SISC-led BSI Code of Practice on nature market community benefits now out for public consultation 

Matthew Hannon, Professor of Sustainable Energy Business and Policy in the Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship, Strategy and Innovation, and Director of the Strathclyde Institute for Sustainable Communities (SISC), has been acting as Lead Technical Author on behalf of the British Standards Institute (BSI). 

He has been developing a Code of Practice for the Nature Investment Standards (NIS) Programme on “Nature markets – Community engagement and benefits from natural capital projects”, and the Code of Practice is now out for public consultation, to be launched later this year. 

The Code of Practice provides practical recommendations for nature projects on good practice for community engagement and the delivery of community benefits, to support the scale-up of high-integrity nature markets. 

The NIS programme is sponsored by DEFRA and the Scottish Government, and its aim is to establish a standards framework that creates a high-integrity market for investment in natural capital. 

Professor Hannon said, “As nature markets gather momentum, their impact on our landscape is becoming more pronounced. This raises the question of how project developers should engage with - and benefit – the communities who live in close proximity to these projects. This Code of Practice breaks new ground by offering BSI guidance to developers, communities and other practitioners about how to design natural capital projects in a way that empower and enrich communities across the UK.” 

 The Code of Practice and consultation can be found here: https://www.bsigroup.com/en-GB/insights-and-media/insights/brochures/bsi-flex-705-nature-markets-community-engagement-and-benefits/ 

Published: 24 March 2026