Biodiversity net gain
A development in England: the metric, the gain plan, off-site gain and credits.
Planning law, decided by the planning authority.Software · biodiversity and nature, cited
Biodiversity software: net gain and nature disclosure
Biodiversity software does one of two jobs: it calculates biodiversity net gain for development in England, or it assesses a company’s nature-related risks and prepares disclosures under the TNFD.
This page sets out what each job requires a tool to produce, with a calculator for the 10% objective; it names and ranks no product.
Which job is yours?
What is biodiversity software for? Planning or disclosure
Biodiversity software covers two jobs that share a word and little else.
A developer, landowner or ecologist needs a tool for biodiversity net gain, a planning duty in England under Schedule 7A to the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.
A company preparing a sustainability report needs a tool for nature-related disclosure, most often using the TNFD’s LEAP approach.
Some products do both; the tests below are different for each.
Biodiversity
software
software
Nature disclosure
A company: dependencies, impacts, risks and opportunities across its sites and value chain.
TNFD, ESRS E4, UK SRS S1 where material.Biodiversity net gain
What does BNG require a tool to produce? A gain the authority can approve
The biodiversity value attributable to a development must exceed the pre-development value of the on-site habitat by at least 10%, under ¶2 of Schedule 7A.
That value is the total of on-site post-development value, allocated registered off-site gain and purchased statutory credits, so the 10% need not all be on site.
Every planning permission is deemed to carry a condition that development may not begin until a biodiversity gain plan has been approved, under ¶13.
The order in which the routes are used is statutory: the Development Management Procedure Order sets it out at article 37A, and a gain plan must explain any departure.
Read the dates, exemptions and fees
- 12 February 202401
- 2 April 202402
- 6 August 202603
Exemptions changed
New 0.2 hectare and temporary-development exemptions; self-build exemption removed for new applications.
The statutory metric document has no version number; the calculation tools are versioned, and habitat, hedgerow and watercourse units are counted separately.
Natural England charges £639 to register a gain site, £45 to record an allocation and £89 to remove one, and the site must be secured for at least 30 years, according to its guidance.
Statutory credit prices are published by Defra under a power and revised periodically, on its credit prices page.
Defra’s gain plan template has nine sections, and the planning authority has 8 weeks to decide.
Biodiversity net gainExplore
Biodiversity net gain
10% objective
Value attributable to the development exceeds the pre-development value by 10%.
Biodiversity net gain
Three routes
On-site gain, registered off-site gain, statutory credits.
Your units
Does your scheme meet the 10%? Check your metric outputs
The calculator beside this takes the outputs of a statutory metric calculation and tests them against the 10% objective.
It adds on-site, registered off-site and credit units, compares them with 110% of the pre-development value, and shows any shortfall.
Run it once for habitat units, once for hedgerow units and once for watercourse units, because each must be met.
It does not run the metric itself, and the planning authority makes the decision.
Your units against the 10% objective
Units needed: 22.00 · units you have: 20.00 · gain: 0.0%
Short by 2.00 units; the hierarchy puts more on-site gain first, then registered off-site gain, then credits.
TCPA 1990 Sch 7A ¶2 · DMPO 2015 Part 7A, art 37A
Habitat, hedgerow and watercourse units are counted separately in the statutory metric and each must be met; run this once per unit type. It does not replace the metric or the planning authority’s decision.
Nothing is stored or sent.
Nature disclosure
What does nature disclosure require a tool to produce? Fourteen disclosures, built on LEAP
Organisations committed to TNFD
802TNFD 2026 Status ReportTNFD-aligned reports published
Over 1,000Across 56 countries or areasTNFD disclosures
14Governance, strategy, risk and impact, metricsCDP biodiversity, 2026
Not scoredClimate, forests and water areThe TNFD recommends fourteen disclosures across governance, strategy, risk and impact management, and metrics and targets, in its Recommendations, updated in October 2026.
Its LEAP approach — Locate, Evaluate, Assess and Prepare — reached version 2.0 in October 2026, and its 2026 Status Report counts 802 organisations committed to TNFD-aligned disclosure.
The ISSB is proposing a Practice Statement, which its staff paper describes as non-mandatory and not a Standard, in AP3D; the IFRS Foundation announced a consultation closing on 19 February 2027 in its 6 October 2026 news.
