Under the proposed arrangements, the existing team will move on to new opportunities, with the EnTrade business being taken forward by Arup.

Tom Wilcock, Managing Director of Arup UKIMEA, said:

"We've been very pleased to play our part alongside YTL UK in the development of EnTrade and, with YTL UK rationalising its investment, we are excited by the opportunity to lead and shape the next stage of its future."

As part of these changes, the Environmental Markets Board, which provides independent oversight of catchment markets, will be established as a separate legal entity to support integrity, transparency and good governance across environmental markets nationwide.

Notes to editors:

EnTrade's demonstration Bristol Avon and Somerset Catchment Markets have led to significant environmental improvements, with 3.2 hectares of land protected under nature-based project agreements, backed by private investment of over £1.3 million.
EnTrade has recently completed an assessment as one of the early adopters of the British Standards Institution's pilot of its overarching Nature Investment Standard.
EnTrade became an independent company in Joint Venture between YTL UK and Arup in February 2025, having been incubated as an independent business unit of Wessex Water Ltd since its genesis in 2018.
The Environmental Markets Board was created to provide arms-length oversight of EnTrade's demonstration markets, in the light of lessons from the Voluntary Carbon Market.

Find more information on the work and future of the Environmental Markets Board .

An Ecologist's Journey

Tue, 02 Jul 2024 11:21:31 GMT

Daisy Huxter is now a Project Ecologist with the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust after participating in the traineeship programme. In this blog we learn more about her experience and aspirations.

Describe your ecology journey from trainee to consultant?

What inspired you to advocate for the environment?

I was lucky enough to grow up on the Somerset Levels, with several nature reserves on my doorstep. This helped to capture my interest for the natural world from a young age. As I grew up, I knew I wanted a meaningful career where I could make a positive impact. With our planet facing ever growing challenges, it only made sense to combine this goal with my love for the environment. I am particularly interested in motivating people to take action for nature, as I believe the key to nature’s recovery is through human connection and education.

What courses/education have you taken?

I have studied FdSc Animal Management and Applied Science, BSc Zoo biology and MSc Advanced Wildlife Conservation in Practice.

How long has it taken to get to where you are today?

It has been a long journey to get where I am. I have devoted hours of my time to volunteering for a number of organisations including Natural England, the Wildlife Trusts, Wilder Woods Forest School, Sainte Luce Reserve in Madagascar, National Trust for Scotland, and Secret World Wildlife Rescue to name a few.

My paid experience has seen me working for a local council as a Conservation Officer, working as an Ecologist at an ecological consultancy, and perhaps the most pivotal role I’ve had, working as a Trainee Ecologist with the Bristol Avon Catchment Market team from Avon and Wiltshire Wildlife Trust and Entrade.

The traineeship was an incredible experience, which really equipped me with the skills and confidence I needed to kickstart my career in the conservation sector. The role involved assisting in the collection of baseline survey data for potential Biodiversity Net Gain sites. As part of the programme, I created a portfolio to present all of the new biological survey and monitoring, mapping, Biodiversity Metric and report writing skills I had gained in the 6 months.

When the traineeship ended, I worked for an environmental consultancy undertaking protected species surveys all over the country, including bat, otter, water vole and great crested newt.

When a permanent position on the Nature Recovery team came up at Wiltshire Wildlife Trust, it was too good an opportunity to miss.

What are the most enjoyable elements of your role?

My favourite aspects of the role include the continuous opportunity to learn and develop, getting to spend time in nature, meeting passionate people from all walks of life coming together for the same cause, mentoring our trainees by helping to equip them with the skills required for a career in conservation, and overall satisfaction that I am helping to drive positive change not only in Wiltshire but further afield.

I particularly enjoy undertaking botanical surveys in a range of habitats. I would like to expand my knowledge of plants even further and the baseline surveys we complete for the BACM are a great opportunity for this.

What continuing professional development are you currently or planning to undertake?

I am currently undergoing training to become a Biodiversity Benchmark assessor for the Wildlife Trusts. Biodiversity Benchmark is designed to complement ISO14001 and tests the design and implementation of a business’s management systems to achieve continual biodiversity enhancement and protection on their sites.

