In the second week of the COP26 climate summit, Estée Lauder Companies UK & Ireland have shared new details about their five-year GBP 500,000 commitment to the UK National Parks’ nature restoration, through Revere.

As a founding partner of the Revere initiative, Estée Lauder’s commitment is a critical contribution to the UK’s net zero ambition. The cosmetic giant’s participation in the initiative acts as a proof point for their expressed desire for decisive action on climate change.

Delivered through a partnership between Palladium and the UK National Parks, Revere supports the National Parks’ Net Zero with Nature strategy, which promotes restoring UK National Park landscapes as a vital way to fight the climate and biodiversity crises. The initiative’s vision is a world where private finance is harnessed at an unprecedented scale to support restoration activity.

How Does it Work?

Put simply, Revere designs nature restoration projects, raises capital to fund them, and then generates revenue through the sale of ecosystem services. By leveraging private finance, Revere can attain the scale and pace needed to restore the UK’s 15 National Parks, and in the process tackles a piece of the climate emergency and biodiversity crisis.

The Revere approach creates new income streams for farmers and landowners working to improve the quality of landscapes and support biodiversity. Income streams are created through the valuation and sale of ecosystem services, including carbon credits, biodiversity outcomes, natural flood management and water quality improvements, all while restoring degraded peatlands, grasslands, woodlands, and wetlands. This supports farmers and landowners to act in the best interest of the environment, while providing replacement income.

Estée Lauder is providing funding for the development of scalable projects across the UK National Parks, which will create new income streams for farmers and landowners seeking to improve the quality of landscapes and support biodiversity, through the sale of ecosystem services. “Our five-year commitment to support Revere’s nature-based climate initiatives in the UK National Parks reinforces our desire for decisive action on climate change,” notes Sue Fox, President of Estée Lauder Companies UK & Ireland.

Most importantly, Estée Lauder’s support will promote knowledge sharing and learning – enabling other land managers and owners to learn from projects supported under Revere. Additionally, ecosystem services including carbon sequestration, Biodiversity Net Gain, water quality improvement, pollution management and natural flood management, will be generated.

“This partnership is focused on protecting and restoring the UK’s most precious ecosystems through pioneering nature restoration projects designed to combat climate change and the biodiversity crisis. We are delighted to work with National Parks UK, Palladium, and the other founding partners,” Fox adds.

Blue Sky Thinking for a Greener World

Innovative nature-based approaches are what’s needed globally to tackle climate change. Leveraging private finance is a key piece of the puzzle but achieving unprecedented levels of restoration requires not just funding, but also new ways of thinking, doing, and communicating. With that in mind, a critical component of the Revere approach is the sharing of lessons learned across the National Park network and beyond.

“Through this five-year commitment, Estée Lauder Companies UK & Ireland is making a real contribution to the innovation behind Revere. This leadership will result in new, pioneering approaches taking us closer to the scale and pace of nature restoration that the climate emergency demands,” notes Andrew Sutherland, Palladium’s Director, Nature-Based Solutions.

While Revere will help accelerate the deployment of finance needed to restore nature in the UK, beyond Britain the approach provides a case study for partnership and innovation. “Creative financial vehicles, cross-sector partnerships, and new approaches to valuing nature, such as Revere, will be critical in the years to come,” Sutherland concludes.

Green looks good on Estée Lauder, let’s hope they share their love of the colour with their global network.

Read the press release, learn more about Revere, and contact info@thepalladiumgroup.com for more information.