A wide range of solutions exist which can facilitate site selection for Biodiversity Net Gain. These solutions provide an easy and fast way to assess sites and produce baseline Biodiversity Unit value. Many also allow users to discover all the opportunities for sites and what possible uplift opportunities exist to allow organisations to take control of land and scenario plan more effectively. These solutions can also allow users to easily calculate baseline biodiversity units, and some allow for options testing to evaluate different BNG scenarios for a site.

TN GAIN by Think Nature is a science-based, ecological softscape planning service that visualises the impact of urban biodiversity restoration for city revitalisation. TN GAIN uses macro-ecological AI models which integrates satellite remote sensing with species / vegetation distribution data.

First, TN Gain evaluates biodiversity net gain (BNG) by calculating the amount of wildlife habitat restoration from before and after comparisons of residential and building developments, including private gardens, greening in urban development projects, reforestation of corporate green spaces and company forests, and biotope planning.

Secondly, it identifies conservation effects through scenario-based analysis, enabling companies to make future forecasts based on different scenarios. TN GAIN’s outputs can be used as KPIs for biodiversity restoration (nature-positive actions in businesses) in relation to corporate PR and IR activities.

This service is delivered through consultations and data analytics. Users provide location and species composition data such as the species and number of trees and outputs could be as granular as the number of various bird and butterfly species that particular green space attracts. Additionally, satellite imaging analyses can show the changes in the number of tree species over the years.

Building with Nature (BwN)’s mission is to make high quality green infrastructure integral to placemaking in the UK, maximising benefits for both people and the natural world. The BwN Standards define what good green infrastructure looks like at each stage of the development process. This framework contains 12 individual standards built around the themes of Core, Wellbeing, Water, and Wildlife. The framework itself is also easy-to-use and is free to download. A Building with Nature approach is one that through the provision of good green infrastructure:

• Optimises multifunctionality and connectivity
• Positively responds to the climate emergency and maximises environmental net gains
• Champions a context driven approach and creates distinctive places
• Supports equitable and inclusive places and secures effective place-keeping
• Brings nature and water closer to people
• Delivers climate resilient water management
• Delivers wildlife enhancements and underpins nature’s recovery

Planning authorities use the standards to develop and test new planning policy with planners benefitting from a clear picture of what good looks like, a shared framework of principles, and the ability to draw on supporting specialist knowledge they may not have in-house. Professional experts – ecologists, landscape architects, and planning consultants – use the standards to engage with clients and improve physical development of green infrastructure. Many go through training to become Approved Assessors, so they can help their schemes achieve BwN certification. The Standards were developed to support cross-disciplinary decision making and inform better design and delivery of green infrastructure.

Effectiveness of the solution is determined through the assessment and third-party audit of development proposals and/or policy documents. Applicants and their projects/policy that meet the Standards are granted, by way of a certificate, a BwN Nature Award with all awarded projects/policies listed on the Building with Nature website.

The cost of appointing a BwN Approved Assessor will vary depending on the appointment and project scope. The accreditation cost also varies from £1,300 to £8,000 + VAT and depends on the size of the development. The accreditation cost for a policy document is currently £2,625 + VAT.

BirdShades has developed an innovative window-film which is invisible to the human eye but is highly visible for birds. Their technology is based on a bird-specific ability: most birds have the ability to see UV light. For humans, this part of the light spectrum is not visible. BirdShades can significantly reduce the frequency of bird-window collisions, protecting species and improving biodiversity. The window-film has been tested in a number of scientific setups with three studies published in peer-reviewed journals. One of these studies showed a reduction in collisions of up to 80%. BirdShades’ window-film is self-adhesive and can be applied to float glass by professional window film installers.

Unlike other products, BirdShades places great emphasis on scientific validation of its effectiveness. Their bird protection window film was developed and meticulously tested by a team of dedicated biologists and material scientists. BirdShades’ innovations are driven by their passion for evidence-based research under ecologically relevant conditions, and they regularly perform product optimisation and seek cooperations for scientific research studies. While other products on the market can mitigate bird-window collisions, BirdShades is the only invisible option. Visibility can affect customer acceptance and adoption making BirdShades the only solution which does not alter a building’s aesthetics.

BirdShades is focused on integrating their technology into common commercial production processes which enable them to scale up quickly to provide their product to a growing global audience. It is currently available at selected window film installers across Europe.

Agrisound’s new insect monitoring technology automatically ​detects the levels of insects within a local environment. The sensors collect near real-time pollinator data to help make decisions on how best to support local insect communities and help organisations learn how to transform the way they operate to benefit biodiversity.����

The sensors are optimised for attracting pollinators – size, shape and colour promote visits from a broad spectrum of local insects and can be detected through the use of a ​specialised acoustic sensor. ​​Data is transmitted via a cellular connection and accessed via AgriSound’s secure data storage platform. Users can view data in near real-time on the user interface, highlighting areas of low pollinator activity and suggesting simple interventions to increase numbers.����

Users can produce bespoke reports for different stakeholders at business, farm and site levels for easy integration into board packs or meeting notes.����

AgriSound’s technology can be used as a valuable tool for educators and to facilitate collaborative projects between schools and local farms or conservation organisations. Students can learn about the different types of pollinators, their habitats, and the importance of pollinator conservation for crop production.����

AgriSound is on a mission to install 1 million of their sensors worldwide.����

NatureMetrics offers quick, simple, and effective monitoring of nature to enable projects to identify early on in a project what steps might need to be taken to avoid and mitigate biodiversity impacts. Its DNA based monitoring enables environmental impact assessment and monitoring of nature-based mitigation and remediation.

