The Environmental Industries Commission (EIC)  is today setting out a clear three-point plan for how the UK must treat nature as core infrastructure.

This isn’t a conceptual shift, it’s a practical response to how infrastructure systems actually work and where current policy is no longer keeping pace with economic and climate realities.

Nor is it a set of proposals that sits against growth, but a framework for enabling it. Better aligned systems, better decisions and better outcomes delivered through recognition of the role nature already plays in national infrastructure.

1. Treat nature as infrastructure

Nature already delivers essential infrastructure services. Flood protection, cooling, air quality regulation, water management and public health outcomes are core system functions, not incidental benefits. Yet current frameworks still treat nature as external to infrastructure rather than part of it.

We propose a clear shift. Nature enhancements should be recognised and treated as infrastructure alongside engineered systems, embedded from the outset in planning, policy and investment decisions.

This is not substitution. It is system design. Early integration of nature improves resilience, reduces long term costs and strengthens delivery outcomes.

To support wider adoption, there is also a need for a stronger and more consistent evidence base around the long-term performance of nature-based solutions within infrastructure systems. Greater confidence in how these assets perform over time will help strengthen investment and delivery decisions.

2. Deliver coordinated cross government action for nature infrastructure delivery

Infrastructure delivery remains fragmented. Nature based solutions and engineered infrastructure are still planned separately, leading to inefficiency, duplication and avoidable delay.

We propose stronger coordination across bodies such as NISTA, Defra and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to ensure nature infrastructure and built infrastructure are planned as one system.

This requires shared frameworks, aligned investment and integrated delivery pipelines. It is not added complexity. It is the removal of unnecessary friction that slows delivery and weakens value for money.

3. Evidence nature’s economic value the economic value of nature

Nature already delivers measurable economic value. It reduces flood risk, lowers heat impacts, improves water quality and supports health and productivity.

But this value is not consistently reflected in appraisal and investment systems, leading to underinvestment in solutions that often deliver stronger long-term returns.

We propose robust and standardised methods to measure and report the economic performance of natural assets in infrastructure delivery.

This should be supported by improved monitoring and reporting of how nature-based solutions perform in practice, helping to build a clearer understanding of long-term outcomes, resilience and system benefits.

This is about visibility and comparability. When value is properly captured, investment decisions become more rational and capital is allocated more effectively. This is not preference. It is accuracy in how infrastructure value is assessed.

From principle to manifesto

These three principles will form the foundation of our environmental manifesto for 2027. The manifesto will set out how this framework can be embedded across planning, investment and delivery systems to support a more resilient and higher performing infrastructure future.

The direction of travel is clear. Nature is not separate from infrastructure systems. It is part of how they function. Recognising that reality is not a constraint on growth. It is how we secure it. The question now is not whether this change is needed, but how quickly we are prepared to make it.

If you would like to help shape this agenda, we stand ready to work with partners across government, industry and beyond to turn principle into delivery.

To get involved please email policy@acenet.co.uk