Nature restoration as a profitable business model

A nature restoration fund aims to make improvements in degraded land over the long term

Spotted: Research from S&P Global recently found that 85 per cent of the world’s largest companies have a significant dependency on nature across their direct operations. On top of this, almost half of those companies have at least one asset located in a key biodiversity area – leaving them exposed to reputational and regulatory risks.

NatureRe is helping organisations to lower this risk by providing high-quality carbon offsetting and nature restoration. The fund identifies and acquires unproductive land sites with high restoration potential and low risk. They then restore the local ecosystem using assisted natural regeneration, a method that removes invasive species and uses soft intervention to restore natural diversity.

Projects are certified to high standards. Carbon savings from the restoration are used to generate transparent, high-quality carbon credits, which can then be traded on the voluntary carbon market.  In addition, NatureRe plans to protect the restored areas in the long term by turning them into natural reserves.

So far, NatureRe has acquired land in Colombia which it is restoring using natural regeneration techniques, and actively working with local communities. This includes a pilot project which has been running since 2014. According to NatureRe sustainability analyst Olivia Gumbel, the organisation has conducted one round of Seed funding and is currently undergoing a second round, with future plans to expand to Brazil.

The carbon credit market is set to grow at a CAGR of 14.8 per cent to 2032. As a result, we are seeing a number of innovations in this space, including a reforestation-as-a-service model and a platform focused on real estate ESG claims.

Written By: Lisa Magloff