The eDNA technology allows users to identify groups of species or single species. Customers can order their required species tests, collect their sample, and then return it to NatureMetrics to receive a report on the results, which is presented on their nature intelligence platform.

Metrics included in NatureMetrics’ standard eDNA reports include:

• Species Richness
• IUCN Threatened Species
• Bacterial Functional Diversity
• Invasive Species
• Evolutionary Diversity
• Fungal Functional Diversity

As NatureMetrics helps customers better understand their biodiversity data, they are able to identify risks associated with their projects so their customers can implement effective measures to mitigate them.

The Biodiversity Net Gain Screening tool is a low-cost, easy to use tool, that estimates a development site’s viability in terms of Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) and allows nature to be placed at the forefront of strategic decision-making.

Developments will soon be required to deliver +10% BNG in England, and the mitigation hierarchy recommends developers try to avoid impacts in the first instance. The BNG Screening Tool allows the biodiversity implications of a development project to be understood instantly at any time of year. It can be used at any time of year, across England, and an unlimited number of sites can be entered at once.

Biodiversify have designed the tool with ease of use in mind. By just entering the location of the development site(s), the tool automates the process of conducting a desk-based review, analysing high-integrity data sources, and instantly providing a huge range of biodiversity information, including what habitats are present, their distinctiveness, the compensation action required if they were removed, the presence of designated sites, and an estimation of the biodiversity units using the Biodiversity Metric calculation.

This could, for instance, help developers reduce risk, minimise costs and avoid delays, help planning authorities understand the BNG implications of different site allocation options, or help anyone carrying out a land search provide important biodiversity information for a site.

This tool helps the mitigation hierarchy to be followed more effectively, and ensures informed decisions are made about nature.

Biodiversify offer PAYG and subscription-based pricing that grows with your business.

BioCube is an innovative multifunctional habitat unit with combined wet and dry habitats which provides homes for a range of species, from hedgehogs to hoverflies, to create a compact and attractive self-contained ecosystem. Each habitat within the BioCube has been carefully located to provide protection and insulation from external influences such as predators, extreme temperatures, and noise.

BioScapes have developed a range of specialist planters that contain houses for hedgehogs, butterflies, bees, amphibians and birds. They have been designed to quickly boost biodiversity in any residential, educational, community or commercial setting.

Simple to install and easy to maintain these wildlife planters provide an effective solution to quickly add green infrastructure. Trials conducted by ecologists showed a significant increase in species density and overall biodiversity gains – a single BioCube habitat unit delivered a 10-fold increase in invertebrates and a 3-fold increase in amphibian species.

Connected to surface water drainage the unit can act as a rainwater garden to divert water from roofs and other hard surfaces to reduce flood risk downstream.

Each BioCube is made from recycled or recyclable materials and the unit itself requires minimal maintenance if any at all.

When installed, each BioCube provides over 4m2 of planting area (and 2.5m3 of habitat volume). BioCube has been developed as a modular solution enabling configuration suited to the location. Each BioCube costs £2,999.95 excluding fill material and plants. Other BioScapes habitat units are smaller to suit different applications.

For ease, a full turn key offer is available including pre-survey, ecological evaluation, full installation and set up and a follow up ecological survey to assess impact.

Benefits include high levels of community engagement and customer satisfaction, placemaking benefits, 10-fold increase in biodiversity and other ecosystem benefits including water management and carbon sequestration.

The Joe’s Blooms site is a set of webpages that, via a suite of GIS tools and easy-to-use data fields, captures all the information that the user needs to enter about their site. This includes guidance on how to conduct an appropriate site survey. With this information, the Joe’s Blooms tool is able to work out what the biodiversity score of the site is and advise the user on the best steps to help secure the necessary uplift; helps to compile a complete and compliant Biodiversity Gain Plan, Biodiversity Metric and other documents. It is a standalone solution but can import data from other tools (e.g. red line diagrams). The tool will help to show what the % biodiversity gain is on any given set of solutions.

The tool is intended to cost, for most small sites, between £495 and £959 (depending on the number of units). This is intended to be a small fraction of the costs of the total build and is firmly below the estimated market rate for getting external consultants to complete the metric (estimated between £900 and £2,000 per use). Unlike other solutions, this is intended as a one-off cost per planning application, so there will be no ‘hidden repeat costs’.

A modular, bioretention rain garden system, manufactured in the UK from 100% recycled material.��The HydroPlanter was primarily designed to intercept water as close as source as possible, to decrease the volume of water from entering the sewer network. By diverting rain water from hard surfaces (roofs, roads, pavements etc) via the vegetated planter greatly reduces the peak flows during a storm event.

The HydroPlanter is a stormwater management solution that can be retrofitted into highways schemes and on new developments of any size. This is a ‘plug and play’ sustainable urban drainage solution that can attenuate and cleanse storm water and provide amenity and biodiversity to new and existing spaces. The modules will be filled with a particular soil specification and planted wildflowers and biodiverse grasses.

The concept is flexible, scalable and each unit stacks together. Installation is fast, simple and offers significant savings to alternative methods. The modular characteristics with pre-calculated hydrological performance statistics mean that specification and design is very simple for any given catchment area.

Features include:

• 100% recycled materials
• Slot-together modules
• Optional exceedance flow drain point
• Stack-able design for transport efficiency

The cost depends on the size of the roof, logistics and access. Retrofit green roofs cost between £100 and £200 per m2 to install and establish. The Milton Keynes Green Roof Project value is £80,000 which covers an area of 550m2. This includes a 6-month programme of ongoing maintenance and development and training for the end user.

By retrofitting green roofs it can result in multiple indirect benefits including reduced heating costs, extending the life span of the roof, health and wellbeing, food growing opportunities and biodiversity net gain, plus building internal capability for long-term stewardship of the roof.