Digitizing UK’s Biodiversity Planners

Client: Digitizing UK’s Biodiversity Planners is a UK-based startup founded in 2022 to help planning applicants comply with new Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) regulations and improve biodiversity across England. The client is developing a digital solution to streamline the creation of Biodiversity Gain Plans (BGP), which are currently managed manually using Excel spreadsheets. The UK government mandates these plans before granting construction permits.

Challenge: The client partnered with SSI to replace outdated, manual processes with an innovative web application. The goal was to digitize hand-drawn plans and Excel-based calculations, incorporating maps and rules-based guidance to help end users optimize habitats while ensuring compliance with ecological guidelines.

Solution: SSI’s engineering team developed a scalable web application that simplifies the process for users to input land details and calculate biodiversity gains. The platform offers various tools and options that enable users to achieve up to a 110% increase in biodiversity compared to the land’s original state.

Result: SSI delivered the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) of the platform, which is not yet commercialized. However, once launched, users will pay for each report generated. The client aims to make this platform the standard solution for preparing BGPs, with full backing from the UK government, ensuring it becomes an essential part of the construction permitting process.

Tools & Technologies: 

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