I am also completing River Condition Assessment training. This training covers the field and desk study methods required to generate the River Condition inputs for calculating Net Gain using The Statutory Biodiversity Metric.

I have started Wilder Carbon training to become a project developer. Wilder Carbon has developed a mechanism for locking up additional carbon through restoration of native habitat via reinstatement of natural processes in the UK.

Empowering Tomorrow's Ecologists

Mon, 11 Mar 2024 21:01:32 GMT

Jane Kinney is Project Ecologist with the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust

The ecological sector is rapidly evolving in response to an ongoing biodiversity and climate crisis, with the introduction of new platforms to support natural capital, green finance and environmental service markets. In addition, Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) became mandatory from 12th February 2024, with the new ‘UKHabs’ habitat classification system alongside the DEFRA Statutory Biodiversity Metric calculator being adopted to support BNG delivery. This is therefore a vital time to obtain a strong awareness and understanding of the new approaches which will be widely adopted in the coming year and beyond.

‘I feel I have been given an insight into the future of nature recovery and how it can be financed’.

The ecological sector can still pose a challenge to those wanting to seek a career in the field, often requiring a range of practical skills and knowledge, and with high competition for prospective roles. With the creation of the Bristol Avon Catchment Market, and thanks to funding from The Green Recovery Challenge Fund, the project has been able to offer a number of exciting career and training opportunities from the beginning.

Following on from the success of the 2022 traineeship programme, in mid August 2023 the project employed a further two Graduate Trainee Ecologists. These were hosted by Wiltshire Wildlife Trust and, over the course of a 6 month period the trainees were provided with real in-field experience, practical training and essential skills desired by employers in the sector.

‘It has been fantastic to work with others who share my passion for nature and seeing everyone working hard towards shared goals’

The traineeship aimed to provide meaningful and applicable in-field experiences and training, much of which was carried out on a range of BACM sites and nature reserves within the Wiltshire Catchment area.

Trainees completed modules in: Biodiversity Net Gain; Ecological Surveying; Habitat Design, Creation and Management; and Wetland and Natural Flood Management Design. Each module was designed to develop the core relevant knowledge alongside a range of additional skills including Ecological Surveying and legislation; data collection and ‘ground truthing’; UKHabs classification; GIS mapping; and ecological report writing, and included production of a written portfolio.

‘The amount of training and information you cover really is incredible, especially within half a year’

Feedback from the trainees was incredibly positive, with some key words including “rewarding”, “insightful” and “fun”. The trainees felt the portfolio was a tangible tool, evidencing their learning during their time on the traineeship, providing a professional example of their gained knowledge and skills to present to future employers. They felt that the traineeship had made them more employable and they had gained the skills and confidence to progress in their careers in the sector.

‘We were involved in a wide range of activities and had exposure to issues facing the sector which gives me confidence talking about, and working in, nature recovery.’

Upon completion of the traineeship, one trainee has secured a full time Project Officer role at Ecosulis, whilst the other is pursuing a ranger role and working towards obtaining their dormouse licence. This builds upon the success of the previous traineeship which resulted in all six trainees securing work as Assistant Ecologists immediately following the placement. Traineeships clearly continue to offer a supportive and purposeful way to develop graduates for future employment within the environmental sector.

‘Every member of staff was so welcoming, supportive and keen to aid our learning. I felt like my opinion was valued’

With thanks to the Green Recovery Challenge Fund, administered by National Lottery Heritage Fund for proving seed funding to the Bristol Avon Catchment Market, and enabling the development and provision of both rounds of trainees.

Biodiversity Net Gain to become mandatory in January

Wed, 27 Sep 2023 23:58:09 GMT

The government has announced that Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) will become a mandatory requirement in England in January.

Further details on the implementation timetable have also been announced

Developers, nature-based project suppliers and local planning authorities have been preparing for BNG and many are already meeting the commitment to 10% BNG voluntarily.

The Bristol Avon Catchment Market provides a straightforward way for organisations to buy verified Biodiversity Gain Units from local nature recovery projects to meet mandatory BNG requirements, and other voluntary commitments.

On the buyer side, we are working with organisations already leading the way in setting and meeting their environmental goals, investors committed to supporting nature’s recovery and developers planning ahead for the introduction of Biodiversity Net Gain.

