Lessons learned from the first year of the Biodiversity Net Gain Market in England

We are delighted to announce that our next webinar on 3rd of December. Ian, Angus, and Ali will present lessons learned from the first year of the BNG market in England using data from the market.

The webinar will present the findings from two studies which analysed the distribution of BNG demand and exemptions across different site sizes and highlighted the potential misuse of the ‘de minimis’ exemption and explored what a well-functioning BNG market could look like.

Meeting the current development needs through habitat creation and enhancement is estimated to contribute £135 million in economic output and support 1,300 jobs annually, and a well functioning market could almost double these figures to £250 million and 2,450 jobs.

Summaries for the projects can be found here.

About Ian Dickie

Ian is a Director at eftec and has been part of the core team since 2007. He leads eftec’s work on natural capital accounting and development of nature markets, including being the technical author of the BSI’s Flex 701 on principles of developing nature markets. He will join the Climate Change – Adaptation Committee from January. Prior to joining eftec, he was Head of Economics at the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.

About Angus Beattie

Angus is a Researcher at eftec working across all service areas. Prior to joining eftec, Angus gained experience carrying out data analysis for a green property technology company. Angus has a MSc in Environmental and Natural Resource Economics (Distinction) and BA in Economics from Durham University. His master’s dissertation looked at the causal impact of the EU’s Emission Trading System on firm’s environmental and economic performance.

About Ali Plummer

Ali is the Director of Policy and Advocacy at Wildlife and Countryside Link. She oversees work across all Link policy groups and directs their work engaging politicians, directing advocacy on nature restoration. She has experience in fundraising, environmental policy, and community engagement, including previous roles at RSPB and The Wildlife Trusts. Ali has a master’s degree in Conservation and Biodiversity from the University of Exeter.

Reminder: Submit your papers for envecon 2026 – Keeping nature in the conversation. Find out more here.