Plan Vivo partners with Pivotal to create high integrity biodiversity certificates

Plan Vivo Foundation, architects of the longest-running voluntary carbon market standard, and innovative biodiversity data startup Pivotal, are thrilled to announce a new partnership, which is on track to deliver the first biodiversity certificates with high integrity impact for nature and communities.

Both Plan Vivo and Pivotal bring complimentary skills and experience to the partnership. We have a wealth of experience and credibility in the voluntary carbon market (VCM), having operating a Standard for over 25 years with projects across the world, whilst Pivotal brings key expertise in data analysis, machine learning, biodiversity monitoring and ecological design.

The PV Nature Standard, which will be launched later this year, will be fully aligned with the high-integrity principles (developed by Plan Vivo and Fauna and Flora) to ensure holistic impact for nature, climate and communities, a participatory approach, and transparent and equitable benefit sharing for communities.

We have been working closely with Pivotal to co-design a methodology for the biodiversity Standard, called 'Pivotal-for-PV Nature'. This methodology places a premium on high-integrity, auditable data and evidence-based biodiversity outcomes. Demand for the new biodiversity certificates is expected to be high and is set to kick-start a market that will help close the funding gap for nature, estimated to be as much as USD$834bn per year*.

Certified projects will generate Plan Vivo Biodiversity Certificates using the Pivotal-for-PV Nature methodology and, unlike the VCM, these certificates are not targeted at an offset approach. Rather, in line with the Nature Positive movement, they are aimed at positively incentivising landowners and communities to conserve and restore important habitats across the world that are critical for biodiversity and people to thrive.

These certificates will allow purchasers to rapidly align with or support the targets and goals of the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), the Sustainable Development Goals, and emerging frameworks such as the Taskforce for Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD).

“The emerging biodiversity market represents a significant opportunity to increase much-needed finance for biodiversity conservation, while at the same time offering incentives for those on the ground protecting and restoring nature,'' said Plan Vivo's CEO, Keith Bohannon.

''We are excited to partner with Pivotal on the development of this innovative methodology, which will enable projects to take a high integrity approach to generate biodiversity certificates that represent real, evidence-based biodiversity outcomes. At the same time, to ensure the standard is accessible and applicable by community-led projects, we are working with Pivotal to develop tools, capacity building resources and training, to help support projects.”

Zoe Balmforth, Co-Founder of Pivotal added, ''the launch of high-quality biodiversity certificates will be a turning point for how we tackle the nature crisis. Our partnership with Plan Vivo is founded on a mutual commitment to build a Standard based on real, measurable gains in biodiversity. This unique combination of a Standard setter and tech platform creates an exciting, novel setup for creating high integrity certificates.''

She continued, ''certificates created under this methodology will represent an important first step in creating an effective biodiversity market with high standards that will give confidence to buyers that their money is having a real and tangible impact.''

For the last 18 months Plan Vivo and key partners (including a number of pilot projects) have been working on the development of the pioneering PV Nature Biodiversity Standard. Building on an initial concept pioneered by the Wallacea Trust, the current methodology is an evolution of the original "basket of metrics" approach.

Using multiple biodiversity indices, the Pivotal-for-PV Nature approach is founded on % change per hectare per year as a unit and can be applied to both restoration and conservation projects, for terrestrial and marine environments. The new approach is based on key ecosystem attributes, including species-level data across a range of taxonomic groups that are relevant to the project area, to calculate a multimetric value. Percentage change in the multimetric per hectare per year forms the unit change that underpins the quantification methodology.

More information and key PV Nature developments can be found here.

Any questions or queries? Please email [email protected]

*The Nature Conservancy, Financing Nature Report