Hadrian Bond
The Hadrian Bond project is a pioneering initiative aimed at promoting regenerative agriculture through impact investment. Spearheaded by Regenerate Outcomes Ltd., the project establishes Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) to fund clusters of farms transitioning to sustainable practices.
The pilot, covering 3,200 hectares in Northumberland, connects farmers with expert consultants and utilizes the Soil Mentor app to track ecological improvements. The Hadrian Bond generates revenue by selling soil-sequestered carbon units to corporations seeking emissions offsets, with plans to expand into water quality and biodiversity credits. With a long-term vision, the project seeks to scale regenerative farming across multiple regions, balancing environmental restoration with financial sustainability for farmers and investors alike.
This project is one of 24 case studies published in 2024, published alongside a report evaluating the process, impact and value for money of NEIRF Rounds 1 and 2.
Access full case studyHadrian Bond is a pilot project which connects impact investors to farms intending to switch from current industrial agricultural practices towards regenerative systems and nature-based solutions. Building on the many successful projects in the US, the Hadrian Bond team are offering a suite of services to farms in order to reduce their dependency on subsidies and farm more efficiently by harnessing free natural inputs.
- Establish a data hub and efficient data flows to quantify inputs and outputs from a farm.
- Develop a legal framework for the benefit of each respective stakeholder of the bond.
- Determine the appropriate positioning of private impact finance alongside ELM.
- Develop a ‘user friendly’ product for farms to subscribe to.
- Scale up the bond with successive clusters of farms.
Project Aim
To restore the ecological integrity of participating farms by funding education & training, data collection & analysis, farm management plans & mentoring and other services related to regenerative production systems.
Project partners
Funding model
The bond will be funded by a blend of private equity investment, grant money, and forward outcome sales. Environmental outcome markets are nascent, and the bond will rely on carbon revenues to start with and over time build additional revenue lines as these environmental markets develop.
Future Investment Potential
Potentially there is a 5.5m investment scale-up based on 5 additional clusters of farms identified across different locations in the UK.
This pipeline (originated without active marketing) represents a first phase of scale-up, post Hadrian Bond. Ultimately, RAM aim to support British farmers adopt regenerative practices over 500,000 hectares.
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