We are also continuing to work with Project Suppliers to ensure there is a pipeline of accredited nature-based projects ahead of the second Market Round that will open for bids and offers early next year.

If you are looking for a Biodiversity Gain solution to meet mandatory BNG requirements, or to meet a voluntary commitment, please submit an Expression of Interest

Trainee Ecology Placement - Now Recruiting

Tue, 18 Jul 2023 09:19:01 GMT

We are hosting a unique Trainee Ecology Placement here at Wiltshire Wildlife Trust as part of the ground-breaking Bristol Avon Catchment Market .

Last year we successfully hosted this same traineeship with post graduate students from the University of the West of England, helping to develop their skills and experience to increase their chances of employment within the sector. We also identified the need to help prepare the ecology sector for the changes being seen with the introduction of natural capital, green finance, and environmental service markets.

Our trainees were able to learn and develop skills in ecological surveying and legislation, Biodiversity Net Gain, the Biodiversity Metric 3.1/4.0, ecological report writing, data collection, GIS mapping and even habitat design, creation, and management. You can read more about the success of this traineeship on our website. All six of our previous trainees immediately found work as Assistant Ecologists.

We are now looking to host a similar traineeship again this summer for three applicants.

Closing date for applications: 9 AM Monday 24th July 2023

Ecology Trainees sowing seed at Morningside Meadows, a Wiltshire Wildlife Trust reserve that is being enhanced for biodiversity

The role of the Bristol Avon Catchment Market in helping early career ecologists grow

Wed, 16 Nov 2022 11:07:24 GMT

Esther Frizell-Artmitage is a Bristol Avon Catchment Market Project Ecologist

The challenges of securing a job in the ecological sector

For those that have recently graduated or are undertaking a career change, the ecological sector can be challenging to enter. The sector is broad and prospective candidates face high competition for roles. Required and desirable skills can be near-impossible to obtain for someone new to the sector.

The Bristol Avon Catchment Market – opening up new opportunities and skills

Through the creation of the Bristol Avon Catchment Market, and thanks to funding from The Green Recovery Challenge Fund, the project has been able to offer a number of exciting career and training opportunities. As well as delivering a Kickstart Scheme, which aims to create new jobs for 16 to 24 year olds on Universal Credit who are at risk of long term unemployment, the project has also employed six Graduate Trainee Ecologists. The traineeships are being hosted by Wessex Water, in partnership with Avon Wildlife Trust and Wiltshire Wildlife Trust and aim to provide the essential skills that relevant employers would desire, backed up by real in-field experience.

Developing new skills and sharing experience

Between the supporting organisations, trainees have been able to learn and develop skills in ecological surveying and legislation, Biodiversity Net Gain, the Biodiversity Metric 3.1, ecological report writing, data collection, GIS mapping and even habitat design, creation and management.

“What I have liked most about the traineeship is how the role gives me the opportunity to work in different areas of conservation and ecology, equipping me with the necessary tools, experience, and knowledge to progress my career within this sector.”

Habitat design and creation opportunities are rare to come across in other ecology placements and this traineeship equips them with a greater depth of knowledge that can be applied to roles in the wider conservation sector.

So far during the traineeship, they have been busy undertaking a range of activities including ecological surveys for protected species (such as dormice, bats, badger and reptiles) at different BACM project sites, including one site where a woodland is proposed to be enhanced to benefit biodiversity, particularly bats and dormice. They’ve also been extensively mapping a number of sites and getting familiar with using the UKHab Classification system and GIS. What’s more, the trainees have also been involved in habitat creation activities such as creating habitat piles, hibernacula and also enhancing grassland through the seeding of wildflower seed mixes.

Ecology Trainees sowing seed at Morningside Meadows, a Wiltshire Wildlife Trust reserve that is being enhanced for biodiversity

A unique and valuable opportunity

The ecological sector is rapidly evolving - Biodiversity Net Gain is to become mandatory in 2023 and also new habitat classification systems and nature recovery mapping is being adopted, all amidst of a biodiversity and climate crisis. This is therefore a vital time to gain a strong understanding of the new approaches to be widely adopted in the near-future.

