Grab a coffee, meet our sponsors and exhibitors, and drop by one of our morning seminars and briefings.

Discover how nature finance offers opportunities for a wide spectrum of organisations, operating throughout the UK. We will announce our opening speaker shortly.

Distinguished business leader Sir Ian Cheshire will speak about the central role of the UK natural environment in a green and blue economy.

• Sir Ian Cheshire, Chair, We Mean Business Coalition

Learn how leading businesses are finding ways to become involved in funding and financing the natural environment that they and wider society need. This series of ‘fireside’ conversations with representatives of a diverse set of businesses will be hosted by Rachel Solomon Williams, Chief Executive of the Aldersgate Group.

• Rachel Solomon Williams, Chief Executive, Aldersgate Group (Chair)
• Alex Veitch, Director of Policy and Insights, British Chambers of Commerce
• Ben Knight, Head of Sustainability, Leonardo UK

An opportunity to meet our sponsors and exhibitors, and participate in our range of seminars and briefings

Since August 2024, abrdn, NatureScot, Hampden & Co and Palladium have been working on an expanded Nature Investment Partnership. Together they are finding new ways to deliver responsible investment and community benefit through nature restoration in Scotland. With the support of the UK Infrastructure Bank, their strategy is now being finalised, and they will be delighted to present it to 2024’s Nature Finance UK Conference.

• Fraser Green, Head of Natural Capital Investment, abrdn

An increasing number of UK businesses want to secure the natural environment they need for net zero, for climate resilience and nature recovery. Nature strategies, targets and reporting are just the start of delivering outcomes. Join this discussion between two experts in the field to discover the diverse roles that businesses large and small in the UK are able to play in the integration of nature into the mainstream; as enablers, buyers, partners and investors.

• With Stephanie Hime, Managing Director, Little Blue Research
• Sam Sinclair, Co-founder and Director at Biodiversify.

The Nature Investment Standards Programme, led by BSI, plays a key role as part of UK leadership in nature finance. Join this session chaired by BSI to discover how the new framework of standards will support high integrity nature markets that enable positive environmental outcomes.

Join this panel to see experts in environmental science, finance and investment explore the importance of working at the landscape scale to drive environmental outcomes through nature finance. UKCEH scientists will present how large-scale ecosystem management reveals critical interconnections and dependencies in nature. They will highlight how science and monitoring are essential in understanding these complexities and predicting long-term environmental benefits. The panel will explain how landscape-scale approaches can attract investment, exploring how data-driven insights can help forecast and track the financial returns of nature-based projects.

• Dr. Stuart Wainwright, Chief Executive of the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (Chair)
• Dana Clouston, Head of Sustainable Finance, Barclays
• Fraser Green, Head of Natural Capital Investment, abrdn
• Richard Pywell, Head of Biodiversity Research, UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology

An opportunity to meet our sponsors and exhibitors, and participate in our range of seminars and briefings

Huge social and economic value can flow from the restoration of land, water and nature. In response, leading businesses and investors are seeking to work with current and future stewards of rural land in the UK. Join this session to discover how these relationships work in practice. It will be led by experts from leading property business, Knight Frank, and invited guests.

• James Farrell, Head of Rural Consultancy, Knight Frank (Chair)

This panel brings together expert speakers from Defined Contribution (DC) schemes, Local Government Pension Schemes (LGPS), and an investment consultancy to discuss actionable strategies for engaging the asset owner community in driving meaningful environmental impact. The session will emphasize the vital role of stewardship in achieving biodiversity goals and explore the latest practices in stewardship, alongside innovative approaches to impact investing. Panelists will also discuss the expanding opportunities within natural capital as an emerging asset class, offering insights into how these investments not only address biodiversity loss but also create value for asset owners over the long term.

• Rob Gardner, CEO & Co-Founder of Rebalance Earth (Chair)
• Darran Ward, Head of Alternatives at West Yorkshire Pension Fund
• Mark Thompson, Independent Trustee and Chair of various DB and DC pension funds
• Anastasia Guha, Global Head of Sustainable Investment at Redington

• Mary Creagh CBE MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Minister for Nature), HM Government