The value of ecological restoration to the UK economy

Here is a fascinating statistic. In the United States the ecological restoration industry is worth more per year than the US steel and iron industry. I picked this up from an excellent

presentation given by Sara Johnson of the Ecological Restoration Business Association (ERBA).

The ecological restoration industry in the US, as a result almost solely of compliance

requirements of the Clean Water Act and Endangered Species Act (and various State-basedwetland preservation Acts), is worth an annual $25bn and employs 221,000 people.

By comparison, the US steel industry in 2024 was worth £15.6bn and (in 2025) employs 83,600 people. The size of the steel industry has been declining for many years. The size of the ecological restoration business has been increasing significantly year-on-year. By comparison, the UK steel industry is worth a mere £1.7bn and supports 37,000 jobs (which seems out of kilter when compared to the US ie over 4 times the number of people employed relative to gross value, which is probably why it’s a bankrupt industry and has been for many years despite massive UK government support).

I argue that this has serious implications for the government’s anti-nature views, and I would

advise government (Ministers and their advisers) to totally rethink the economic importance of nature and natural capital. It is frustrating and depressing because ever since the work of TEEB (The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity) and then the Dasgupta Review, we have known that over half of global GDP is underpinned by what nature provides.

Whilst Biodiversity Net Gain is really starting to take off in England as a market-led policy (to

give but one example, Environment Bank had over £45m worth of enquiries in July this year

alone!), an even bigger market is emerging from the corporate sector, at this point in time in a voluntary capacity as companies realise the risks to their businesses of biodiversity loss

through their supply chains.

I am therefore advocating that the same business cost of BNG (c.0.6% of gross development value – see our report on ‘The comparative value of on-site vs off-site Biodiversity Net Gain for Restoring Nature’) is applied to corporates through a financial reporting mandate. This would generate £15.6bn per year from our economic activity measured by GDP (£2.88tn), two to three times the nature finance gap (c.£4.4bn - £9.7bn) reported by the Green Finance Institute. This is important! The UK could be world leading in the new industry of ecological restoration – restoring the ecosystems on which we, our businesses and our economy depend.

Times they are a changin’. Lets make the UK a lead player in this new market – not through a tax-based nature restoration fund administered by government – which has failure written all over it. But, as in the US, a market-based industry that contributes to growth. In doing so we would abandon the silly and unsupportable view that nature is a problem to growth. I suggest that we urgently need nature business champions within and outwith government to develop this initiative and maximise its value to the economy.

David Hill CBE DL

August 2025