EU Nature Credits - Roadmap Released
11/07/2025
The EU has just released its Roadmap Towards Nature Credits, a major policy step to build a framework that will:
Establish certified, scientifically robust nature credits for biodiversity outcomes
Mobilize private finance alongside public funding to bridge an estimated €37 billion annual biodiversity investment gap
Define standards and governance including expert groups, monitoring, reporting, and verification by mid-2026, with certification pilots expected by 2027
Why this matters
Nature credits are designed not merely to offset, but to value and reward measurable restoration and protection of ecosystems. They build on lessons from carbon markets and integrate biodiversity, aiming for high integrity, credible metrics, and long-term outcomes
This is a signal that governments are shifting toward science-backed, impact-driven investment in nature—not just rhetoric.
Kew REACH & the Kew Method Toolkit: Ready to unlock opportunity
Our Kew Method Toolkit—developed by scientists at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew—delivers precisely what the EU roadmap demands:
Rigorous Baseline & Monitoring
Leveraging the latest in-situ and remote sensing technology to build aa complete a picture of biodiversity, both above and below ground.
Appropriate, verifiable, metrics aligned with emerging certification frameworks and the latest science
2. Evidence-Based Intervention Design & Implementation
Holistic ecological restoration designed to align to site potential, wider context, and long-term resilience
Rigorous implementation, founded on decades of work in the field and the latest seed science and propagation research
3. Adaptive Management & Verification
Ongoing data-driven feedback loops
Ready-to-integrate with third-party certification and credit issuance processes
4. Integrated Governance Models
Templates for expert-stakeholder engagement
Builds trust through transparency, scientific oversight, and replicable outcomes
In short, Kew REACH is uniquely positioned to help operators design and deliver bes in class restoration projects, like those that will meet the EU’s emerging policy benchmarks—ready for certification pilots by 2027, and adaptable for future scaling.
Turning ambition into action
As the EU establishes its expert groups and pilots, there’s a clear opening for strategic partnerships. We see two immediate initiatives:
Co-development of pilot applications: Collaborate on early projects in forestry, wetlands, agroforestry, or urban greening designed for nature credit eligibility
Strategic advisory: Help shape EU methodologies by providing scientific input into metrics, verification protocols, and governance frameworks
Your voice matters
The roadmap includes a public feedback period until 30 September 2025, where stakeholders have the opportunity to shape key criteria—like integrity safeguards, multi-metric approaches, or co-benefit stacking.
At Kew REACH, we’re fully supportive of these developments and believe that nature credits—done the right way—can make a meaningful contribution to biodiversity conservation and restoration
If you’re exploring or preparing for EU-aligned restoration programs, pilot submissions, or are simply curious how scientifically rigorous projects can meet future credit frameworks, we’d love to connect.