What’s next for BNG?
We spoke to Belmont’s Director of Estates and Natural Capital about how far BNG has come and how he sees the landscape evolving in the next 6 months?
BNG launched 6 months ago. How has the landscape evolved in that time?
We anticipated a rapid uptake in BNG from the outset. That was slow to happen for a number of reasons, but the BNG market looks poised for significant progress over the next three months. We’ll see more deals being struck and an increase in the number of providers being added to the register.
Farmers and potential BNG suppliers are contemplating their roles in this evolving market. Understandably, many are waiting for success stories before committing. The growing number of BNG deals will help showcase the viability of this concept. This, in turn, will build trust and integrity—not just in BNG but in wider nature markets.
As these early successes unfold, we can expect more participants who are currently cautious to enter the market. The design of BNG—using simplified habitat metrics—aims to maximise participation across diverse landscapes. One of the goals is to integrate BNG on a small scale in many locations, fostering widespread ecological benefits.
WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR BIGGEST LEARNING since bng launched?
The introduction of responsible bodies as independent adjudicators ensures that BNG projects are validated by a third-party. It’s their job to assess a project’s quality, likelihood of success, and risk. This protocol prevents overly risky projects, which can fail due to inexperience, over-ambition, or lack of resources. Although this introduces new hurdles, it ultimately aims to mitigate risk.
My biggest learning is that Belmont is well-prepared to meet these standards. We now know that our expertise, long-term capacity, and commitment to high-quality delivery make us an objectively low-risk partner. Consequently, we are well placed to satisfy the requirements of the responsible bodies, recognising our ability to push boundaries while ensuring reliable outcomes.
WHAT would you like to see, personally, in the coming months?
Success in BNG can manifest in various forms. Onsite green spaces within developments, while not always immediately profitable, represent a potential win for nature and homeowner wellbeing. For offsite BNG, entities like ours aim to deliver comprehensive ecologically ambitious benefits for nature, climate, and local communities, creating projects that can boost brand and add value. In my opinion, I would like to see more farmers begin to look at BNG in the future as it provides opportunities to diversify business models, enhance land for nature (e.g planting hedges, creating orchards etc.) while maintaining agricultural productivity.
The measure of success in BNG lies in its broad application. It’s about enabling diverse stakeholders to seize this opportunity, creating momentum and delivering substantial ecological impacts. As awareness and understanding of BNG grows, so too will the collective benefits for our environment and communities.
Start your bng journey
Our units are available to purchase now for projects within five South West LPAs and five South West NCAs.
