Accounting for Nature (CreditNature / NaturePlus)

In short

Certifies environmental-condition accounts (Econd) on a 0–100 scale, underpinning CreditNature and NaturePlus units.

What it is

Accounting for Nature is a framework and standard for measuring and reporting the environmental condition of assets such as native vegetation, fauna, soil, and water. Each Environmental Account is built using an accredited method that specifies indicators and reference benchmarks and combines them into an Environmental Condition Index, or Econd, a single value from 0 to 100 that describes how close an asset is to its undisturbed reference state. Measured condition and its change over time underpin nature units and products issued by users of the framework, including CreditNature.

What it rewards

The reward is a credit called a Nature Condition Unit (NCU). One credit stands for one point on a zero to one hundred scale of how healthy the land is. A verified, nature-positive biodiversity outcome. A whole period of work is issued as one batch of credits at a time, in the same way a registry issues a batch.

What gets measured

To earn NCU credits, a project has to measure and prove a few things. An independent reviewer checks the evidence before any credits are issued.

• Native plant species richness (by life form). Richness of trees/shrubs/grass/forbs is a core vegetation indicator.

• Large trees, canopy height & cover. Large trees, canopy height and cover are high-accuracy indicators.

• Non-native / invasive cover. Non-native plant cover is scored against the reference state.

• Coarse woody debris & recruitment. Deadwood and canopy-species recruitment indicate condition.

• Fauna condition (fauna accounts). Fauna assets use standardised condition scoring.

• Reference-condition benchmark. Every indicator is expressed relative to an undisturbed reference benchmark.

Who takes part

• Standard Registry. Owns the policy, approves participants, anchors each issuance to its evidence.

• Project Proponent. Registers the project and submits monitoring reports.

• Validation & Verification Body. Independently validates the design and verifies monitored data.

How it works

1. 1

   The project team registers the project and its plan.

2. 2

   An independent reviewer checks that the plan is sound and that the benefit is real and would not have happened anyway.

3. 3

   The team looks after the site and measures the agreed indicators over time.

4. 4

   The independent reviewer verifies those measurements.

5. 5

   Credits are issued for the verified result, and a buyer can retire a credit to claim the benefit once.