Biodiversity and Ecosystem Futures (BEF) is a UK Social Enterprise which aims to transform how biodiversity and ecosystems are protected. We provide a platform that enables the tracking and trading of environmental assets (e.g. Carbon Credits), attaching real economic value to an ecosystem and facilitating its long-term protection, whilst also tackling climate change.
Utilising Nexus’ technology we have developed the first solution on our roadmap: the environmental asset Registry. Registries are an essential component of the environmental asset markets because they record the underlying environmental project’s data and track asset ownership. At present, current registries have a double spending problem and rely on honesty to stay accurate. To transform the market, this layer of infrastructure must be radically changed. Our registry is the first of its kind and provides a level of transparency and efficiency not possible without Blockchain.
You may notice that several other Start-ups are also trying to tackle the double spending issue with Blockchain, either by tokenizing carbon credits or creating carbon credit-backed cryptocurrencies. However, these do not address the core challenge of the market as they must still use incumbent registries, thus not solving the double spending issue.
Similar to Nexus, BEF is aiming to transform this market from the ground up. We are building solutions for every layer of the market, addressing the challenges from all angles. Our roadmap consists of the following:
- Registry. This will provide the foundation layer, providing greater transparency of asset provenance and ownership. This is now live.
- Marketplace. This will transform how the environmental assets are transacted. Integrated with the registry, the BEF Marketplace will address the challenges caused by the over-reliance on intermediaries (e.g. Brokers) to facilitate transactions; intermediaries make transacting environmental assets costly and reduce transparency.
- Micro Green Bond Platform. This will democratise environmental asset project financing and increase the availability and liquidity of green bonds. This new platform will be fully integrated with the registry and will enable the general public and organisations to invest in environmental asset projects and directly fund the restoration of key ecosystems.
What convinced you to choose Nexus to build your project?
Hands down the technology. We are not interested in developing a proof of concept or pilot, our solutions need to be scalable, efficient, and easy to develop. We couldn’t find any other Blockchain that came close to Nexus in these areas.
What did you like most about building on Nexus?
The simplicity and team. The Nexus APIs are well documented and easy to implement. Having core blockchain functionality available to us through a set of APIs was a breath of fresh air. The prevalence of signature chains has also made it possible for us to develop an intuitive solution that doesn’t require any user knowledge on private key management. We want our user experience to be so intuitive that users don’t even realise they are using Blockchain technology - Nexus’ architecture supports this perfectly. The team has also been fantastic. They have been responsive to our needs and are always available to test ideas and develop new APIs if necessary.
What did you find most challenging?
To be honest, there weren’t many challenges. The Nexus team has been so supportive and responsive to our team that any issues were tackled straight away.
Would you recommend using Nexus to other developers?
Absolutely. We are lucky to have been one of the first organisations to develop on top of Nexus’ architecture. It feels like we’ve discovered Nexus just before it balloons in popularity for Dapp development. Being early to the party has meant we’ve been able to work closely with Paul and Colin to develop our platform, something that might not be so easy in a year’s time.
The quality of the Nexus code and the innovations the team are developing is exciting. We’re looking forward to growing alongside Nexus, and hope that our solution demonstrates the capabilities of their infrastructure (even if only showing a glimpse of what is possible).
To learn more about BEF visit us on: www.thebef.org and following us on LinkedIn and Twitter
Introducing BEF: https://youtu.be/WH3nof_pWA0
Introducing the BEF Registry: https://youtu.be/gwgicCf8KMw
Roadmap
What is Nexus?
What are the features of Tritium?
Technical Guides
Whitepapers
Nexus Github
