First meeting of the Environmental Markets Board Limited (21 April 2026)

The first meeting of the newly incorporated Environmental Markets Board Limited (‘Board’) was held on 21 April 2026.

Environmental Markets Board Limited

The Board welcomed the successful incorporation of the EMB, noting that it marked a significant milestone in its development as an independent body providing oversight of environmental markets.

The Board considered practical arrangements following incorporation, including banking, insurance and funding. It approved the establishment of a bank account and the procurement of Directors’ and Officers’ insurance.

EnTrade transition

The Board received an update on the transition of EnTrade, including its transfer to Arup and arrangements for managing the legacy Catchment Markets, including the establishment of conservation covenants to secure ongoing land use and management.

The Board discussed the redesign of the monitoring programme for the Somerset Catchment Market in response to feedback from the Scientific Advisory Group. It also noted opportunities to share EnTrade’s experience to support the wider development of environmental markets.

UK Environmental Markets Governance Scheme

The Board received an update on the Nature Markets Dialogue’s development of a UK Environmental Markets Governance Scheme and discussions between Broadway and Defra on the support for such a Scheme.

The Board noted the strong stakeholder support for the proposed Scheme and Defra’s interest in coordinating its development with the BSI Assurance work. It also considered the UK Market Integrity Roadmap and its progression through voluntary standards, assurance and compliance and ultimately mandatory compliance. 

The Board considered the workstreams and proposed phases of development for the Scheme, with a view to its commencement in 2027, and strongly endorsed its continued development as a central part of the EMB’s future role.

Next meeting

The next meeting will be held on 23 June 2026.

Jill May, Chair.