UK SRS S1 already asks for all material sustainability-related risks and opportunities under ¶3 of the standard, and IFRS S1 names the CDSB biodiversity guidance as a source an entity may consider, at ¶¶55 and 58 of IFRS S1.
Read the limits
The biodiversity duty in section 40 of the NERC Act 2006 binds public authorities, not companies.
Global Biodiversity Framework Target 15 binds Parties to the Convention; it reaches companies only through what governments then require.
CDP’s questionnaire includes biodiversity, but only Climate Change, Forests and Water Security are scored in the 2026 cycle, according to its scores page.
The ISSB project is covered on ISSB nature-related disclosures, and TNFD tools on TNFD reporting software.
Nature disclosureExplore
Nature disclosure
TNFD
Four pillars and fourteen disclosures; LEAP v2.0, October 2026.
Nature disclosure
ISSB
A proposed, non-mandatory Practice Statement; consultation to 19 February 2027.
Nature disclosure
UK SRS S1
All sustainability-related risks and opportunities, where material.
Location data
Why does location matter so much? Both jobs start with a map
| Job | What the map decides | Source |
|---|---|---|
| BNG | The pre-development habitat on the site, measured with the statutory metric | Sch 7A ¶2; the metric |
| BNG | Which local nature recovery strategy area a site or gain site sits in | Defra: 48 strategy areas |
| Nature disclosure | Which sites sit in or near sensitive locations, the first step of LEAP | TNFD LEAP v2.0 |
England is covered by 48 local nature recovery strategies, each published by the authority that led it, according to Defra.
The TNFD’s Locate phase starts with where a company’s operations and value chain interface with nature, so a disclosure tool is first a mapping tool.
The tests before you sign
How do you test a biodiversity product? Seven questions, each tied to a source
The first four questions test a net gain tool; the last three test a disclosure tool.
Each names the provision or framework it comes from and what a passing answer looks like.
This site has tested no products
Nothing on this page is a rating, ranking or recommendation of any product.
Biodiversity software demo questions · tick the ones you need
The pass tests are our reading of the cited provisions.
Nothing you tick is stored or sent.
Biodiversity software, in one sentence
Net gain is a planning duty measured in units, and nature disclosure is a reporting judgement built on a map, so ask which job the software was built for.
Takeaways
What to take from this page
| The fact | What to do |
|---|---|
| BNG needs a 10% gain, counted across three routes in a statutory order | Keep habitat, hedgerow and watercourse units apart, and the hierarchy visible |
| BNG exemptions changed on 6 August 2026 | Check the application date before relying on an exemption |
| The TNFD sets fourteen disclosures, built on LEAP v2.0 | Start with site locations, then dependencies and impacts |
| The ISSB is proposing a non-mandatory Practice Statement | Track the consultation, which closes on 19 February 2027 |
Who decides whatExplore
Frequently asked
Biodiversity software, answered
What is biodiversity software?
Software for one of two jobs.
For development in England, it calculates and tracks biodiversity net gain: the metric, the gain plan, off-site gain and credits.
For corporate reporting, it assesses a company’s nature-related dependencies, impacts, risks and opportunities, usually through the TNFD’s LEAP approach, and drafts the disclosures.
What is biodiversity net gain?
A planning requirement in England: the biodiversity value attributable to a development must exceed the pre-development value of the on-site habitat by at least 10% (TCPA 1990 Sch 7A ¶2).
It counts on-site gain, registered off-site gain and statutory credits, and every planning permission is deemed to carry a condition that a gain plan must be approved before work starts.
Does the 10% have to be delivered on site?
No. The value attributable to a development is the total of on-site post-development value, allocated registered off-site gain and purchased statutory credits.
The Development Management Procedure Order sets the order of priority, with credits last, and a gain plan must explain any departure from it.
Which developments are exempt from BNG?
From 6 August 2026, SI 2026/790 added an exemption for sites no larger than 0.2 hectares that do not affect on-site priority habitat, and one for temporary development of up to five years, and removed the self-build exemption for new applications.
The de minimis and householder exemptions continue.
What is the statutory biodiversity metric?
The method the Secretary of State publishes for measuring biodiversity value.
The laid document has no version number; the calculation tools are versioned.
Habitat, hedgerow and watercourse units are counted separately.
How much does it cost to register a biodiversity gain site?
