Society’s transition to nature-based solutions to support a sustainable future, depends on more than good intentions. Such a transformation requires practical ways to connect those who want to invest in nature with people who can deliver the practical outcomes on the ground. That’s exactly what NatureBid has been designed to do in the form of an innovative online platform developed and managed by Sylva Foundation under licence from the Environment Agency.
Originally designed to support natural flood management projects, NatureBid has evolved into a flexible online platform enabling public and private organisations to fund a wide range of environmental interventions, from woodland creation to supporting regenerative farming.
More than £40 million directed towards nature
Since its launch, NatureBid has channelled more than £40 million of environmental investment through 26 auctions and trades across England. These projects have funded practical interventions that deliver measurable environmental benefits, including reducing flood risk, improving water quality, restoring habitats and capturing carbon.
The platform brings together:
- Funders looking to invest in environmental outcomes
- Delivery partners with local expertise
- Farmers and landowners able to implement measures on the ground
By acting as the link between these groups, NatureBid creates an efficient and transparent route for environmental funding.
A platform built around flexibility
A recent report by research consultancy Ecorys, funded by the Environment Agency, has highlighted that one of NatureBid’s greatest strengths is its adaptability. Rather than offering a single procurement model, the platform supports several approaches depending on the needs of each project.
These include:
- Reverse auctions, where landowners compete to deliver the greatest environmental benefit for the available budget.
- Single-shot auctions, where bids are submitted once and assessed against predetermined criteria.
- Proposal generation, allowing farmers and landowners to submit proposals that can later be assessed and negotiated without live bidding.
The platform can also accommodate ring-fenced budgets, weighted scoring systems and multiple funding sources, giving funders the flexibility to target investment where it will have the greatest impact.
Delivering results across England
The report highlights several projects that demonstrate the platform’s versatility.
National Highways
NatureBid enabled National Highways to fund natural flood management measures beyond its own land ownership using environmental modelling combined with reverse auctions. The project secured more than £1 million in bids, funded 111 environmental measures, and delivered approximately 6,000 cubic metres of flood storage potential, alongside wider biodiversity and water quality benefits.
Woodland Carbon Guarantee
Working with the Forestry Commission, NatureBid supported eight Woodland Carbon Guarantee auctions, resulting in £21 million of funding for new woodland creation. The platform helped develop a transparent market for woodland carbon, providing landowners with long-term confidence to invest in woodland creation.
Yorkshire Wildlife Trust
NatureBid enabled Yorkshire Wildlife Trust to deliver significantly more environmental interventions within budget by allowing landowners to propose and deliver works themselves. This not only increased value for money but also encouraged greater ownership of projects and stronger engagement with new landowners.
Landscape Enterprise Networks (LENs)
NatureBid also supports Landscape Enterprise Networks by simplifying how farmer proposals are collected and assessed. Since 2021, proposals submitted through NatureBid have contributed to:
- 67 km of hedgerows planted or restored
- 173,000 hectares of contracted environmental measures across 178 farms
Learning what works
The report’s authors found that successful projects rely on more than technology alone.
Delivery partners play a critical role by building relationships with farmers and landowners, helping them navigate the application process and ensuring funded measures are delivered effectively. Farmers responded particularly well to simple digital applications, practical payment structures and the flexibility to choose interventions that suited their businesses.
The study also found that NatureBid offers significant efficiencies for the funder over traditional grant and tender processes by:
- Bringing all applications together in one secure platform
- Allowing data to be analysed and exported easily
- Supporting transparent, evidence-based decision making
- Reducing administrative burden for both applicants and delivery partners.
Looking ahead
Perhaps the strongest conclusion from the Ecorys evaluation is that NatureBid is highly scalable. While each project differs, the underlying model can be applied wherever environmental outcomes need funding—whether for flood resilience, biodiversity recovery, carbon sequestration or sustainable land management.
As demand grows for practical, evidence-led investment in nature, platforms like NatureBid will play an increasingly important role in helping organisations direct funding efficiently while giving landowners clear opportunities to deliver environmental improvements that work for both nature and their businesses.
If you would like to learn more about the NatureBid platform and how it could help your organisation or business, please get in touch:
- Paul Orsi, Director of Operations, Sylva Foundation – paul.orsi@sylva.org.uk
- Claire Johnstone, Environment Agency – claire.johnstone@environment-agency.gov.uk
