The South Downs National Park today launched the UK's first voluntary scheme for businesses to contribute to biodiversity restoration.

The groundbreaking project offers companies of any size an opportunity to invest in ethical, high-impact nature restoration within the park.

The Voluntary Biodiversity Credits scheme enables firms to sponsor transformation of agricultural land into habitats suitable for native species via a Section 106 legal agreement.

This announcement was made at a summit examining the role of green finance in accelerating nature recovery efforts.

More than 500 hectares on local farms and estates have already been identified for future restoration.

This latest initiative is part of the park’s broader mission towards its ReNature campaign, with aims to create habitats equal to three times the size of Portsmouth by 2030.

Working alongside UK NatureTech company Earthly, this scheme prevents greenwashing and duplication in sales and ensures diligent compliance monitoring.

This development has followed the mandate of the Biodiversity Net Gain earlier this year, which ensures the creation or improvement of habitats for a net positive biodiversity impact.