Scotland’s business community is ready to put nature at the heart of its net zero journey. That was the clear message from a recent roundtable event hosted by Palladium and the Nature Investment Partnership at Hampden Bank, which brought together senior sustainability, net zero and nature leads from some of the country’s largest companies.

“The goal is simple,” says Ross Powell, a member of Palladium’s UK Nature Partnerships team. “Net zero with Scottish nature. What was so encouraging is how aligned people were around that opportunity, and how practical the conversation quickly became.”

Eighteen representatives from large Scottish corporates and government bodies were convened by Palladium and Scottish Government for a morning focused on how carbon funding can be directed toward high integrity, nature based projects across Scotland. Interest was so strong that the event exceeded capacity — a sign, Powell says, that the demand side of this young market is maturing.

“Five years ago, many of these roles didn’t exist,” he notes. “Now you can fill a room with people whose job is to work out how their organisation reaches net zero while supporting nature restoration. That tells you something important about where the market is heading.”

A Shared Appetite to Act

Three themes stood out. First, there is a clear thirst for information and knowledge sharing around Scotland’s nature opportunity. Businesses are actively seeking credible, local projects that can deliver both climate and nature outcomes.

Second, the atmosphere in the room was collaborative rather than competitive. “There was a real sense of ‘we’re in this together’,” Powell said. “These weren’t abstract discussions. These were the people who hold the budgets and make the commitments, openly talking about how to deploy capital into impactful projects.”

Third, there was a strong appreciation of the bigger picture. With representatives from government, corporates and project developers all present, the conversation focused on how to move from ambition to action at pace and scale.

“It was genuinely energising,” Powell adds. “We had all the pieces of the puzzle in the room, and a shared willingness to find solutions.”

Barriers That Need Fixing

Despite the optimism, the discussion also surfaced real challenges. A major barrier is procurement. Nature based solutions, from peatland restoration to woodland creation, are fundamentally different from traditional goods and services.

“Ecosystem services and carbon credits are new products,” Powell explains. “They need new contracting terms and new procurement approaches. When companies try to shoehorn nature projects into existing templates, it can cause misalignment and slow everything down.”

Due diligence, contracting and internal approvals can be resource intensive for both sides, even when funding is available. There are also technical issues around additionality and statutory compensation, including how organisations can credibly claim carbon benefits alongside nature restoration outcomes.

“These issues are fiddly, but they’re not insurmountable,” Powell says. “With time, consultation and collaboration, we can unlock much more capital for nature.”

Turning Momentum into Impact

The takeaway from the roundtable was clear: Scotland’s corporate sector is ready to support Scottish nature restoration as part of its net zero transition.

The challenge now is to make it easier to do so.

Clearer pathways, more suitable procurement models and stronger partnerships will be critical to turning enthusiasm into long term investment.

As Powell puts it, “The ambition is there. The willingness is there. The next step is working together to remove the friction and make nature investment possible at the scale Scotland needs.”

If that happens, Scottish businesses could play a defining role in restoring the country’s natural landscapes — while accelerating progress toward net zero.