Today, September 1, 2023, the major development project CLIMB reaches its conclusion. This means that the model is now released for use by anyone who needs to measure, value and compensate for their impact on nature.

- Expectations are high and many are eager to start CLIMB calculations. "We look forward to the model reaching a wide audience. It facilitates the work for biodiversity on a larger scale," says Katarina Walter, CEO of Ecogain.

Already during the development project, CLIMB has taken an important role in the green transition of Swedish business. The model has shown its strength as a concrete resource for actors to understand and minimize their impact on nature, and we have evidence from court trials that show that CLIMB works in practice.

GREAT INTEREST IN CLIMB

Ecogain has developed the model together with several major players in Swedish industry, with the support of Swedish Mining Innovation. Already at the launch in May, CLIMB received a lot of attention, and since then Ecogain has been invited to the Swedish Government Offices to talk about the model.

- When so many and such large stakeholders jointly develop a solution they need and believe in, it clearly shows how strong the demand for CLIMB is. And the project has shown that the model really works in practice," says Katarina Walter.

FACILITATE LOCATION AND INVESTMENT DECISIONS

By making CLIMB available to everyone from September 1, more companies and public actors can have the chance to contribute to responsible land use in a whole new way. And there are huge benefits to be reckoned with, not just for the planet.

- The main value is that knowledge about biodiversity becomes available and can be approached in a new way.

- In concrete terms, CLIMB will facilitate localization and investment decisions and provide a good basis for environmental assessment and reporting. You will be well prepared for CSRD and ESRS with CLIMB, says Katarina Walter.

FACTS CLIMB

CLIMB, Changing Land Use Impact on Biodiversity, is a model for estimating the current situation and the positive and negative impacts of land use change on biodiversity. 

CLIMB can be applied, inter alia, to:

compare localizations and layouts
understand and evaluate the different impacts of investments 
increase predictability in environmental assessment
enable follow-up against targets
report impacts on biodiversity
develop new biodiversity indicators

The basic formula for the measurement tool is based on the British DEFRAS Biodiversity Metric, but in CLIMB it has been further developed and adapted to Nordic conditions. CLIMB uses standardized input data and expert knowledge to plan, prioritize and calculate parameters for restoration and compensation - resulting in profitability for both the company and nature.

CLIMB is a collaborative project with Ecogain, Talga, Vattenfall, Sveriges Bergmaterialindustri, Skanska, Svenska Kraftnät, Svemin, Boliden, LKAB, Specialfastigheter, Skellefteå Kraft, Heidelberg Materials.

Over 200 people got involved and provided important feedback.

An Advisory Board with representatives from the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, SLU, Lund University, Chalmers, IIASA, Anthesis, Skellefteå Kraft and Ecogain has been continuously involved in the method development work.

The project is part of the Strategic Innovation Program Swedish Mining Innovation and is a joint effort by Vinnova, Formas and the Swedish Energy Agency.

Ecogain offers courses to get started with CLIMB for planning, reporting, business strategy, ordering or own calculations.

More information on CLIMB:
ecogain.se/climb | Download the tool.