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Practical, actionable ways to make your business nature-friendly

The West of England Mayoral Combined Authority has created this Nature and Business Resources Kit to help SMEs across the region to incorporate nature into business planning and operations.

The Business and Nature Resources Kit is your guide to practical, actionable ways to make positive changes for nature through nature-friendly purchasing, supply chains and employee engagement.

Discover every module of the digital toolkit below or download a printable copy.

Meadow with trees in background Image credit: Daniel Radford, Unsplash Module 2 - Compliance and Regulation
Board of leaves with writing on Image credit: Freia Turland Module 3 - Profit Impact
Bamboo toothbrushes Image credit: Toa Heftiba, Unsplash Module 4 - Supply Chain Impact
Flowers in field Image credit: Freia Turland Module 6 - Profile

Why does your business need nature?

  • 62% of UK adults regularly use certification labels to help them choose what to buy.*
  • 38% of people would be willing to pay a premium for products that are part of a scheme that helps to protect UK wildlife and nature.*
  • Working with nature can also support your employees’ physical and mental health, and create new incentives for recruitment and retention.
  • Win contracts! Public sector bodies ask businesses to outline environmental measures alongside local benefits, when bidding for contracts.

For our West of England businesses, communities and people to thrive, we must act now. We know it’s important to help our wild spaces recover. To protect wildlife and the environment.

Explore the toolkit to discover the role of nature in your business and find out where your current risks and opportunities lie, so that you can minimise your footprint and maximise your impact.

Swan landing on a lake
Image credit: Wessex Water

How can your business and nature work together?

Most businesses are dependent on nature in some way; understanding our impact on the natural world can help businesses to minimise risk, as well as develop new opportunities for products and income streams.

In our region, we’re lucky to have wonderful valleys, gorges, woodlands, lakes and countryside right on our doorstep. Even our cities are studded with gardens, parks and green spaces that are a haven for wildlife and a joy for us.

But we all know our nature is in decline. Since the 70s, butterfly numbers have fallen by 45% and nearly half of our bird species are at risk of disappearing altogether.

Butterfly on a plant

Vital for our survival

If we stop to think about it, nature is connected to everything in our lives - the air we breathe, the food we eat, the homes we live in, and the water we drink. Many of us rely on nature for work, and it’s a big boost to our economy too. We can see that climate change is having a dramatic impact on our environment; even if we reach net zero by 2030, it may not be enough to stop us losing some of the incredible wildlife we reply on.

If nature doesn’t thrive, neither do we. Our environment isn’t just beautiful; it’s vital for our survival.

Person in glasses with a whiteboard

Make the West of England wild again

We all want to see nature fight back. Through businesses, individuals and community groups working together, we can create a West of England that’s good for us, good for wildlife, and good for the planet.

*RSPB/Ipsos 2023 Fair-to-Nature Report, Jan 2024.