A Market Built on Integrity: Quest’s Biodiversity Pricing Model

In the fast-growing world of biodiversity credits, there’s a hidden problem: nobody agrees on what they’re really worth.

Prices range wildly - from $3 to over $2,000 per credit - with little explanation. And for corporate ESG buyers and landholders alike, this chaos creates confusion, not confidence. The result? A fragmented market full of good intentions, but few guarantees.

At Quest, we think it’s time for a change.

We’re building a market based on fundamentals: science, economic fairness, and measurable ecological outcomes. Our approach links biodiversity credit pricing directly to improvements in land condition and the real costs of sustainable land management.

The Problem with Today’s Pricing

Biodiversity is complex. Yet today’s market often reduces it to a simple number - without context, consistency, or credibility. This leads to three major issues:

• Buyer Distrust: ESG investors are wary of accusations of greenwashing. Without clarity on what a credit represents, they hesitate to commit.

• Landholder Disincentives: Farmers and land stewards are expected to do more—restore, protect, enhance - but get little clarity on what they’ll earn.

• Limited Market Growth: Despite surging demand for nature-based solutions, a lack of pricing standards stalls scale and stifles innovation.

The Quest Philosophy: Pricing Grounded in Impact

At the heart of Quest is a simple idea: you should get paid for outcomes, not just intentions. We recognize two key value drivers:

• Ecological uplift - measurable improvements in land condition over time.

• Opportunity cost - the income landholders forgo by choosing conservation or regenerative practices over conventional, intensive ones.

Our pricing model reflects this. It's not speculative. It’s based on what it actually takes to restore, steward, and maintain biodiversity in real landscapes - using real data.

What Makes Quest Different?

1. Annual Verification, Annual Rewards: Our credits are tied to ongoing performance - not a one-time project snapshot. Landholders earn Stewardship Rewards each year based on sustained ecological health.

2. Science-Based Assessment: All credits are underpinned by a structured assessment method adapted from the Accounting for Nature framework. Field-collected data, AI-enhanced analytics, and verifier review ensure every credit has a traceable, verifiable foundation.

3. Transparent Pricing Models: Our white paper outlines how pricing adjusts by land type, ecological condition, and region. For instance, productive land achieving high ecological scores may attract a premium price, while preserved native habitat is priced to reflect its strategic ecological importance.

4. True Two-Sided Market: Quest bridges both supply and demand: helping ESG buyers meet their disclosure requirements with real impact data, and helping landholders access new income streams while maintaining or improving land condition.

   
   

The Stakes Are High - and the Time Is Now

Nature markets are at a turning point. If we get the economics wrong, we risk building systems that reward stories instead of stewardship. But if we get it right, we unlock a new engine for ecological and economic resilience.

Quest is here to get it right. Not just for investors. Not just for landholders. But for nature itself.

Join us in creating a new standard for biodiversity markets - one grounded in evidence, aligned with economic reality, and built to last.

Explore the full Quest Value Proposition at www.questbiodiversity.com