New research reveals UK developers are spending over £300,000 per day on the use of traditional biodiversity net gain methods, with an estimated £12m already spent since the regulations came into effect in February, could AI be the answer to reducing these unnecessary costs?

According to calculations made by climate tech SaaS (software-as-a-service) company AiDash, over £5m in additional costs are being incurred for small sites, and nearly £1m for standard sites every month.

With over 150,000 biodiversity net gain (BNG) applications expected to be submitted annually, the cost of “unnecessary” additional costs for UK developers could hit over £62m by the year’s end.

These calculations have been made by evaluating the cost of assessing developments, consolidating results and creating a BNG plan per small and standard metric project using traditional methods.

The firm warns that “unnecessary” additional costs would grow to be greater when taking into account additional financial risks related to the mandatory regulation, such as BNG plan delays and rejections as the result of human error, or the assumption that BNG credits will be readily available to meet BNG mandates.

AiDash highlights that these delays and mistakes will be “exacerbated” by the 40% shortfall of qualified ecologists in the UK.

Shashin Mishra, VP of EMEA at AiDash says that while “the clock is ticking for us to reverse decades of intense biodiversity degradation”, “it is time for a shift in approach, integrating AI and satellite technology as tools to complement and enhance the vital work of skilled ecologists.”