Building resilient landscapes

Landscape Enterprise Networks brings organisations together to co-fund regenerative agriculture and nature-based solutions to drive landscape resilience. Our aim is to regenerate the landscapes we all depend on.

Collaborative solutions for shared challenges

LENs is a collaborative way of working that focuses on shared landscapes. Since 2021, we have delivered more than €24m from organisations like Nestlé, Diageo and West Northamptonshire Council to 350+ farmers for regenerative agriculture and nature-based solutions. There are five key key steps in the collaborative cycle:

1Identify needs
In each region, we bring together organisations to identify shared land management needs that would be difficult to tackle within their own supply chain in isolation. These needs include mitigating flood risk; improving the resilience of crop production; meeting greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets; protecting nature & increasing biodiversity; improving water quality; and protecting rivers and other bodies of water.
2Propose solutions
Landowners, managers and farmers propose and bid for funding for practices to implement on farm that will meet those needs. Most common are cover crops, minimum tillage and habitat restoration.
3Co-fund for impact
Businesses then co-fund measures, which reduces costs and risk, as well as maximising outcomes. Funding goes to farmers by practice (for those beginning the regen journey), by performance (for those leading the way), and for innovation (to reduce the risk of trying something new).

In 2024, 11 organisations co-funding practices led to one tonne of carbon being 1/3 cheaper than when an organisation funds this alone. You can read more about this in our Impact Report.

4Measure outcomes
Results are measured, reported and verified by external experts
5Grow the network
The annual cycle repeats, building a collaborative network that can expand each year. Collaboration includes training, farm events and opportunities for demand and supply partners to connect.

Through collaborative co-funding, organizations achieve better outcomes at reduced cost and risk

Place‑based and landscape‑focused

What partners need in a particular geography will go beyond individually-owned boundaries, so implementing measures in isolation from others in the area is unlikely to achieve the required impact. That’s why we bring farmers and land managers together to implement solutions across multiple farms or land enterprises, so we can improve the resilience and health of a local landscape. We are developing tools that will enable us to identify farms that could link up existing LENs measures, creating ‘corridors of practice’, which is of interest to many funders who are looking beyond field interventions.

Scaling up to reduce risk

We work on an annual cycle, so that farmers can implement funded practices by the start of autumn. Once the first ‘tender’ is underway, we create momentum and build interest, so that we can attract more customers and suppliers. Overall, we have expanded from 25 farms in 2021 to more than 350 farms across the first five years of operation.

A good example of how we scale is our Yorkshire LENs. Our first trade took place in 2023 with two funders – Purina and Diageo – investing in 700 hectares across four farms. PepsiCo joined as a funder in 2024 and the trade covered 3,205 hectares across 13 farms.

You can see a more detailed picture of regional progress by looking at our annual factsheets.

Collaboration is at the heart of our approach

Our funders come from many sectors including food and agriculture, utilities, water, insurance and local governments – collaborating on diverse challenges and outcomes. For example, we have been working for six years in our longest-standing region, East of England, building relationships with 20 partners and more than 100 farms. We are trusted by industry leaders including:

Global Brands
Utility Companies
Public Bodies

See our partners page for a full view of all organisations who are collaborating in LENs.

Measurable Impact, Verified Results

We commission independent experts to measure, report and verify impact. We are the first multi-stakeholder landscape initiative to produce comprehensive impact reports.

  • Provide robust farm inventory-based crop carbon footprints aligned with GHG Protocol LSRG, SBTi FLAG guidance and SAI Platform RTF

  • Include carbon removals and emission reductions, cover soil health, biodiversity and water metrics

  • Are based on data traceable to farm gate

  • Based on actual impact rather than projected

Find out more about our impact.

Find out more about LENs

For Organisations

Need LENs facts in an easy-to-use format? Then visit our Resources page and download our Factfiles.

For Farmers

Need LENs facts in an easy-to-use format? Then visit our Resources page and download our Factfiles.

News

Latest news from LENs