Case studies

Explore how Finance Earth supports environmental NGOs, governments, local authorities, and corporate investors to design and finance scalable solutions for nature, climate, and communities in the UK and internationally.

Case study

Sustainable Finance for UK Overseas Territories (UKOTs)

Finance Earth has a long-standing partnership with the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) to help deliver the UK Government’s Blue Belt Programme.

This collaborative project is creating lasting financial solutions and building capacity for marine protection across the UK Overseas Territories (UKOTs), from the South Atlantic to the Caribbean and South Pacific. These remote island communities manage some of the world’s most important ocean habitats, and Finance Earth’s work aims to ensure they have the funding and tools needed to protect them for the long term.

 

 

 

© Peter & Craig Smith 2014

Impact achieved:

4.4m km2
Marine Protected Areas supported through sustainable finance advisory across 10 UKOTs
84
Aligned funding and financing sources identified and assessed
6
Bespoke financing mechanisms developed to advance marine conservation objectives

Key objectives:

Strengthen UKOTs’ capacity for sustainable marine management:

  • Research and pilot the implementation of a collaborative sustainable finance platform to explore, develop and integrate business opportunities.
  • Test the potential for cross-territory collaboration and investment opportunities through a tailored, well-managed finance facility that could unlock new investment.

 
Improve access to and management of sustainable finance:

  • Conduct research into sustainable finance mechanisms and provide financial business planning.
  • Investigate and synthesise opportunities, funding and investors available to UKOTs to mobilise new long-term funding and finance for marine management.

 
Support UKOTs as global leaders in ocean protection:

  • Back innovative, locally-led solutions that benefit marine ecosystems, address climate change and associated risks, and support the livelihoods of local communities.
     

    Innovations:

    • Created a multi-stakeholder Sustainable Financing Hub to facilitate knowledge-sharing, collaboration, and dissemination of resources across UKOTs.

     

    • Developed a Marine Protected Area (MPA) financial planning framework to secure long-term funding for marine ecosystems and guide effective management and implementation.

     

    • Identified income-generating opportunities for island-based enterprises, balancing financial returns with environmental and social safeguards – from eco-tourism and research fees to renewable energy and biodiversity commitments.

     

    • Worked directly with territories to co-design business cases for new or improved ventures, and develop implementation plans to pilot funding models tailored to local environments.

     

    • Collaborated closely with UKOT governments, local communities, and UK delivery bodies (Defra, MMO, FCDO, JNCC, Cefas) to ensure all work is grounded in practical needs and local priorities.

Case study

Plymouth City Council – Habitat Bank

Finance Earth partnered with Plymouth City Council to establish the UK’s first Habitat Banking Vehicle owned by a local authority.

Understanding Plymouth City Council’s (PCC’s) objectives to transform how the city values, manages, and funds its green spaces, Finance Earth worked with the council and the Future Parks Accelerator (FPA) to design a new approach to attract investment into its natural assets.

With Finance Earth’s support, PCC set up Ocean City Nature (OCN), a strategic place-based investment vehicle to coordinate funding for nature restoration and recovery across the city’s green and blue spaces.

The first initiative under OCN, Ocean City Biodiversity, is a habitat bank supported by a £500,000 loan from the Council facilitated by Finance Earth, setting a precedent for other local authorities. The habitat bank started trading biodiversity units in early 2025, funding habitat enhancement across the city and supporting local developments.

Impact achieved:

£500k
Loan raised by the Habitat Bank with support from Finance Earth
c.100ha
Habitat restoration in urban and peri-urban areas
£5.3m
Projected revenue from the habitat bank’s biodiversity unit sales

Key objectives:

  • To create a nature-rich city by protecting, restoring, and connecting accessible blue and green ecosystems to combat the climate and biodiversity crises.
  • To support thriving and empowered communities by boosting stewardship, local decision making, wellbeing, community cohesion, sustainable transport, and skill development.
  • To increase recognition of the value from ecosystem service delivery by creating green spaces that generate sustainable revenue streams for environmental protection, while attracting new investment to grow the local economy.

 

Innovations:

  • The establishment of OCN’s replicable, local authority-owned Habitat Banking Vehicle for nature investment is the first of its kind in the UK.
  • The expected revenue from biodiversity unit sales through PCC’s habitat bank is projected to reach £5.3 million, which will be reinvested to support the ongoing maintenance and conservation of publicly accessible green spaces.
  • The integration of the OCN model with other citywide initiatives, including the Plymouth Sound National Marine Park and the Plymouth and South Devon Community Forest, with opportunities to replicate the habitat bank’s success across other nature markets.
  • OCN will catalyse nature investment in and across Plymouth, supporting local access to high-quality biodiversity and facilitating Plymouth’s 2030 carbon neutral commitment.

 

Finance Earth is continuing to work with PCC and a range of other local authorities and placed-based organisations to replicate the OCN model.

 

Natural Environment Investment Readiness Fund (NEIRF)

Find a selection of our case studies for projects completed as part of Defra’s Natural Environment Investment Readiness Fund (NEIRF):

 
 

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