Natural England charges £639 to register a site, £45 to record an allocation and £89 to remove one, and the site must be secured by a legal agreement for at least 30 years.
Statutory credit prices are published by Defra under a power and revised periodically.
What is TNFD reporting software?
Software that supports the TNFD’s LEAP approach — Locate, Evaluate, Assess and Prepare — and drafts the fourteen recommended disclosures across governance, strategy, risk and impact management, and metrics and targets.
The TNFD published version 2.0 of LEAP in October 2026.
Is nature reporting mandatory in the UK?
There is no UK statute requiring companies to publish nature disclosures.
UK SRS S1 asks for all sustainability-related risks and opportunities that could reasonably be expected to affect a company’s prospects, applied on a comply-or-explain basis by listed companies in UKLR 6, 14, 15, 16 and 22 from 2027.
The biodiversity duty in the NERC Act binds public authorities, not companies.
Is the ISSB writing a nature standard?
It is proposing a Practice Statement, which the ISSB’s own staff paper describes as non-mandatory and “not a Standard”.
The IFRS Foundation announced on 6 October 2026 a consultation on the proposal closing on 19 February 2027.
The ISSB’s Chair has said that material nature-related disclosures are already required by IFRS S1.
Is biodiversity scored by CDP?
Not in 2026.
CDP’s full corporate questionnaire includes biodiversity, but only Climate Change, Forests and Water Security are scored in the 2026 cycle.
What is nature software?
Usually the same thing as biodiversity software on the disclosure side: tools that map sites against sensitive locations, assess dependencies and impacts on nature, and prepare TNFD-aligned or ESRS E4 disclosures.
Has this site tested any biodiversity software?
No. This page is built from the legislation, Defra guidance and standard-setters’ publications cited, and it names no product.
Sources
Primary sources
Every duty and figure on this page traces to the source listed here.
Checked against 20 sources fromlegislation.gov.ukDefraDefra and Natural EnglandTNFDIFRS FoundationEUR-Lex
- legislation.gov.ukTown and Country Planning Act 1990, Schedule 7A
The 10% objective, its components and the deemed condition.
- legislation.gov.ukSI 2024/44 — commencement for major development
In force for major development from 12 February 2024.
- legislation.gov.ukSI 2026/790 — amendments and transitional provisions
New exemptions and the self-build omission, from 6 August 2026.
- legislation.gov.ukDevelopment Management Procedure Order 2015, Part 7A
The statutory biodiversity gain hierarchy, art 37A.
- DefraStatutory biodiversity credit prices
Published under a power and revised periodically; credits are the last resort.
- DefraBiodiversity gain plan (template)
Nine sections; the planning authority has 8 weeks.
- Defra and Natural EnglandRegister a biodiversity gain site
£639 to register; £45 to record an allocation; at least 30 years secured.
- DefraLocal nature recovery strategies
48 strategy areas covering England.
- legislation.gov.ukNatural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006, section 40
The biodiversity duty, which binds public authorities.
- TNFDRecommendations of the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures
Four pillars and fourteen disclosures; October 2026 updates.
- TNFDThe LEAP approach, version 2.0 (October 2026)
Locate, Evaluate, Assess, Prepare.
- TNFDTNFD 2026 Status Report
802 organisations committed; over 1,000 have published TNFD-aligned reports.
- IFRS FoundationLive from COP17: ISSB nature-related disclosures consultation (6 October 2026)
A proposed Practice Statement; consultation announced to close 19 February 2027.
- IFRS FoundationISSB staff paper AP3D, April 2026
A Practice Statement is non-mandatory and is not a Standard.
- EUR-LexCommission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/1563, Annex I — ESRS E4
Drivers, species, ecosystems and ecosystem services.
- Convention on Biological DiversityKunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, Target 15
Binds Parties, not companies.
- CDPCDP scores
Biodiversity is not scored in the 2026 cycle.
- IFRS FoundationIFRS S1, ¶¶54–59
The CDSB biodiversity application guidance as a source an entity may consider.
- Department for Business and TradeUK SRS S1 General Requirements (PDF), ¶3
All sustainability-related risks and opportunities.
- Financial Conduct AuthorityPS26/19 — final rules on UK SRS reporting by listed companies
Comply or explain for periods beginning on or after 1 January 2027.