Only two months into their traineeships, it seems the opportunity has been an exciting step in their career path:

“This traineeship has been the perfect bridge between university and entering the environmental job sector as it has equipped us with the skills to confidently begin to pursue a career in ecology.”

“I believe the experience is equipping me with the knowledge I need to pursue a career in conservation while making me a more desirable candidate.”

The Ecology Trainees have created hibernacula that will benefit Great Crested Newts!

Ensuring local, high impact and verified nature-based projects across the Bristol Avon Catchment

Wed, 09 Nov 2022 10:55:38 GMT

Caitlin Coombs is a Bristol Avon Catchment Market Delivery Manager.

‘Land corridors are crucial in making a difference to biodiversity and the extinction crisis we face’

BACM landholder

A key element of the Bristol Avon Catchment Market (BACM) is the formation of strong working relationships with landholders to ensure the projects we collaboratively design are impactful, sustainable and produce numerous benefits for people and nature.

Over the past few months, the BACM Delivery Team have been working closely with landholders across the Bristol Avon catchment, designing and developing nature-based projects on their land. Our Delivery Team includes ecologists from both Avon and Wiltshire Wildlife Trust; Caitlin (myself), Esther, and Kerry along with Team Manager, Chelsie.

After hosting a number of informative webinars, landowners came forward to register their interest in working with us to develop a project. Since then, site visits, desk studies, ecological surveys and discussions have allowed us to fully understand each site. Factors such as current ecological status, geology, soil type, topography, land use, proximity to important populations of protected species or designated sites, surrounding habitats and public access have all been considered. Nature Recovery Network maps, where available, have also been used to assess potential for landscape scale conservation. Discussions with landholders and land agents have helped ensure projects work alongside existing land use and/or farm business models. Careful and well considered development of nature-based projects is highly integral to the Wildlife Trust’s involvement; we want to ensure we are maximising land for biodiversity and contributing to landscape scale nature recovery.

As an example, a grassland enhancement project has been designed for a land parcel which was largely unproductive and providing little financial gain. With this Nature based project, the land could be improved over the next 30 year period to provide a species-rich native grassland habitat. Such habitats integrated into the wider landscape are crucial in supporting beneficial insects and pollinators, in turn working to improve adjacent crops and productivity.

If successful in the market round, landholders will benefit from a 30-year Nature Based Project Agreement, guaranteeing an income from the land. It also enables them to diversify their income and land use whilst allowing them to continue to meet their land and business needs, all the while working to support nature. Find out more about how landholders can receive fair payment by delivering nature-based projects on their land.

Landholder market participation

Thu, 03 Nov 2022 09:30:56 GMT

Did you manage attend our recent Landholder Webinar on the 5 ^th October?

The purpose of this webinar was to help landholders understand the next step in the market: Market Registration

Recap of the Bristol Avon Catchment Market

The Bristol Avon Catchment Market is being delivered through a collaboration between Avon Wildlife trust, Wiltshire Wildlife Trust and EnTrade, who are working together to create a market that delivers local, high-impact and verified projects to restore nature and deliver a range of environmental services.

There are two sides to the Market; buyers of credits, and sellers of projects. The Market Operator, in this case EnTrade, sits in the middle to operate and match the needs of both sides. Through the market, farmers and land managers are incentivised to deliver and maintain Nature-based Projects in the Bristol Avon Catchment that deliver a range of Environmental Services.

We are working together to create a market that delivers local, high-impact and verified projects to restore nature and deliver a range of environmental services such as increased biodiversity, carbon reduction and natural flood management.

Key next steps for landholders participating in the Catchment Market

Market registration

There are two parts to Market Registration, as set out below:

Participant registration:

Landholders (or their authorised agent) register as a Market Participant on an online platform which will be accessible via the Bristol Avon Catchment Market website . Registering as a Market Participant does not commit an individual to supply a Nature-based Project.
To register, the landholder will need to enter their contact details and evidence of authority to enter into a contract to deliver Nature-based projects at the planned locations for a minimum 30-year period.
Entrade will then need to confirm that the landholder has the authority to enter into a contract to deliver the project for the required duration.

