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Benefits Estimation Tool (B£ST)

Understanding the wider benefits of blue-green infrastructure

  • 3

    Published in 3 international journals

  • 19

    B£ST includes 19 monetised benefits

  • 10000

    Downloaded over 10000 times

  • United Kingdom

    United Kingdom

Measuring the value of blue-green infrastructure with B£ST

Stantec developed CIRIA’s Benefits Estimation Tool (B£ST) to provide a simple way for practitioners to estimate the monetary value of blue-green infrastructure (BGI). It enables the wide range of benefits of BGI interventions to be valued and is compatible with numerous drainage interventions including sustainable drainage and natural flood management.

B£ST enables practitioners to value benefits across 19 categories that affect people, the environment and the economy.  It presents the results in two frameworks: ecosystem services and capitals accounting.

Water companies and local authorities wish to utilise BGI to reduce flooding by controlling how much surface water enters drainage systems and when. These approaches create many more benefits than conventional solutions, typically pipes and big storage tanks, but can be more difficult to implement.

Valuing the benefits makes it easier to draw other stakeholders into conversations to facilitate partnership working and deliver great places and spaces, providing multiple benefits and enhancing natural capital.

B£ST has not only been adopted in the UK, it is also used globally, including on significant European and Australian research projects. The tool and supporting detailed guidance is free to download (www.susdrain.org/resources/best.html).

At a Glance

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Meet Our Team

Chris Digman , Executive Technical Director

Leading influencer in stormwater management.

Bruce Horton, Principal Sustainability Consultant

For a better world, today’s decision making must put societal and environmental considerations in line with financial costs and benefits

Daniel Bourne, Principal Digital Engineer

Digital technologies can provide a powerful tool to help solve the current challenges that the water industry faces.

Chris Digman

Executive Technical Director

Bruce Horton

Principal Sustainability Consultant

Daniel Bourne

Principal Digital Engineer

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