The West Yorkshire Pension Fund (WYPF) has committed £25m to the cornerstone portfolio of Rebalance Earth’s forthcoming nature-based infrastructure fund

The investment marks one of the most significant allocations to nature in the British Isles and supports the development of Rebalance Earth’s £150m resilience-led strategy.

The fund treats nature as infrastructure, valuing peatlands, rivers, wetlands, and oyster reefs for their essential services: natural flood protection, water purification, carbon sequestration, and biodiversity uplift.

These services are monetised through long-term payments for ecosystem services (PES).

The strategy aims to generate long-term, stable cash flows, with the fund targeting an internal rate of return (IRR) of 8–12 per cent over 15 years.

WYPF’s commitment is expected to enable Rebalance Earth to complete its cornerstone portfolio and move toward fund launch later this year.

WYPF said the partnership "sets a precedent" in the UK, treating ecosystems not as externalities but as fundamental to economic resilience.

“What was once a niche gap in the market is now a timely, scalable opportunity to strengthen portfolios while protecting communities on the frontlines of climate risk,” it added.

Rebalance Earth CEO and co-founder, Rob Gardner, said WYPF was demonstrating that nature was not a cost centre but a "critical, income-generating infrastructure asset".

Despite growing materiality, nature loss remains a blind spot in many financial models, exposing portfolios to unpriced risks linked to climate disruption, water stress and supply chain volatility.

“Nature performs better than concrete managing water, regulating climate, and storing carbon”, added Gardner. “By investing 2 per cent of a portfolio in nature-based solutions, we can help stabilise the 98 per cent that depends on them.

"That’s how we deliver resilience and build a world worth living in,” he claimed.

“As a long-term asset owner, we see place-based, nature-based infrastructure as a key component of strategic investment delivering both resilience and returns,” added WYPF head of alternatives, Darran Ward,

“From peatlands to rivers to oyster reefs, natural infrastructure provides critical services that protect communities and reduce systemic risk,” he continued.

“This strategy enables us to invest where it matters most, close to home.”

Rebalance Earth chief operating officer, Kirsty Wilman, claimed the commitment marked a “pivotal moment” in recognising nature as an investible asset class.

“Our ambition is to raise and invest £10bn into nature-based infrastructure over the next decade. That journey starts here, where the risks are real, the benefits measurable, and the opportunity to build resilience,” she said.

Alongside the investment, Rebalance Earth has been appointed as investment adviser to WYPF, with a mandate to build a portfolio that delivers resilience, supports long-term value creation, and generates measurable environmental outcomes.

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