Nature Tech in Action: How Verna is building the data infrastructure for Biodiversity Net Gain
About This Session
England's mandatory Biodiversity Net Gain market is one of the most significant policy moments nature recovery has seen in years. For the first time, developers must prove, with data, that their projects leave nature in a measurably better state. But the data standard underpinning BNG is dense, complex, and hard to work with at scale. And the organizations tasked with scrutinizing and monitoring it like local authorities, infrastructure companies, consultancies, are often doing so without the right tools.
In this session, we sit down with Matthew Brown, co-CEO of Verna, to explore how their platform Mycelia is becoming the operating system for BNG compliance across England. With over 100 organizations and 10,000+ nature projects now running through the platform, Verna has accumulated rare insight into what it actually takes to build software infrastructure for a brand new nature market.
We'll get into the messy reality of nature data, who's working with it, what keeps breaking down, and how technology (including AI-assisted habitat classification) is starting to make a difference. We'll also look at what lessons from England's BNG market might travel to other sectors and geographies picking up the methodology.
Key Topics We’ll Cover
In this session:
What BNG actually is and why its data challenges are harder than they look
Who is using Mycelia and what they're trying to solve
How the platform turns reams of spreadsheet data into actionable insight for regulators and developers
Key lessons from rolling out nature data infrastructure at scale
Who Should Attend
This session is intended for all stakeholders within the nature tech ecosystem, including startups, data providers, and researchers working on science-based metrics. It is also relevant for investors, asset managers, and corporate sustainability professionals who are navigating new disclosure frameworks and methodologies.
The “Nature Tech in Action” Series
This session is part of NTC’s Nature Tech in Action series, spotlighting how nature-based solutions are implemented on the ground, from community engagement to technology deployment, and what it takes to deliver transparent, trustworthy impact at scale.
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