Group announces Projects for Nature partnership with Knepp Wildland Foundation, West Cumbria Rivers Trust and the National Trust

Lloyds Banking Group has announced a strategic partnership with Projects for Nature to upgrade the protection and restoration of England's natural environment. Projects for Nature, launched by the Secretary of State for Defra at COP28 in December 2023, connects companies with nature recovery projects that have been screened by Defra, Natural England and the Environment Agency. 

This partnership is the first of its kind, and as a founding business partner, Lloyds Banking Group has donated £250,000 split between three nature recovery projects. 

The projects are designed to address national nature recovery priorities and spearhead efforts to secure wider societal benefits for Britain’s communities.

Lloyds Banking Group will also be able to gather learnings about both the commercial risk management and environmental benefits of nature-based solutions, including flood risk management and regenerative agriculture to support the Group’s long-term nature strategy and its own biodiversity gain with customers and clients.

Local landowners and experts will play a key role in delivering the projects, to help ensure outcomes for communities are at the heart of the partnership’s efforts. 

• Weald to Waves: Creation of a 100-mile nature recovery corridor, connecting over 20,000ha of habitats along 3 main rivers in Sussex to the coast; helping to boost biodiversity, reduce flooding, capture carbon and enhance the rural economy. The land-manager led project, run in collaboration with the Knepp Wildland Foundation, aims to offer a blueprint for nature recovery across built-up landscapes. 
• Resilient Glenderamackin: Project in Cumbria aims to deliver nature-based solutions to reduce flood risk, restore nature and mitigate climate change. Led by the West Cumbria Rivers Trust, the project will be co-designed with farmers and land managers to ensure the natural flood management interventions – which include re-wiggling rivers, planting trees and restoring wetlands. Over 40 land managers, including 3 commons associations, covering 11,000ha are already supporting the project. 
• Peak District - Nature Recovery: National Trust are working with partners and tenant farmers in the High Peak to manage the land in their care for nature, climate, and people. They are working to establish more trees, healthy peatlands, and thriving wetlands and grasslands. This will help to improve soil health and water quality, create more space for nature, increase resilience in a changing climate, as well increase and provide public access for all to enjoy the shared history of the landscape. The funding will support the restoration of 2.6km of wetland on a site nestled between the iconic landmarks of Mam Tor and Kinder Scout. It will also enable expansion of the Peak Regenerative Farmers initiative, which includes events, workshops, training and peer-to-peer support to support sustainable businesses that produce quality food alongside nature-friendly farming practices.

Andrew Walton, Chief Sustainability Officer, Lloyds Banking Group said: “The UK ranks among the most nature-depleted countries globally, highlighting the pressing need for collective action. As the UK’s largest financial services provider, we recognise the crucial role we must play in tackling the loss of nature to ensure a more resilient and thriving natural environment for the future." 

Becoming a founding partner of Projects for Nature will enable us to make a tangible difference to combating nature loss in communities across England, exploring innovative approaches to protect and restore our natural ecosystems, ultimately helping Britain prosper. "

Justin Francis, Chair of Projects for Nature said: “It has been hugely encouraging to see that businesses, their employees and customers, are increasingly interested in taking action to address their impacts on nature—whilst actively looking for ways to aid its recovery. Projects for Nature helps to bridge the gap, providing a digital platform that connects carefully selected corporate supporters, with 25 of England’s very best nature recovery projects, that have been initially funded by Government and screened by its agencies.

"Whilst support from corporate donors for the projects is additional to any actions taken to avoid and reduce their own environmental impacts, our monitoring framework can help businesses evidence their contributions towards their nature targets from the Science Based Targets Network and form part of their reporting under the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosure framework. 

"We are incredibly grateful to Lloyds Banking Group for supporting this initiative, and I am thrilled to welcome them as our first founding business partner.”