Biodiversity and nature

Our homes and developments are part of a much bigger picture – the landscape we share with the natural world.

Biodiversity is in major decline, with Natural England’s fourth State of Nature report stating that the UK is one of the world’s most nature depleted countries in the world, with species declining by 19% since the 1970s.

Our long-term ambition is to enable the recovery of nature through our approach to new development and the ways in which we manage our existing homes and neighbourhoods. This recovery will be framed through the lens of ecosystem services, allowing us to deliver Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) in a way which optimises benefits for the health, wellbeing and resilience of our residents.

In order to deliver against this ambition, our Nature Recovery Strategy outlines our targets and approach to delivering BNG across the entire group. We will target a measurable BNG above the mandatory 10% level required for all new development projects, aspiring for a 20% uplift. And on existing neighbourhoods, we will target a 10% voluntary measured BNG uplift on up to 5 communities per year.

In order to maximize the biodiversity benefit across both our new developments and our existing homes and neighbourhoods, we will ensure our projects follow the biodiversity mitigation hierarchy and deliver maximum gains on-site. We will then place a priority for any ‘off-site’ development net gains to be delivered across local communities which Clarion manage and own, before finally reviewing the need for further off-site solutions, if required.

In addition to our group-wide Nature Recovery Strategy, we utilise the Building with Nature framework. It puts high-quality green infrastructure at the heart of place making.

It has six core standards, based on:

• Optimising multifunctionality and connectivity
• Positively responding to the climate emergency
• Maximising environmental net gains
• Championing a context-driven approach
• Creating distinctive places
• Securing effective place-keeping

There are also standards covering wellbeing, water, and wildlife, based on:

• Bringing nature closer to people
• Supporting equitable and inclusive places
• Delivering climate resilient water management
• Bringing water closer to people
• Delivering wildlife enhancement
• Underpinning nature’s recovery