6 May 2026
News Release
3Keel has been recognised with a King’s Award for Enterprise for Innovation, for its industry-leading programme, Landscape Enterprise Networks (LENs). This year, only 185 businesses across the UK have received a King’s Award, one of the highest honours a UK business can achieve. Announced today (Wednesday 6 May), the Award recognises 3Keel and LENs for outstanding success in innovation.
Since 2021, LENs has committed more than £26m to more than 350 farmers, to implement a range of regenerative practices, ranging from cover crops and minimum tillage, to wetland creation and habitat restoration. It aims to increase soil health, water quality & conservation, and biodiversity, as well as mitigate climate change. Companies benefit by reducing scope 3 emissions, increasing carbon removals and achieving nature goals, within their supply chains.
3Keel has been granted the award because of the innovation it has demonstrated through the LENs programme. By introducing a genuinely new market mechanism, coupled with on the ground measurement, LENs has demonstrated the impact that can be achieved through collaboration. Farmers retain flexibility in selecting practices that are right for their farm and the programme has demonstrated strong scalability – between 2021 and 2025, LENs grew from one region to seven, covering more than 80,000 hectares.
“The climate and nature crises are complex and multi-faceted. We need fresh approaches and ideas to address these. LENs was built with innovation at its core, to provide a platform for farmers and private and public bodies to come together to achieve positive impact in the landscapes that we all depend on. It’s a proven model, already having a big impact in the UK and Europe. Receiving the King’s Award for Enterprise is a huge endorsement of this collaborative model. It is deserved recognition for the team and our partners, who have helped to develop the model across the regions we work in.”
Donald Lunan, LENs CEO
The King’s Awards for Enterprise are the UK’s most prestigious business awards. Winners are allowed to display the King’s Awards Emblem for the next five years, a globally recognised mark of excellence.
“Part of 3Keel’s DNA has been to lean into and develop new approaches to complex challenges. Land use patterns that stem from misaligned incentives across a landscape is one such challenge, and we created LENs to change the status quo.”
Simon Miller, Managing Director, 3Keel
Notes to Editors
Applications for the 2027 King’s Awards open on 6 May 2026. Find out more at: https://www.gov.uk/kings-awards-for-enterprise