Mandatory Biodiversity Net Gain - New Guidance for Practitioners from IEMA - June 2024

Mandatory Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) in England is a provision in the Environment Act (2021) and came into force in England earlier this year. BNG requires new major developments to deliver at least a 10% increase in biodiversity and is enforced through the planning system.

It’s a big deal and this is why IEMA, CIEEM and CIRIA have come together to create this practitioner guide that provides all the information professionals need to understand the BNG processes and key related government asks in one place. IEMA’s Policy and Engagement Lead on biodiversity, Lesley Wilson, tells us about the new publication.

This new document ‘Mandatory Biodiversity Net Gain in England: A Guide’ is an easy-to-read, straightforward ‘how to’ guide on England’s first phase of mandatory BNG.

This uniquely informative document, applicable for major developments, takes the user through the context of the requirements and goes on to describe the various key aspects of BNG, and the net gain process. A series of tables set out the key stages, who the main leads or stakeholders might be, and lots of supporting information. Stages include:

• Pre-purchase stage
• Design stage
• Post-planning permission
• Pre-commencement and the construction phase
• On-site operational stage

The information can be applied to a range of development types, locations and scales.

This new document will be useful across the BNG spectrum of stakeholders including planners, developers, architects, engineers, landscape architects, local planning authorities and land manager. Mandatory Biodiversity Net Gain in England: A Guide is the essential reference tool for BNG.

Download your copy here.

Lesley Wilson

Policy and Engagement Lead

Lesley is Policy and Engagement Lead at IEMA with a focus on biodiversity and natural capital. Lesley also supports IEMA’s role as Secretariat to the UK Business and Biodiversity Forum, working with businesses to raise the profile of, mainstream, and share good practice in, biodiversity. Lesley joined IEMA in December 2021 after 11 years delivering projects, programmes and solutions for business in the field of environmental sustainability for the British Standards Institution (BSI), including ground breaking standards in biodiversity net gain and natural capital. Lesley has a qualification in business management (MBA) and climate change management, and mentors environmental students at the University of Westminster.