_ESG Ambassador stories: Farming for biodiversity gains
Partner and UK Head of Consultancy, James Thompson, has been a member of our global ESG Ambassador network since it began and is a champion for client growth opportunities and solutions within ESG Rural Consultancy at Knight Frank.
ESG is a fast-moving topic, and James is here to tell us why we don’t have to wait years to see positive change from our actions.
What interests you about ESG?
Aside from my very non-ESG passion for classic cars, I am strongly interested in biodiversity. When I’m not wearing my Knight Frank hat, I run a family farm at home. We have adopted a regenerative agricultural approach to our farm, which includes the provision of very limited cultivations to improve soil health and sequester carbon. In addition, we also added sheep to graze the fallow ground over the Winter months to add organic matter and provide natural fertiliser to the soil, this both improves soil health but also supports the carbon storage. Our team has also recently planted 1,000 meters of hedge rows, native trees, wildflower meadows, and wild bird conservation strips; this helps with increasing biodiversity.
We have already seen a considerable improvement in the biodiversity of our farm and, for the first time in many years, an increased number of songbirds as well as Lapwings. We all foresee change as decades away, but you can make a difference much sooner than you think!
Why did you join the ESG Ambassador Network?
Simply because I am passionate about making a difference for future generations. Seeing the drive to do good from so many like-minded colleagues in Knight Frank is inspirational. The ESG Ambassador Summit, hosted in November 2022, was a perfect example of cross-team collaboration and enthusiasm to make a difference. I am excited for much more of this to come!
How do you see ESG in action at work?
In the Rural Consultancy world, our teams practice ESG every single day, whether advising on peatland restoration projects with Ingleborough to new woodland schemes and grant funding opportunities targeted at environmental enhancement and preservation. We are fortunate to have one of the best regenerative agricultural advisors in the business, Tom Heathcote, who is helping many clients on their journey to more sustainable farming businesses. We are constantly adapting our services and upskilling on emerging rural themes, which our clients want and need guidance on.
There are enormous opportunities for the countryside. Farm and estate owners hold the keys to a raft of nature-based solutions and, in conjunction with more sustainable farming systems, will collectively be of fundamental importance for future generations in terms of improving the environment, tackling climate change, and providing communities access to our great countryside and food security.
On a day-to-day basis, I also sit on the ESG Client Services Steering Group, where we discuss challenges and opportunities for future products and services. I am delighted to be a joint executive sponsor of our net zero supply chain project, a huge area we focus on to reduce our business’ scope 3 carbon emissions.
How can others start their sustainability journey?
Find your interest, what’s important to you, and how you can make a difference. ESG is a vast subject, but everyone’s contribution, however large or small, is fundamentally important to us all collectively making a difference.