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FIRNS Funded Community Inclusion Standard Phase 1

  • Writer: Rachel Nixseaman
    Rachel Nixseaman
  • Nov 25, 2024
  • 3 min read

Updated: Apr 29

Overview

Deciding Matters led a consortium of partners funded by FIRNS (Facility for Investment Ready Nature in Scotland grant scheme from NatureScot and National Lottery Heritage Fund) to begin development of a Community Inclusion Standard (CIS): an auditable certification for nature finance projects who are delivering best practice in community engagement. The CIS was conceptualised by the Nature Finance Certification Alliance (NFCA) and its development is a collaborative venture with wide-ranging stakeholders.

 

Nature finance is the method of investment activity where money is used specifically to finance or invest in improvements to the natural environment. This could be private investment (from, for example, a bank or investment firm), government funding, philanthropic donations, etc. Nature finance projects can include peatland restoration, biodiversity programmes, woodland regeneration, marine protection, etc. Many of these projects will seek validation through existing nature codes (e.g. Peatland Code, Woodland Carbon Code) to evidence best practice for land and climate, and while these codes often do have a compulsory community engagement element, the intention of the Community Inclusion Standard is to strengthen meaningful community engagement and ensure communities benefit from changes being made to the land around them (whether this is receiving a share of any profits made, access to educational programmes, flood prevention, or other benefits identified by the community and delivered by the project).

Approach/Methodology  

Project Delivery Team 

Advisory Group 

Place-Based Partners 

  • Deciding Matters 

  • Finance Earth 

  • Scottish Forum on Natural Capital 

  • Scottish Land Commission 

  • Scottish Wildlife Trust 

  • Soil Association Certification 

  • The James Hutton Institute 

  • University of Strathclyde 

  • Community Land Scotland 

  • Foundation Scotland 

  • Community Woods Association 

  • Development Trusts Association Scotland 

  • Peatland Code 

  • BSI 

  • Wildlife Works 

  • Woodland Carbon Code 

  • SRUC 

  • Scottish Land & Estates 

  • National Parks Partnerships 

  • Federated Hermes 

  • Abrdn 

  • Greenbank 

  • Scottish Marine Environmental Enhancement Fund 

  • NW2045 

  • Highlands Rewilding 

  • Dumfries & Galloway Council 

  • City of Edinburgh Council 

  • Perth and Kinross Countryside Trust 

  • Bioregioning Tayside 

  • Soil Association Charity 

  • CreditNature 

  • Anstruther Improvements  

  • Fife Coast and Countryside Trust 

From October 2023 to March 2024 the consortium delivered the following workstreams:

Financial Feasibility Study

Finance Earth conducted a series of interviews with buyers and investors to gauge appetite for a Community Benefits Standards, whether this certification would illicit a premium, or be seen as desirable for investors. The response was overwhelmingly positive, although no price figures could be estimated due to the rapidly evolving market.

Literature Review: Community participation for community benefits from natural capital projects

University of Strathclyde undertook a literature review of academic and practitioner literature to explore best practice approaches for facilitating community inclusion and participation in order to generate lasting community benefit from nature-based projects

Best Practice Guide: Community Inclusion for Community Benefit

Deciding Matters led a co-design process with our place-based partners to identify key steps for a project to take ensuring meaningful community engagement. A wider consultation with over 40 stakeholder organisations across the nature finance sector was also held, shaping the draft guide.

Draft Community Benefits Standard

Soil Association Certification took all phase one outputs and drafted the first Community Benefits Standard (which has since been renamed the Community Inclusion Standard).

 

Next Steps

The consortium of partners has received additional funding through FIRNS to undertake a market readiness phase led by Deciding Matters.

 

Phase two will focus on the following processes:

  • Testing: Deciding Matters will test the Best Practice Guide with place-based partners, ensuring the steps and actions identified are relevant to a range of projects (in both size and scope) and provide useful guidance for projects undertaking community engagement processes for the first time.

  • Development: Deciding Matters will further develop the Best Practice Guide based on the testing phase. Scottish Land Commission will develop a training module to help projects progress from meaningful community engagement to a co-designed community benefits agreement. Further development, led by Soil Association Certification, will be done on the Community Inclusion Certificate to ensure it aligns with the other Codes and is as functional as possible.

  • Audit: Soil Association Certification will audit three test sites using the draft CIS criteria, testing the types of evidence which will be collated, whether the certification requirements are reasonable for a range of projects, and whether the criteria are clear and concise.

  • Consultation: additional consultation will be undertaken with relevant stakeholders to strengthen the Certification and Guide, and to encourage buy-in from nature-finance projects.

  • Operationalisation: the consortium will work on producing a digital hub to collate certification information and will determine how the CIS will be hosted so that it is ready to be introduced into the nature finance market once this next phase has completed.

 

 

Links

 

Nature Finance Certification Alliance: https://www.natcert.earth/

 


 
 
 

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