Foundation For Nature
The Ratings Agency for
Nature Restoration Projects
What we do
Foundation For Nature is a not-for-profit Community Interest Company establishing a globally recognised Ratings Agency for the emerging nature restoration and natural capital sector.
Led by established world-renowned experts in nature restoration and delivery, Foundation For Nature’s Ratings Framework will drive high-integrity, best-in-class projects. The Framework will provide confidence to investors, buyers, and sellers that they are making choices that are positive for nature, ethical and equitable.
Our ratings will allow sellers to demonstrate and buyers and investors to assert that nature activities are underpinned by sound ecological principles, financial security, ethical investing, good governance and community benefits. Nature restoration initiatives rated under Foundation For Nature’s Ratings Framework will showcase outcomes for nature and people whilst delivering the best possible returns on investment.
Alongside the Ratings Framework, Foundation For Nature offers consultancy services to nature-focused organisations. Foundation For Nature Consultancy provides strategic business support, enabling organisations to achieve sustained growth and profitability alongside nature restoration.
Why
We have limited time left to deliver effective nature restoration across the planet. Our global economies and societies rely on nature (contributing, for example, to over 55% of global GDP). However, global biodiversity continues to decline at an alarming pace and is reaching multiple ‘points of no return’ across land, air and sea.
Our economies have expanded by extracting value from nature, which has led to biodiversity loss reaching a critical state. Businesses now recognise their dependence on nature and are looking to invest in nature restoration projects as part of their disclosure and compensation for residual impacts. However, risks such as overstated positive impacts, negative community effects, and project complexities can be barriers to success. Foundation For Nature’s Ratings Framework will become an internationally recognised standard for assessing the suitability of nature restoration projects. It will enable investors to have confidence in their natural capital management. By working together, we can jointly take a leading role in the restoration of nature across the world.
Our Team
Professor David Hill CBE DL DPhil(Oxon). David founded the Environment Bank in 2006 and is the architect of biodiversity net gain (BNG), successfully implemented into law in the Environment Act 2021, creating the first global compliance-based biodiversity market. A passionate nature conservationist, David was a founding Board member and previously Deputy Chair of Natural England, the government’s statutory advisers on nature conservation, Board Member of the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, a member of the government’s Ecosystem Markets Taskforce, Chairman of Plantlife International and Chair of the Northern Uplands Nature Partnership. He is currently a Board member of the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, a Commissioner with the Food Farming and Countryside Commission, Board Trustee of the Woodland Trust and member of the Science Board of Fera (previously the Food and Environment Research Agency). His work on promoting the importance of nature finance and the role of environmental markets, backed by his extensive experience in the land-based sectors, is changing the shape and pace of nature restoration.
Ian Dunn BSc MBA MSt FRGS. Ian has enjoyed a highly varied career encompassing 25 years in the private sector, living and working for over 15 years in Japan, Brazil, Belgium and Holland. He has sat on Company Boards throughout Asia, Middle East, South America, and Europe. Leaving the corporate world in 2009 to follow his wider interests in the natural environment, Ian has since worked with the British Antarctic Survey, as CEO at The Galapagos Conservation Trust, COO at the University of Southampton and until September 2024 as CEO at Plantlife International. He has also held Board positions in NGOs including at the Scottish Association of Marine Science (Treasurer and Vice Chair), Jane Goodall Institute, United Kingdom Antarctic Heritage Trust (Vice Chair) and Bees for Development. He’s led and consulted at organisations with a turnover in the many £Billions with thousands of employees based in many countries, through to those much smaller with just a handful of staff. With a deep love of listening, learning and sharing, Ian has focused on delivering strategic change and impact across multiple sectors. He is committed to working with like-minded people and organisations also determined on making a difference for the recovery of the natural world.
James Cross James Cross is a transformational leader and boardroom expert who has successfully steered organisations, ranging from innovative SMEs to large-scale public entities, toward sustainable growth and strategic excellence. Currently Chair of Howell Marine Consultancy, Chair of Ocean and Coastal Futures, and Co-founder & Executive Director of the Foundation for Nature, James has a 15-year track record as a CEO with high profile organisations including Environment Bank, Natural England and the Marine Management Organisation (MMO). He has led major change initiatives, secured significant private equity investments (£240M at Environment Bank), and delivered substantial operational efficiencies (up to 40% cost reductions). With a deep command of governance, political positioning, green/blue finance, revenue generation, and stakeholder management gained during his roles as CEO, James is an experienced leader who creates and implements visionary strategies while ensuring robust, effective governance.
Consultancy
Foundation For Nature Consultancy provides industry-leading strategic business support to enable organisations to achieve sustained growth and profitability. With years of collective experience, our world-renowned nature recovery team is recognised for their strategic expertise and transformative impact.
Testimonials
"Foundation For Nature provided an organisation structure review for the conservation charity which I chair. Both I and the trustee team they worked with were hugely impressed by their approach. They were thorough, flexible, quickly understood our particular needs and context, and approached a number of challenging issues with the sensitivity and candidness we needed. They applied robust financial analysis alongside their insights into leadership and staff culture. Their reporting was clear, and they provided actionable insights that have been hugely helpful to us."