Project registration:

Landholders will then need to register each project formally through the EnTrade platform. Registering a project commits a landholder to making an offer to supply that Project to the Bristol Avon Catchment Market.
The landholder will need to upload a Project Specification and Establishment Plan and Management Plan.
Once registered, the Project will be reviewed by EnTrade and the landholder will be notified directly if the project has been accepted. If accepted, the landholder will be provided with further information about participating in the Market Round.

Timeline overview

Participant and project registration: Targeted to open towards the end of this year for a two week period.
Pre-market review: completed by the project team and the supply ahead of the Market Round
Market Round: targeted to open in January 2023
Contracting of projects: targeted for early 2023

If you have any further questions, please get in touch or visit the Bristol Avon Catchment Market website .

A farmer's perspective: Richard Allan, Guest Blog

Tue, 20 Sep 2022 12:20:37 GMT

This month’s guest blog features a Q&A with Richard Allan, an organic livestock farmer from the Avon vale.

Richard has farmed his beef and dairy herd for 15 years on a mixture of traditional pasture and woodland, adjoining Semington Brook and the River Avon. He has always had a keen interest in creating a more sustainable farming system and has planted over 30,000 trees and hedge plants to create a hedged pasture system that he uses for rotational grazing.

Why did you become interested in the Bristol Avon Catchment Market?

We’ve been looking at how we fund the expansion of our landholding model and the BACM offers a really smart approach to supporting nature’s recovery on farmed land. Our ‘model’ is essentially a mix of regenerative and organic farming methods – in other words, farming alongside nature. For me that’s the most important thing; giving a bit of space back to nature.

What type of Nature-Based Project are you providing to the Market?

We’ve got a brook that’s become canalised by a ditch from the Semington Brook and we have been looking at returning it back to what it once was – a wild water space. Putting this marginal land into a Nature Based Project draws a disproportionate benefit for wildlife and biodiversity over its current value for farming.

We hope it will eventually contribute to a wider wetland habitat. With this pond mosaic project, we will also be planting a variety of native scrub and tree species with the possibility of supporting local beaver populations and contributing to a valuable ecosystem.

How easy was it to get your Nature-Based Project underway?

It’s been a very easy process! We had done a lot of thinking beforehand in regards with what our aims are with the land and so it all sort of fell into place.

The initial landholder webinars were really helpful to get an introduction to the BACM and the process has continued since. It’s been a case of drawing each element up but it has been easier than other land-based agreements. The difficult bit has been how to approach the project costing but even that has been fun to work through.

Would you recommend the Bristol Avon Catchment Market to your neighbouring farms?

I’d completely recommend it. There’s a competence, understanding and enthusiasm from the Project Development Team and when you put those things together, it works. I am completely complimentary about it; I think it will be a very slick operation in future years and am happy to be participating at this early stage.

What advice would you give other landholders about getting involved?

Just do it! - you can spend the next ten years thinking about this or you can just do it.
There are very few farms where you don’t have a spare corner to do it.
It offers resilience and diversity to your farm and its income.

My advice would be to take the leap and jump; learn how it works, experiment with it and see how it works for you. This has been easier than other land-based agreements from what I have seen so far and the sensible approach to establishment and management guidance is refreshing.

To find out more about how landholders can benefit from the Bristol Avon Catchment Market see here

An innovative approach to valuing the benefits of nature

Fri, 22 Jul 2022 06:43:02 GMT

David Young is a Senior Fellow with the Broadway Initiative and lead author of the Financing Nature Recovery UK Recommendations and Roadmap

The role of markets in nature’s recovery

Environmental markets have a key role to play in unlocking the investment needed to reverse the decline of nature in the UK.

A market approach helps to quantify and value the services delivered by Nature-based projects (such as water and air quality improvements, biodiversity gains and greenhouse gas emission reductions) in a way that:

incentivises landholders to protect and restore the natural environment; and
provides a low-risk, efficient way for businesses to meet their environmental goals.

Bristol Avon Catchment Market - demonstrating delivery of high-integrity markets for nature

Markets for nature need clear mechanisms for price setting that can operate at a range of scales, and across the range of environmental services delivered by nature-based projects. The market settlement mechanism, developed by the University of Exeter, is an example of the environmental market infrastructure needed to provide financial and environmental transparency, the cornerstones of a high-integrity market.

