The Conduit: UK Environment Secretary welcomes launch of Aviva Led FloodAction Coalition
New cross-sector partnership convened by The Conduit and chaired by Aviva aims to mobilise up to £1 billion of investment in nature-based solutions to protect people, places and infrastructure from flood and drought.
LONDON, Nov. 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- On the 3rd November, Aviva and The Conduit officially launched the FloodAction Coalition, a new partnership bringing together insurers, investors, landowners and asset managers to turn solutions to the UK's rising flood and drought risks into an investable asset class that supports climate resilience.
Flooding is the UK's fastest-growing climate risk, placing more than 5.7 million properties and one-third of critical infrastructure at risk. It causes around £2.4 billion in direct damages each year, and a further £6 billion in indirect losses through wider economic disruption over time[1].
The FloodAction Coalition is uniting insurers, investors, land managers and policymakers behind a shared goal: to make Natural Flood Management (NFM) a core part of the UK's resilience strategy. By aligning capital, land and policy, the Coalition is creating a framework that transforms reduced flood and drought risk into investable asset class.
Its standardised investment models will enable the co-financing of catchment-scale projects — from restoring wetlands and reconnecting rivers with floodplains to improving soil health and creating riparian woodlands. These interventions not only reduce flood peaks and store water through droughts but also support biodiversity, food security and rural jobs, while giving public and private buyers the confidence to invest in nature-based resilience at scale.
The event was attended by The Rt Hon Emma Reynolds MP, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, who said:
"As Environment Secretary, I am determined to do all we can to protect people's homes and vital infrastructure from the risk of flooding.
We are delivering the largest ever investment in natural flood management over the next decade to bolster the country's resilience. I welcome the newly launched FloodAction Coalition and its commitment to developing nature-based projects that will help deliver sustainable infrastructure for the future."
Turning liability into opportunity
By 2026, the Coalition aims to have a £150 million investment pipeline spanning 50 catchments, scaling to £1 billion by 2028. The initiative aligns with the government's £8 billion flood-defence programme and supports national adaptation priorities highlighted by the Environment Agency and the Committee on Climate Change.
Background
The FloodAction Coalition builds on growing recognition across finance, insurance and land management that nature-based solutions must become part of the UK's core resilience infrastructure. Recent research — including From Risk to Resilience (Public First, 2025), the Green Finance Institute's Financing Natural Flood Management series, and Aviva's Building Future Communities (2025) — highlights both the rising costs of inaction and the opportunity to mobilise private capital alongside public funding.
Founding members include The National Trust, The Crown Estate, National Highways, Howden, The Rivers Trust, Anglian Water, UBS and UBS Optimus Foundation, Rebalance Earth, Systemiq, and the Environment Agency — alongside a growing network of other UK asset holders and delivery partners.
Quotes
Claudine Blamey, Chief Sustainability Officer at Aviva and Chair of FloodAction Coalition, said:
"As a leading home insurer in the UK, we see first-hand the devastating impacts that flooding brings to communities. Extreme weather events are set to become more common, so more homes and businesses are likely to be affected. In England alone, the number of homes at risk from flooding is set to increase by over a quarter (27 per cent), from 6.3 million to 8 million[2].
Natural Flood Management has an important role to play in reducing these impacts. It's important that we act now — building resilience and supporting communities to prepare for the future — which is why we're proud to play a leading role in the FloodAction Coalition."
Paul van Zyl, Co-founder, The Conduit, said:
"FloodAction Coalition is a powerful example of cross-sector collaboration. By aligning insurers, investors, landowners and communities, it turns the UK's greatest climate risk into a resilience market — one that protects homes, supports livelihoods and restores nature at scale."
For more information: https://139533687.fs1.hubspotusercontent-eu1.net/hubfs/139533687/FloodAction%20Coalition%20Press%20Release%2031%2010-2.pdf
www.theconduit.com/floodaction-coalition
[1] Public First, https://www.publicfirst.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/From-risk-to-resilience-report_PF_180325.pdf
[2] Environment Agency, Ref: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-assessment-of-flood-and-coastal-erosion-risk-in-england-2024/national-assessment-of-flood-and-coastal-erosion-risk-in-england-2024.
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