Standards Development

Scope

This BSI Flex provides requirements for the design and operation of high-integrity nature markets, including processes to generate, trade and store nature units.

This BSI Flex is intended to:

a) establish an overarching framework to drive actions to create the conditions for consistency and high integrity across all nature markets;

b) support high integrity of units traded in nature markets;

c) support nature markets to deliver positive environmental outcomes;

d) protect against the risks of activity in nature markets leading to negative, unintended consequences for the environment;

e) act as a specification, and a basis for standards on specific aspects of nature markets, against which market participants can seek certification to signal their high integrity; and

f) support the provision of information from nature markets that deters, and/or helps detect, greenwashing.

    NOTE Greenwashing is a form of mis-selling/fraud, and as such can be regulated under advertising standards. However, new policies are emerging with specific definitions related to the natural environment that will help regulate it.

This BSI Flex is intended for use in the UK. It might inform nature market activity in other parts of the world, but does not explicitly take into account non-UK environmental, governance and other contexts. It is also relevant to nature units from suppliers in the UK traded in non-UK markets.

This BSI Flex aims to provide an overarching framework to develop high-integrity nature market initiatives or projects. This BSI Flex does not determine specific market processes, policies or other government actions in the UK, several of which are being developed in ongoing work in parallel to the work on this standard.

This BSI Flex does not cover:

1) specific requirements for the delivery of different types of nature-based projects or trading in different nature markets (e.g. for CO₂e or biodiversity);

2) measurement of environmental outcomes from specific types of nature- based projects;

3) all uses of purchased units or activities of buyers (outside markets);

4) insetting, although clauses in the standard might be relevant to organizations’ insetting activity, or

5) any organization’s or individual’s reporting obligations.

This BSI Flex is intended for use by:

i) market participants;

ii) market initiatives, including the different codes/standards/schemes that are needed for this overarching standard to be met;

iii) registries; and

iv) other stakeholders in nature markets or in the environmental outcomes of trading nature units.