Why Nature-based Solutions?

Nature based solutions protect, sustainably manage or restore ecosystems to address societal challenges while benefiting people and biodiversity, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature. They can help businesses respond to climate change, water pressures and risks to supply chains. In practice, nature-based solutions for business challenges connect a defined business need with actions that support healthy ecosystems.

Business Climate and Biodiversity Risks

Climate change can expose operational sites and sourcing landscapes to drought, floods and extreme heat. Biodiversity loss can weaken the ecological processes businesses depend on, including pollination, soil health and natural pest control. For example, a company sourcing food ingredients can map where crops grow and identify the habitats supporting production. In North Shropshire, the Marches Mosses project aims to restore 2,500 acres of lowland raised peat bog, showing how UK restoration initiatives can support landscapes.

Climate, Nature and Socioeconomic Trade-offs

A climate initiative may reduce emissions yet harm habitats or restrict local access to land. Assess climate outcomes, biodiversity and effects on people together before choosing an intervention. In the UK, Biodiversity Net Gain and the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures framework are driving investment in nature-based solutions, though they serve different purposes. Project design should also account for land use, community priorities and ecological timescales. Costs depend on the site, intervention, maintenance and monitoring required.

Adaptation and Supply-Chain Resilience

Nature-based solutions can complement conventional infrastructure or technology. Engineered measures can provide direct, designed protection, while ecosystem restoration can support natural processes across a wider landscape. The right approach depends on the hazard, location and intended outcomes. Companies can begin by mapping critical sites and suppliers, then identifying which ecosystems influence their continuity. Restoring river and wetland processes, for instance, can help reduce flood risk and support resilience around exposed operations.

Water Security and Nature Loss

Climate change can increase pressure on water supplies, while degraded wetlands and catchments lose capacity to store and filter water. Freshwater and marine restoration can help conserve ecosystems and safeguard water supply and quality. Businesses in the UK and Australia can map operational water needs and trace key suppliers to their catchments. Then identify restoration opportunities and agree measures for water quality, habitat condition and supply reliability. This grounds nature-based solutions for business challenges in the places and relationships the business depends on.

Land-based solutions, including peat restoration and regenerative agriculture

Land-based initiatives can help businesses care for the living landscapes beneath their operations and supply chains. Peatlands, woodlands and farm soils hold carbon, regulate water and provide habitat. Restoration can strengthen these functions, but the right approach begins with understanding the land’s condition, history and existing uses. What does the landscape need to recover, and who depends on it?

Peat restoration focuses on recovering the conditions that allow peat-forming ecosystems to function. Rewetting drained peatland can reduce the decomposition of stored plant material and help preserve its carbon. The work may also support wetland habitats and water regulation. For companies connected to land management or agricultural supply chains, a practical first step is to identify peatland exposure and understand how land use affects its condition. Protecting existing peat can matter as much as restoring damaged areas.

Woodland restoration offers another route to carbon removal as trees absorb carbon dioxide while growing. Yet planting trees is not a substitute for cutting emissions, and poorly chosen planting can displace valuable habitats or compete with food production. Site selection, species choice and long term care shape the outcome. Walmart has committed to protecting, managing or restoring at least 50 million acres of land by 2030, illustrating the scale of a corporate land initiative. The value lies in the quality and durability of the landscape work, not acreage alone.

Coastal restoration also belongs in a land-based strategy. In suitable UK locations, restoring saltmarsh, dunes or seagrass beds can support habitat and help reduce wave energy or erosion. These systems are not interchangeable: shoreline shape, sediment and local ecology determine which habitats can thrive. Businesses with coastal sites or marine supply chains can map exposure, identify degraded habitat and consider restoration alongside existing protection measures. The aim is a living shoreline that supports both nature and the people who depend on it.

To connect these landscape choices with business purpose, regenerative business thinking can help leaders consider what their operations restore, rather than extract, from the environment.

Nature-based solutions within and beyond business value chains

A company’s relationship with nature extends through the places that provide its materials, water and infrastructure. Mapping those connections helps reveal where business activity affects ecosystems and where nature loss could interrupt supply. To address nature-based solutions for business challenges, begin by identifying important products, sites and suppliers, then trace the natural systems that support them. This gives teams a clearer basis for deciding where action can create shared value.

Work within a company’s value chain is often described as insetting. A UK food business, for example, could work with growers to improve land management across its sourcing areas. First identify priority ingredients and their origins. Then understand local ecological pressures and invite suppliers to shape practical changes. Agreeing responsibilities and measures together can help align business aims with growers’ knowledge, livelihoods and long-term stewardship of the land.

Supply chain initiatives can also focus on dependencies that cross sectors. A manufacturer relying on water can explore how upstream land management affects catchment health. A retailer sourcing crops can consider the relationships between farming practices, habitats and production. To turn these observations into a workable initiative, assign responsibility across procurement, operations and sustainability teams. Set measures suited to the place, such as habitat condition or water quality, and review them alongside relevant supply chain information.