Avon Wildlife Trust, Wiltshire Wildlife Trust and EnTrade have jointly developed a market to supply verified environmental services from nature.

The Bristol Avon Catchment Market is an online marketplace where:

farmers make offers to sell environmental projects such as new wetlands, woodlands and grasslands; and
businesses make bids to purchase credits for the environmental services delivered by these projects.

Learnings from the delivery of the Bristol Avon Catchment Market will help inform the scale-up of environmental markets across the UK.

Bringing in the experts

The market settlement process has been designed by experts from the Land, Environment, Economics and Policy Institute at the University of Exeter.

The process, known as the Lindsay Mechanism (after Dr Luke Lindsay), ensures payments are fair both for project suppliers and businesses buying environmental credits.

How does it work?

The Lindsay Mechanism ensures that:

If a landholder (Project Supplier) is successful in a Market Round, they will receive at least the amount they offered to deliver and maintain their nature-based project. If there is a surplus in the Market they will receive a share of the surplus as well.
If a buyer is successful in the market, they will pay the price they bid for the environmental credits, less a discount for their contribution to any surplus from the trade.

What are the financial flows?

When the market is settled:

Successful Credit Buyers pay for their Environmental Credits
Project Suppliers receive an upfront payment to cover the costs of designing and delivering the Project (including securing relevant consents)
Project Suppliers also receive regular payments to cover the use of the Project Land for the term of the agreement and the costs of maintaining the Project, and the compliance monitoring required;
EnTrade, the Market Operator, is paid a fixed amount to administer the operation of the market

Next steps

Find out more about how the market works here

The Bristol Avon Catchment Market – helping businesses achieve their environmental goals

Tue, 07 Jun 2022 08:54:52 GMT

Guy Thompson is Group Director, Environmental Futures - Wessex Water and Managing Director, EnTrade.

This blog post was originally published on the Business West website .

Nature needs our help

The Dasgupta Review emphasised the need for a new approach to engaging with our natural environment in order to reverse nature’s decline and make the transition to a sustainable economy.

In particular, our economic systems fail to recognise that our goods and services are wholly dependent on the environmental services that nature provides.

The Green Finance Institute has estimated there is a gap of at least £44 billion to meet UK environmental goals by 2030 . This gap cannot be met through public funding alone.

To put it plainly – tackling the environmental crisis before us depends on significantly increasing private investment in nature.

Businesses are under increasing pressure to act on climate and nature’s recovery.

UK Governments have set the expectation that businesses need to play their part in reversing nature’s decline and supporting the transition to net zero.

Regulatory and planning requirements now range from mandatory disclosure, through to requiring active investment in nature to address the negative impacts of business activities.

In addition, savvy businesses know that the regulatory environment isn’t the only reason to act more sustainably.

Consumers and employees are also expecting more from the businesses they buy from and work for. For example, over half of UK workers believe that sustainability is important when choosing a company to work for.

Where there’s a will, there’s not always a clear way

Even for businesses that have clear sustainability goals, it can be difficult to know what action to take. While there has been a lot of work within organisations to get a handle on understanding and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, taking action to improve nature is relatively new, and business capacity to drive this is at an early stage of development.

The role of nature-based solutions

There is a lot of interest in working with nature to address the challenges of tackling biodiversity loss, mitigating against floods, reducing pollution, and addressing climate change.

Nature-based projects, such as woodlands and wetlands, provide a way to provide ongoing environmental improvements while also supplying farmers with a sustainable revenue stream.

The Bristol Avon Catchment Market is providing ethical businesses with a better way to meet their environmental goals.

Avon Wildlife Trust, Wiltshire Wildlife Trust and EnTrade have jointly developed a high-integrity way of supplying environmental services from nature.

The Bristol Avon Catchment Market provides smart businesses with a credible pathway to make a meaningful contribution to nature’s recovery.

It provides an online marketplace where:

farmers sell environmental projects such as new wetlands, woodlands and grasslands; and
businesses purchase credits for the environmental services delivered by these projects, such as carbon sequestration or nutrient mitigation.

