The Hidden Balance Sheet Beneath Our Feet.
- Ben Taylor
- Oct 21
- 3 min read
When we talk about business health, we tend to think in numbers. Turnover. Productivity. Profit.
But there’s another balance sheet beneath our feet. One that’s easy to overlook, yet vital to everything we do.
Nature is the quiet accountant keeping our economy in order. Healthy soils, clean water, pollinators and stable weather all play their part. And when those systems fail, business fails with them.
A recent study from the Green Finance Institute and Oxford University’s Environmental Change Institute warns that biodiversity loss could cut the UK’s GDP by 12 percent. That would be a deeper hit than the 2008 crash or the pandemic. The message is clear: when nature loses, so does business.
A Sussex solution with global relevance
Here in the South Downs, the Iford Biodiversity Project is showing that restoring nature isn’t a donation. It’s an investment in the places we all depend on.
Through our Voluntary Biodiversity Credits, businesses and individuals can fund measurable, long-term restoration across our landscape. Each credit restores and legally protects a 3×3 metre plot of land for 30 years. Buyers receive a digital certificate, their plot’s what3words location, and updates showing how their investment is helping wildlife return.
Every credit is recorded transparently on Earthly’s biodiversity ledger, giving buyers visible proof of impact. This is conservation you can stand on: restoration that is tangible, verifiable and local.
More than a green gesture
Iford Estate covers over 800 hectares, making this one of southern England’s largest single-site nature recovery programmes. Former arable fields are being brought back to life with wildflower meadows, young woodland corridors and pollinator-rich grassland stitching the landscape together again.
Our goal is simple: to prove that farming and biodiversity can thrive side by side. Iford has always been a working landscape. Now it’s working for nature too.
Independent ecologists, including Graham Lyons, monitor progress on site, while the South Downs National Park Authority oversees delivery. This level of accountability gives our credits integrity and long-term credibility. It is how we build trust and measure success.
Why it matters for Sussex businesses
For many small and mid-sized firms, biodiversity might not yet appear on the balance sheet. But that is changing fast. New frameworks such as the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) and the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) mean that nature-related risk will soon sit alongside carbon in corporate reporting.
Every business relies on nature. Clean water, stable weather and healthy soils are not optional extras. Supporting restoration now is a practical way to build resilience into your brand and your community.
Across Sussex, local B Corps, creative agencies and hospitality brands are already investing in credits. They are using them to show customers real, local impact and to give their teams something meaningful to be part of.
Nature recovery doesn’t happen in boardrooms. It happens in fields, meadows and hedgerows, through the choices we make and the places we choose to restore.
A human story, not just a data point
For us, this project has always been about connection as much as restoration. Families have bought credits as gifts or memorials, creating a living legacy that grows over time. Businesses have brought their teams to walk the land and see their investment taking root.
There is something powerful about being able to point to a patch of ground and know you helped bring it back to life. The best stories are not just told, they are lived.
When people invest in a Voluntary Biodiversity Credit, they become part of the story of recovery. It is a small act that creates lasting value.
Because when nature wins, everyone wins.
Get involved
The Iford Biodiversity Project offers Voluntary Biodiversity Credits to both individuals and companies. Getting started is simple:
Choose how many plots you would like to restore (£240 inc VAT each)
Receive your digital certificate and what3words coordinatesWatch your patch of Sussex flourish, online or in person
Comments