UK natural capital asset manager Rebalance Earth has made a strategic investment in Wilderway, a venture established by non-profit organisation Rewilding Europe focused on scaling nature restoration.
Rebalance Earth said the partnership would strengthen its network of delivery partners and accelerate its ability to restore nature at scale.
Wilderway seeks to generate long-term income for landowners through “market-led nature restoration”, which Rebalance Earth said was in line with its mission to transform natural assets into investable infrastructure that can generate financial, environmental and social returns.
The partnership will integrate high integrity carbon and nature credits with payments for ecosystem services, which Rebalance Earth said will strengthen the economic foundations of rural communities while expanding Rebalance Earth’s project pipeline.
Rob Gardner, CEO and co-founder of Rebalance Earth, said: “This partnership is about scale and quality. Wilderway brings more than a decade of European delivery experience and a clear commitment to building restoration projects that stand up to institutional scrutiny.
“Their model aligns with our belief that nature is infrastructure, and that landowners should be able to generate long-term income from restoring the ecosystems our economy depends on.”
Wilderway is the firm’s third investment, following its marine restoration partnership with Oyster Heaven and its investment in Restore, which focuses on large-scale terrestrial ecosystem recovery across the British Isles.
Gardner, who co-founded Redington and is a former director of investments at St James’s Place, co-launched Rebalance Earth in 2023 as a specialist investment manager dedicated to investing in nature as business-critical infrastructure. This includes the restoration of landscapes and watersheds to protect companies, communities and cities from climate-related risks such as flooding, drought and water pollution.
Rebalance Earth monetises ecosystem services through payments for ecosystem services (PES) contracts, integrating nature into corporate risk management strategies while additionally generating income through high-integrity carbon credits and biodiversity net gain units.
Rebalance Earth claims to have the largest natural capital team focused on the UK, and is 75% employee-owned, with 25% held by the West Yorkshire Pension Fund.
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