Some projects take place beyond a company’s value chain and direct emissions footprint. These can support wider nature goals, but they do not replace addressing impacts connected to the business itself. A UK or Australian company considering a wetland project beyond its sites, for instance, should distinguish that contribution from changes to its own operations. Define the project’s purpose, identify who benefits and report its outcomes clearly. Transparent reporting helps prevent investment in one place from obscuring unresolved pressures elsewhere.

At an operational site, a constructed wetland could be considered as part of a wastewater management approach. Its suitability depends on site conditions, water flows, available space and local ecological needs. It is not a universal replacement for engineered infrastructure. It is an example of how a company might assess whether a living system can contribute to operational objectives while supporting habitat. Compare expected benefits, maintenance needs and environmental outcomes before selecting an approach.

Nature-based solutions for business challenges become more practical when teams connect purchasing decisions with the places and people behind supply. Start with one important dependency, listen to affected suppliers and communities, and establish how progress will be reviewed. Nature Governance can help keep those relationships in view as decisions evolve. The opportunity is to make value chains contribute to nature’s renewal, rather than treating restoration as separate from how the business operates.

Biodiversity and natural capital

Natural capital describes the ecosystems, resources and processes that sustain people and economies. More than half of the global economy is moderately or highly dependent on nature. For businesses in the UK and Australia, that dependence may sit in agricultural supply chains, water sources, development sites or infrastructure. Mapping these connections helps leaders see where biodiversity loss could affect reliable inputs, operational continuity and relationships with communities.

Pollination shows how biodiversity supports commercial activity. About 75% of the world’s crops depend on pollinators. A business sourcing fruit, vegetables or other pollinated crops can identify its most important ingredients, trace their production areas and consider the habitats that support pollinator populations. Companion planting pollinator habitats alongside crops can increase yield quantity and weight by at least 30%. This is a potential outcome, not a universal result. Local ecology, farming choices and ongoing care all shape what happens.

For a project in the UK or Australia, natural capital assessment can help connect ecological condition with business decisions. Start by identifying the site, materials or services involved, then consider which habitats and natural processes support them. A development project, for instance, can examine how its layout affects existing habitat, water movement and spaces used by local people. Looking at these relationships early can inform design choices before they become difficult to change.

Measurement needs to reflect each project’s place and purpose. A single biodiversity score cannot describe every ecological relationship or community outcome. Instead, choose indicators that match the intended change, such as habitat condition, pollinator presence or water quality. Record the starting condition, explain how observations are made and review findings over time. Clear reporting helps distinguish meaningful conservation from activity with no lasting benefit.

Businesses can also consider how infrastructure and investment affect nature beyond individual sites. In the UK, green infrastructure in urban development can create habitat connections and support spaces people use. In Australia, the same principle means considering local ecosystems and community needs rather than importing a design without adaptation. The Wildlife Trusts has helped establish nature markets for carbon, biodiversity credits, nutrient neutrality and natural flood management. These mechanisms make careful project design and transparent outcomes especially important.

Natural capital is not simply another asset to price. It reflects living systems and relationships that sustain business and community wellbeing. Leaders can ask which ecosystems their organisation depends on, where its decisions influence biodiversity, and what conservation outcomes should guide future development. That inquiry can bring nature into the centre of planning, procurement and investment, where choices shape what remains possible for both business and the places it inhabits.

Nature-based solutions as business resilience strategies

Nature-based solutions can address climate-related disruption, water stress, flood exposure and pressure on nature-dependent supply chains. A resilience strategy connects these risks to the ecosystems, sites and suppliers a business relies on, then chooses actions that can strengthen them over time.

Business Resilience Strategies

Begin with a practical risk map: identify exposed sites, critical suppliers, water sources and the natural systems supporting them. Then match each risk to an action, such as restoring wetlands near flood-exposed operations or improving soil management in sourcing landscapes. Set measures for business continuity and ecosystem condition together. This helps decision-makers assess whether an investment supports lasting resilience, rather than only a short-term operational fix.

Time matters. Nature-based projects can take longer to deliver results and involve more uncertainty than conventional risk mitigation. Corporate decision-making should therefore account for benefits delivered over time, not only immediate outputs. For example, a wetland restoration project needs monitoring as vegetation and water processes recover. Agree who tracks progress, which indicators matter and how findings will inform future decisions. A strategy becomes stronger when evidence guides adaptation.

Business Challenges Addressed

These approaches can help address flood damage, drought exposure, water quality concerns, supply disruption and declining biodiversity. Restoring natural processes around rivers and wetlands can reduce flood risk. Improving soil health and supporting pollinators or pest-controlling biodiversity can also strengthen agricultural supply chains. Start with the business dependency: which material, site or process is vulnerable, and which ecosystem helps sustain it?