This market is demonstrating a new approach as it has been designed so that multiple buyers of different environmental services can meet their needs through a single market process.

EnTrade oversees the operation of the market to ensure that the market process is fair and independent for buyers and sellers.

The Avon and the Wiltshire Wildlife Trusts are using their local knowledge and scientific expertise to work with farmers to develop projects in strategic locations to maximise environmental benefits.

The high standards, depth of experience and local knowledge of the Avon and the Wiltshire Wildlife Trusts will ensure that all environmental projects are well designed, independently verified and expertly maintained.

Projects will be accredited against approved standards using up-to-date metrics so that buyers can be confident that the credits will be accepted by relevant authorities.

The market settlement process has been designed in collaboration with experts from Exeter University to ensure fair payments for both buyers and sellers, with any surplus shared equitably between participants.

Businesses must meet the required ethical standards in order to participate in the market. This includes a commitment to use credits purchased through the Bristol Avon Catchment Market to drive genuine environmental improvements.

Taking the next step is easy

The Bristol Avon Catchment Market Team would like to understand the environmental goals of your business and is available to work with you to help quantify your environmental credit needs.

There is currently an open Expression of Interest process from June 20th to July 13th – which is straightforward and non-binding. This process is an important step in learning more about how the Bristol Avon Catchment Market can help you meet your environmental goals. The EOI process closes Monday 13th July.

For more information, please visit https://bristolavoncatchmentmarket.uk

Our team is also available at contact@bristolavoncatchmentmarket.uk and would be happy to organise a follow-up call to answer your questions about the market.

The Bristol Avon Catchment Market – the right choice for smart businesses

Wed, 27 Apr 2022 09:09:37 GMT

Luke Grimshaw is Project Manager for the Bristol Avon Catchment Market and has served on various projects for the Avon Wildlife Trust over the previous 3 years. His deep interest in Nature Based Solutions and wealth of experience in delivering complex projects is helping to establish the Bristol Avon Catchment Market as a world-leading solution for investment in nature. In this blog post he gives an overview of the Bristol Avon Catchment Market and the opportunity for businesses.

This blog post was first published on the Bristol Green Capital Partnership website .

The Bristol Avon Catchment Market is providing ethical businesses with a better way to meet their environmental goals.

By purchasing verified credits for carbon, biodiversity and other environmental services, businesses can be confident that they are on a credible path to becoming net-zero and nature-positive.

Market overview

Avon Wildlife Trust, Wiltshire Wildlife Trust and EnTrade have jointly developed a high-integrity way of supplying environmental services from nature.

The Bristol Avon Catchment Market is an online marketplace where:

farmers make offers to sell environmental projects such as new wetlands, woodlands and grasslands; and
businesses make bids to purchase credits for the environmental services delivered by these projects.

This innovative market is designed so that multiple buyers of different environmental services can meet their needs through a single market process.

Importantly, businesses only buy the type and quantity of environmental services that they need at a fair price.

EnTrade oversees the operation of the market to ensure that the market process is fair and independent for buyers and sellers.

The Avon and the Wiltshire Wildlife Trusts are using their local knowledge and scientific expertise to work with farmers to develop projects in strategic locations to maximise environmental benefits. The market aims to support the restoration of: 58 hectares of grassland; 85 hectares of new woodland; and 5 hectares of wetland.

A market you can trust

When you have made a decision to make your business more sustainable, you want to know that you are making a real difference.

Projects will be accredited against approved standards using up-to-date metrics so that buyers can be confident that the credits will be accepted by relevant authorities.

You also want to be sure that you are participating in an independent and impartial process.

Nature’s recovery takes time. You want to be assured that funding today will be used for projects that deliver benefits for many years to come.

The Bristol Avon Catchment Market establishes legally binding contracts with project suppliers to ensure that the projects will be maintained throughout the lifetime of the project.

An exclusive opportunity

The Bristol Avon Catchment Market provides smart businesses with a credible pathway to make a meaningful contribution to nature’s recovery.

However, the market isn’t open to everyone. Businesses must meet the required ethical standards in order to participate in the market. This includes a commitment to use credits purchased through the Bristol Avon Catchment Market to drive genuine environmental improvements.

