Nature's recovery

Words by Hannah Tapping | Images courtesy of Cornwall Council

Using business funding as a powerful tool to help restore the environment.

With a range of nature-based projects currently facilitated through its platforms, I was keen to discover how EnTrade enables businesses to meet their environmental commitments and obligations and play their part in restoring local landscapes.

EnTrade is using private investment to accelerate nature’s recovery, making it easier for businesses and landholders to trade certified environmental services. By enabling companies to meet their environmental commitments, EnTrade is helping restore local landscapes. Current markets in Bristol Avon, Somerset and Cornwall have already delivered significant improvements, with 95 hectares of nature-based projects and more than £1.3 million in private investment. 

“We work with farmers and landholders on a long-term basis to deliver a range of projects such as reverting whole or parts of fields to wildflower rich and low input grasslands; the creation or natural regeneration of scrub; introducing new or enhancing existing woodland; building native, species-rich hedgerows; as well as adding ponds and wetlands to deliver the water treatment properties of natural wetlands to support biodiversity,” says Amy Coulthard, Market Development Director.

“A recent standout success story has been our nutrient mitigation wetlands project on the Somerset Levels. It is a typical story where one of our suppliers, in this case a local farming business, was looking to diversify income and also improve the environment by stripping out phosphates from 100 hectares through the installation of wetlands downstream. The positives are not just nutrient reduction, there are also huge benefits for biodiversity and flood mitigation for the local villagers living downstream. Crucially, the farmer wouldn’t have undertaken this project without the expert assistance as well as the funding made available through the EnTrade market.”

EnTrade’s goal is to establish high-integrity markets in environmental services as a key driver of UK nature recovery. All markets are overseen by the Environmental Markets Board, which ensures transparent governance, fair trading rules and long-term improvements. Independent verification and monitoring are central, giving buyers and suppliers confidence in measurable outcomes. One example is Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) as Amy explains: “We offer Biodiversity Units from projects that are designed, developed and verified to meet planning authority requirements,” Credits are traded through EnTrade’s digital platform, registries and the national Biodiversity Gain Sites Register, ensuring traceability and compliance.

A joint venture with global consultancy Arup has enabled EnTrade to scale its market offer and develop a new digital platform, launched in June. This technology is set to transform how nature and climate recovery is delivered by matching project suppliers with environmental credit buyers and investors. The first Cornwall Nature Market, facilitated by the Local Investment in Nature Cornwall (LINC) team, opened this summer and buyers can register to bid for Biodiversity Units in September 2025.

Diverse collaborations are key. Participants range from small family farms to large commercial landholders on the supply side, and from small developers to multinational corporations on the demand side. This breadth reflects the wide appeal of nature markets, which simultaneously deliver environmental outcomes and economic benefits.

EnTrade’s markets are designed to be accessible for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), aligning with government efforts to simplify planning for smaller developers. Instead of funding entire projects, SMEs can purchase only the credits they need. EnTrade’s model allows bids as small as 0.01 Biodiversity Units, making compliance affordable and achievable. By aggregating supply from farmers and landholders, EnTrade ensures that developers of all sizes can access Biodiversity Units and Nutrient Mitigation Credits. This supports local economic growth while driving landscape-scale restoration. Working with local planning authorities such as Cornwall Council, EnTrade helps ensure smaller developers share opportunities with larger firms and utilities in meeting environmental obligations.

EnTrade is also committed to raising awareness and celebrating local impact. It is sponsoring the Nature Recovery category at the Cornwall & Isles of Scilly Sustainability Awards, reinforcing its mission to link investment, community, and environmental outcomes. “EnTrade is all about championing nature-based projects that are within a specific geographic area and that can benefit not only nature and the local environment but local communities as well. Ultimately, EnTrade’s mission is to drive private investment into nature recovery. To enable this to happen we need to promote our message to as many influencers and stakeholders as possible. 

“For us to be involved in such a prestigious event for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly is an amazing opportunity. We get to meet like-minded suppliers and buyers, as well as being able to share our vision of scaling  up nature recovery and creating a new deal for the natural environment to a wider audience. We’re delighted to be sponsoring the Cornwall & Isles of Scilly Sustainability Awards. We’re very much looking forward to presenting the Nature  Recovery category awards and meeting those worthy winners who showcase the best of the best across Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly,” concludes Amy.

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