Global drought frequency and duration have increased by 29% since 2000. For a UK business with water dependent operations or suppliers, that trend makes catchment resilience a strategic concern. Map water use across operations and suppliers, identify the landscapes shaping water availability, and consider whether freshwater restoration could support water quality or supply. The most useful initiative links a defined business risk with a measurable ecological outcome.

Nature investment can also create opportunities beyond risk reduction. A restoration project may support habitat, community wellbeing and the natural systems that underpin local economic activity. Those benefits depend on place and design, so businesses should involve affected communities and account for ecological timescales. Compare options by asking what each protects, what it restores, who benefits and how progress will be reported. The takeaway is clear: build resilience by investing in the living systems your business depends on, then learn from their changes over time.

Jannine Barron: Private Mentoring

Jannine Barron’s Private Mentoring offers a reflective first step for leaders bringing nature into business decisions. It creates space to examine inherited ways of working, consider what supports life and choose what to grow next.

The REgenerative Compass, The Three Horizons Framework and The Adaptive Cycle can help leaders reflect on direction, change and the choices ahead. Nature Governance and the Voice of Nature bring nature into that conversation, while Kincentrism invites attention to relationships across living systems. Nature’s Boardroom experiences offer another setting for exploring these questions.

If you’re ready to explore what a more regenerative approach could mean for your leadership, contact Jannine Barron.

Choose what your business will carry forward

Every organisation inherits habits, assumptions and stories shaped by what came before, including ancient relationships with the living world. We are not responsible for what we inherit. We become responsible the moment we choose what to carry forward. What still serves life, what is ready to be laid down, and what is now ours to grow?

Nature-based solutions for business challenges can become part of that choice, shaping how your organisation relates to people, place and the ecosystems it depends on. What might your business create if the Voice of Nature helped guide its next decisions?

“We inherit what came before. We choose what we carry forward. We create what comes next.” July 2026.

If you’re ready to reflect on what comes next, contact Jannine Barron to discuss nature based solutions. Let curiosity guide the first step, and let responsibility shape what you grow.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Is Involved?

Start by defining the business need, the place involved and the nature outcome sought. A project team can then map dependencies, involve affected people, choose an intervention and agree how progress will be assessed. For example, a site team considering green infrastructure can coordinate operations, facilities and local stakeholders before selecting a design. Clear ownership, maintenance responsibilities and regular review help keep the work connected to business decisions.

What’s Blocking Companies from Taking Action?

Unclear responsibility, short planning cycles and decision processes designed for conventional projects can slow action. Nature projects may require coordination across finance, procurement, operations and suppliers, while benefits can emerge over time. Companies can address these barriers by assigning an internal lead, involving relevant teams early and making ecological outcomes part of investment decisions. Agreeing reporting methods before work begins also helps leaders understand progress and make informed adjustments.

What is the business case and return on investment for nature-based solutions?

The business case can combine risk reduction, operational value and benefits to ecosystems and communities. For a UK or Australian manufacturer, a catchment initiative might be assessed against water-related disruption, operating needs and environmental outcomes. Compare expected project costs over its life with potential savings, avoided losses and other measurable value. Use a clear baseline and disclose assumptions. Return on investment depends on the intervention, location, time horizon and outcomes included in the calculation.

How can businesses measure the financial and environmental impact of nature-based solutions?

Set a baseline before work begins, then select indicators tied to the project’s purpose. A UK or Australian land project could track habitat condition and water quality alongside maintenance spending, operational interruptions or sourcing changes. Record methods consistently and separate measured outcomes from estimates. Regular reporting makes changes visible to decision-makers and affected communities. It also helps identify whether the initiative is delivering the intended ecological benefits and business value.

How can a business plan and implement a nature-based solution?

Begin with a defined business dependency, such as water, a sourcing landscape or a site exposed to flooding. Map the relevant ecosystem and stakeholders, then agree objectives, responsibilities, resources and measures. In the UK or Australia, local climate, land use and community priorities will shape suitable actions. Build monitoring and maintenance into the plan from the outset. Review evidence regularly, share findings with decision-makers and adapt the approach as conditions change.

What are the risks and limitations of nature-based solutions for businesses?

Nature-based projects can take longer to show results and involve uncertainty compared with conventional risk measures. Poor design can also create trade-offs, such as improving one outcome while harming habitat or affecting local land use. Assess ecological conditions, community needs, project maintenance and the business time horizon before committing resources. Track outcomes over time, communicate limitations clearly and avoid treating a nature initiative as a substitute for reducing the business’s own environmental pressures.

What UK regulations, standards and incentives apply to business nature-based solutions?

UK businesses may consider Biodiversity Net Gain and the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures framework. Both are driving investment in nature-based solutions, but they have different purposes.