Businesses will not be able to purchase carbon credits through Projects for Nature. There are other mechanisms for this – Defra is working with the British Standards Institution (BSI) to develop a suite of Nature Investment Standards. This programme is designed to accelerate the development and adoption of new standards, complementing the existing UK Woodland Carbon Code and UK Peatland Code, that can be used as the basis for investing with confidence in nature and sustainable farming activities. It will also build on the range of innovative projects and pilots in recent years that have developed and prototyped new methodologies and investment models for financing a broader range of habitats and ecosystem services.

Businesses will also not be able to purchase biodiversity credits or net gain units through involvement in Projects for Nature.

Involvement in Projects for Nature is about taking additional action for nature’s recovery, not seeking to compensate for or offset any negative impacts. We would encourage this to be done through consideration of the mitigation hierarchy and the Nature Markets Framework.