And there are limited quantities of the environmental services available, so businesses are encouraged to learn more about this opportunity so that they don’t miss out.

Next steps

Ahead of the first market round, there will be an Expression of Interest process for interested buyers to nominate the type and quantity of environmental credits they want. This will be used to inform the development of a Catchment Opportunities Statement so that buyers and sellers have a clearer picture of the supply and demand balance in the catchment.

To find out more about how the market works, please visit bristolavoncatchmentmarket.uk or attend the Partnership’s free webinar on 11 May at 9.30am.

The Bristol Avon Catchment Market team is also available to discuss how the market can help you to meet your environmental goals and can be contacted at contact@bristolavoncatchmentmarket.uk .

The development of the market has been funded by the Government’s Green Recovery Challenge Fund. The fund was developed by Defra and its Arm’s-Length Bodies. It is being delivered by The National Lottery Heritage Fund in partnership with Natural England, the Environment Agency and Forestry Commission.

9dc2d291

Arup advances discussions to take ownership of EnTrade

An Ecologist's Journey

Describe your ecology journey from trainee to consultant?

What are the most enjoyable elements of your role?

What continuing professional development are you currently or planning to undertake?

Empowering Tomorrow's Ecologists

‘I feel I have been given an insight into the future of nature recovery and how it can be financed’. ﻿

‘It has been fantastic to work with others who share my passion for nature and seeing everyone working hard towards shared goals’

The traineeship aimed to provide meaningful and applicable in-field experiences and training, much of which was carried out on a range of BACM sites and nature reserves within the Wiltshire Catchment area.

‘The amount of training and information you cover really is incredible, especially within half a year’ ﻿

‘We were involved in a wide range of activities and had exposure to issues facing the sector which gives me confidence talking about, and working in, nature recovery.’

‘Every member of staff was so welcoming, supportive and keen to aid our learning. I felt like my opinion was valued’ ﻿

Biodiversity Net Gain to become mandatory in January

The government has announced that Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) will become a mandatory requirement in England in January.

Trainee Ecology Placement - Now Recruiting

The role of the Bristol Avon Catchment Market in helping early career ecologists grow

The challenges of securing a job in the ecological sector

The Bristol Avon Catchment Market – opening up new opportunities and skills

Developing new skills and sharing experience

“What I have liked most about the traineeship is how the role gives me the opportunity to work in different areas of conservation and ecology, equipping me with the necessary tools, experience, and knowledge to progress my career within this sector.”

A unique and valuable opportunity

“This traineeship has been the perfect bridge between university and entering the environmental job sector as it has equipped us with the skills to confidently begin to pursue a career in ecology.”

“I believe the experience is equipping me with the knowledge I need to pursue a career in conservation while making me a more desirable candidate.”

Ensuring local, high impact and verified nature-based projects across the Bristol Avon Catchment

‘Land corridors are crucial in making a difference to biodiversity and the extinction crisis we face’

Landholder market participation

Did you manage attend our recent Landholder Webinar on the 5 th October?

Recap of the Bristol Avon Catchment Market

Key next steps for landholders participating in the Catchment Market

Market registration

A farmer's perspective: Richard Allan, Guest Blog

An innovative approach to valuing the benefits of nature

David Young is a Senior Fellow with the Broadway Initiative and lead author of the Financing Nature Recovery UK Recommendations and Roadmap

The role of markets in nature’s recovery

Bristol Avon Catchment Market - demonstrating delivery of high-integrity markets for nature

Bringing in the experts

How does it work?

What are the financial flows?

Next steps

The Bristol Avon Catchment Market – helping businesses achieve their environmental goals

Nature needs our help

Where there’s a will, there’s not always a clear way

The role of nature-based solutions

Taking the next step is easy

The Bristol Avon Catchment Market – the right choice for smart businesses

Market overview

A market you can trust

An exclusive opportunity

Next steps

‘I feel I have been given an insight into the future of nature recovery and how it can be financed’.

‘The amount of training and information you cover really is incredible, especially within half a year’

‘Every member of staff was so welcoming, supportive and keen to aid our learning. I felt like my opinion was valued’

Did you manage attend our recent Landholder Webinar on the 5 ^th October?