Council seeks consultancy for natural capital & climate investment study
A new consultancy study will assess local natural capital, model carbon capture and set out a plan for future nature-based investment in climate action.
A new consultancy study will assess local natural capital, model carbon capture and set out a plan for future nature-based investment in climate action.
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East Dunbartonshire Council is commissioning a consultancy to carry out a Nature-Based Investment Study that will map local natural capital, identify nature-based solutions, model carbon sequestration and set out a strategic implementation plan. The work underlines how local government is beginning to treat the natural environment as core infrastructure for climate action and future investment.
Published on 28th November 2025, the contract notice confirms that East Dunbartonshire Council is seeking an external consultancy to design and deliver the Nature-Based Investment Study. Although brief, the specification makes clear that the authority wants more than a high-level strategy; it is commissioning a detailed assessment and modelling to support practical decision-making.
The appointed supplier will be expected to:
A natural capital assessment can give a structured picture of the area’s environmental assets and their condition. For a council, that kind of baseline helps to highlight where existing ecosystems are under pressure and where there is scope for restoration or enhancement.
The requirement to identify nature-based solutions and model their carbon sequestration moves the work beyond a static audit. It steers the consultancy towards setting out specific interventions and estimating the climate benefits they could deliver. That in turn will feed into the strategic implementation plan, which is intended to guide how, where and when projects should be taken forward.
By commissioning this package as a single study, the council is asking its supplier to connect evidence-gathering, technical analysis and forward planning. The result should be a more coherent pipeline of nature-based projects, rather than a series of isolated initiatives.
Although the East Dunbartonshire notice highlights natural capital and carbon, similar procurements across the UK show how closely this agenda is tied to biodiversity measurement and planning obligations.
In November 2025, Sunderland City Council published a prior information notice for Biodiversity Net Gain Units. It is seeking registered Biodiversity Net Gain units from third-party suppliers to meet planning conditions by April 2026, addressing a shortfall in specific habitat and watercourse units. That notice highlights how biodiversity outcomes are now being quantified and traded to satisfy formal planning requirements.
Where Sunderland is already in the market for defined biodiversity units, East Dunbartonshire is working further upstream, commissioning a study to understand the natural capital it holds and what climate-related services it could provide. This kind of baseline work can underpin later decisions about how to meet carbon and biodiversity obligations in a consistent way.
In November 2025, East Renfrewshire Council took a different but related step, seeking a consultant to provide Nature Restoration Consultant Services. That contract focuses on developing and implementing nature restoration and biodiversity enhancement projects funded by the Nature Restoration Fund. It shows another part of the same chain: turning strategic ambitions into funded schemes on specific sites.
Taken together, these notices suggest that councils are investing in the technical capability needed to handle carbon and biodiversity as core considerations in spatial planning and project development. East Dunbartonshire’s emphasis on natural capital and carbon sequestration sits firmly within that emerging pattern.
The use of the term “investment” in East Dunbartonshire’s study reflects a wider shift towards making nature-related projects more finance-ready and integrated with climate and energy planning.
In August 2025, Cambridgeshire County Council issued a contract notice for Nature-Based Solutions for Finance. It is seeking a qualified UK service provider to research how nature-based solutions can enhance the financial viability of low carbon energy projects and improve understanding of their potential benefits. That work explicitly links ecosystem services with the economics of net zero energy schemes.
In July 2025, Scottish Natural Heritage (NatureScot) sought a supplier for an Investment Ready Nature Review. The commission involves analysing data from Facility for Investment Ready Nature in Scotland (FIRNS) projects, producing an interim review that summarises achievements and offers recommendations for future delivery. Here, the focus is on learning from a portfolio of pilot projects designed to make nature restoration more attractive to investors.
By October 2025, Argyll and the Isles Coast and Countryside Trust was procuring consultancy for a Climate Partnership Business Case. The consultant will develop a business case for a sustainable partnership model in Argyll and Bute, focusing on securing future funding and setting out an action routemap. That notice shows how environmental aims are being embedded in long-term partnership structures and funding strategies.
Other public bodies are building supporting frameworks. In November 2025, Historic Environment Scotland called for proposals for the design and delivery of an Environmental and Sustainability Framework, signalling an organisational push to structure its environmental and sustainability work.
In December 2025, the North East Scotland Regional Transport Partnership (Nestrans) went to market for a Study on Transport Infrastructure Impact. That study will evaluate the readiness and resilience of strategic transport infrastructure in the North East of Scotland, focusing on transformational opportunities related to the energy transition and on sectors that influence transport networks and regional preparedness.
Set against this backdrop, East Dunbartonshire’s Nature-Based Investment Study looks like one more piece in a broader trend: public bodies using specialist studies, reviews and frameworks to connect nature, climate targets and investment decisions.
If the East Dunbartonshire study is about building an evidence base and an implementation plan, several recent Scottish procurements illustrate what happens at the delivery end of the pipeline.
In July 2025, Caledonian Climate Partners advertised a Peatland Restoration Project at Dorback Estate. The proposed restoration works are contingent on funding approval, with successful responses to be included in a funding application to Peatland ACTION. Here, consultancy input feeds directly into a funding bid for on-the-ground restoration.
The following month, Scottish Natural Heritage (NatureScot) issued a notice for Ben Mor Coigach Peatland Restoration, a proposed peatland restoration project where the contract is dependent on funding and to be awarded to landowners. By September 2025, Angus Davidson Ltd was procuring another Peatland Restoration Project at Inverlael Estate, aiming to restore degraded peatland using standard techniques in areas with peat haggs, gullies, drains and micro-erosion.
Coastal and flood-related infrastructure is also being addressed. In August 2025, RSPB Scotland launched a procurement for the RSPB Udale Sea Wall Design, seeking structural design services for the sea wall, with quality and price assessments shaping the outcome. That project shows how managing environmental assets can involve a mix of ecological considerations and engineered structures.
On the strategic planning side, Scottish Borders Council signalled in October 2025 that it would engage a consultant for a Woodland Strategy Consultant Engagement. The role covers evaluating the existing woodland strategy, developing a revised framework for the local development plan, assessing transport for timber extraction, engaging stakeholders and analysing feedback.
These examples hint at the types of projects that could eventually flow from East Dunbartonshire’s Nature-Based Investment Study once priority interventions are identified, whether in peatland, woodland, coastal areas or other parts of the local environment.
For potential suppliers, the East Dunbartonshire commission reinforces demand for consultancies able to combine natural capital assessment, carbon modelling and strategic planning in a single package. Experience of similar studies, and of turning their findings into implementable projects, is likely to be at a premium.
For the council, the key output will be a clear, prioritised view of where nature-based solutions can most effectively contribute to climate goals and how those projects should be rolled out over time. The carbon sequestration modelling will be central to that, alongside the broader assessment of natural capital.
Set alongside work on Biodiversity Net Gain units, nature restoration programmes and investment-ready nature reviews across the UK, the study may also become a reference point for other local authorities considering how to organise their own nature-based investment planning.
The real test will come after the study is completed: how quickly its recommendations influence funding bids, partnerships and concrete projects on the ground, and how far it helps to embed the area’s natural capital in mainstream economic and infrastructure decisions.
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