1 Healthy Ecosystems East Anglia A Landscape Enterprise Networks opportunity analysis Making Landscapes work for Business and Society Message LENs: Making landscapes 1 work for business and society This document sets out a new way in which businesses can work together to influence the assets in their local landscape that matter to their bottom line. It’s called the Landscape Enterprise Networks or ‘LENs’ Approach, and has been developed in partnership by BITC, Nestlé and 3Keel. Underpinning the LENs approach is a systematic understanding of businesses’ landscape dependencies. This is based on identifying: LANDSCAPE LANDSCAPE FUNCTIONS ASSETS The outcomes that beneficiaries The features and depend on from the landscape in characteristics LANDSCAPE order to be able to operate their in a landscape that underpin BENEFICIARIES businesses. These are a subset the delivery of those functions. Organisations that are of ecosystem services, in that These are like natural capital, dependent on the they are limited to functions in only no value is assigned to landscape. This is the which beneficiaries have them beyond the price ‘market’. sufficient commercial interest to beneficiaries are willing to pay make financial investments in to secure the landscape order to secure them. functions that the Natural Asset underpins. Funded by: It provides a mechanism It moves on from It pulls together coalitions It provides a mechanism Benefits 1 for businesses to start 2 theoretical natural capital 3 of common interest, 4 for ‘next generation’ intervening to landscape- valuations, to identify pooling resources to share diversification in the rural of LENs derived risk in their real-world value propositions the cost of land management economy - especially ‘backyards’; and transactions; interventions; relevant post-Brexit. Making landscapes work for business 2 and society in East Anglia East Anglia has always had an economy run-off into watercourses. We look at how property Gudrun Cartwright, with roots in its productive agricultural developers, tech industry, food manufacturers, and Environment Director, BITC landscapes, with its rich soils, aquifers and food retailers have an interest in investing in seasonal I am delighted that we have been easy-to-work topography. As the economy grows into reservoirs in a water stressed region east of able to develop such an innovative more diverse knowledge and tech-based industries, Cambridge. Finally we consider the network of approach to incentivising the economy of East Anglia continues to depend on its businesses that have an interest in green infrastructure collaborative action that can underpin landscape: in order to manage risk in food supply and quality of life in the eastern sector of the East a truly restorative food economy for the UK. The opportunities to enable chains, for example, and to provide housing for the Anglia Tech Corridor. farmers to build their resilience and prosperity by making growing population. The landscape also needs to LENs is about starting with small, mutually beneficial landscape stewardship a core business requirement, remain beautiful and accessible, so that businesses business clusters investing to protect a few simple attractively incentivised, has great potential to transform the can compete to attract and retain the best talent. assets. It is designed to grow incrementally, to create a sector and the landscapes we depend on. The Landscape Enterprise Networks approach network where multiple businesses are collaborating to Thank you to Defra for investing in the project, and to (LENs) uses commercial interest to drive investment in invest in multiple assets, which deliver multiple Nestlé and 3Keel for pioneering the model with us. the landscape assets that help underpin the East functions across the landscape. It’s about rewiring the Anglian economy. LENs works with businesses to land economy, so that it can provide the sophisticated Peter Simpson identify functions that local landscape assets provide range of functions and services that are required by Chief Executive, for them; whether that’s soil in the fields that produces modern businesses, and modern society. Anglian Water barley with which they brew beer, or greenspaces “I welcome Business in the where their workers take their children at the weekend. Community’s latest report that shows It uses a stakeholder network analysis to identify and how collaborative action to tackle a convene businesses with shared interests in working significant shared challenge could transform the way the market operates by creating a new with the same assets, in the same place. When we How LENs fits in with other model that makes restoring the health of water, land and know suggestion: ’which assets, where, matter to landscape initiatives biodiversity, business as usual. BITC’s Water Taskforce has whom, then we can start to build value propositions LENs is about allowing businesses to invest in been spearheading cross sector collaborations that find innovative ways to address key issues. Our ability to provide that secure benefits for East Anglian businesses. sustainable landscape outcomes, driven by their life’s essentials - food and water - is at the top of the list. We In this document we identify some examples of how commercial needs. As such it is not intended as a different businesses share an interest in three different are grateful to Defra for their continuing support of BITC’s substitute for comprehensive strategic landscape Healthy Ecosystems programme and to the many businesses sorts of landscape asset, in three different locations. planning. Though it could certainly help drive strategic and partners who have lent their expertise and enthusiasm to We look at how a brewer, a sugar manufacturer and outcomes in, for example, a catchment-based initiative. help bring our ideas to life.” landowners share commercial interest in soil conservation in a landscape that is a blackspot for soil Business perspectives 3 Key sectors in the East Anglian economy have roots in the local landscape… When people think of East Anglian Adnams Marks & Spencer landscapes, they often think of a Adnams have an award-winning eco- Marks & Spencer has more than 20 food highly productive agri-food sector. efficient brewery and distribution centre in and drink suppliers in East Anglia, many Indeed, food and drink manufacturing in East Southwold and work with Simpsons Malt, Openfield, of whom who will source ingredient raw materials Anglia. These businesses depend on a and 15 local barley farmers to source malt for regionally. In June 2017, M&S made ambitious new consistent supply of quality raw materials from brewing and distilling. Water is critical for the commitments to increase sourcing transparency, local farmers, who produce a significant long-term sustainability of the brewery and wider support regenerative agriculture, and help transform supply chain. The Adnams Community Trust has communities where they have stores and depots – proportion of the UK’s crops and livestock also donated £1.2m to local causes. including Norwich. products – for example a third of all field veg, and two-thirds of the UK’s sugar beet.1 However, if you look at the region’s economy, Anglian Water Farmcare other sectors emerge as equally, or more Anglian Water faces serious challenges to Farmcare is a UK-wide agricultural significant to local prosperity. For example, delivering water and wastewater services business with a 1000-acre farm at the knowledge-intensive sectors such as due to population growth, economic development, Coldham Estate in the Cambridgeshire Fens. The and climate change. The company invests in a farm grows potatoes, onions, sugar beet, and wheat advanced manufacturing, the digital economy mixture of measures including catchment-based for customers including regional food processors and life sciences are a strategic priority for partnerships (such as in the Cam and Ely Ouse) as and UK retailers. The business is exploring how to 2 cities such as Cambridge and Norwich. well as demand-side initiatives. Collaboration is build resilience through improved water and soil While there are obvious and direct links seen as critical to success. management and industry collaboration. between the landscape assets in East Anglia and food production, other sectors in the economy have different dependencies on the Nestlé The Crown Estate Nestlé UK has identified wheat as a The Crown Estate’s holdings in East landscape. For them, investing in shared strategic raw material that has potential Anglia include let agricultural land, as well landscape assets - such as soils, water, and supply vulnerabilities. Nestlé works with Camgrain as a site identified for housing provision. Through its natural greenspace - will help ensure the to source wheat and other crops from East Anglia ‘Project Soil’, The Crown Estate is working with its region is an appealing place to live and work, for its operations in Sudbury, Wisbech and beyond. tenant farmers to help protect its significant capital visit and invest. The business recognises natural capital and soil interest in soils, helping to preserve and enrich soil health as critical for the long-term viability of their quality over the long term. agricultural supply chains. “It’s great to see this project taking shape, bringing local organisations together to help strengthen environmental 4 Business perspectives continued sustainability and with it, business resilience.” Claudine Blamey, Head of Sustainability for The Crown Estate