Esri UK partner Temple has created a biodiversity assessment tool, which could assist construction and engineering firms in meeting the biodiversity net gain (BNG) legislation that came into effect in England earlier this year.
Environment, planning and sustainability consultancy Temple has joined geographic information system (GIS) software provider Esri UK’s partner network. This allows Temple to use Esri’s GIS technology in combination with its environmental capabilities to develop new solutions.
The first solution to be launched is the UK Hab and BNG Survey App. It is designed to help architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) companies make decisions on development plans and meet the new BNG legislation, which came into force in February 2024. This demands that developers of all new major construction projects provide at least 110% of the biodiversity value found on the site prior to their development. From April the same will apply for developments that are smaller than 10 housing units or less than 1,000m2 in floorspace if it is not residential.
Designed to simplify the processes involved in BNG assessments, Temple said its new tool is meant to streamline the workflow from field data collection to in-office assessment and provides a real time BNG score.
The new app also enables the use of existing UK Habitat Classification (UK Hab) surveys and conversion to BNG surveys. This means users can take advantage of their current ecological processes to comply with the new legislation.
