The Quiet Shift Reshaping How Australia Protects Nature

When Carbon Neutral launched the Perenjori Hills Sanctuary last year, the timing coincided with the release of the WA Auditor General’s overview, a report that assessed if the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions is effectively managing threatened ecological communities.  

As a refresher, threatened ecological communities (TECs) are “unique groups of plants, animals and micro-organisms that live together and interact in a specific environment”. Once a TEC is destroyed, recovery is unlikely.

Here are some figures uncovered by the audit: 

A sanctuary born from a gap

This is the context in which the Perenjori Hills Sanctuary now exists. 

Located within the Koolanooka Vegetation Complex in WA’s northern Wheatbelt, Perenjori Hills protects more than 1,000 hectares of remnant bushland that is recognised as a threatened ecological community under both state and federal law. It sits within one of the world’s recognised global biodiversity hotspots, supporting rare and declining plant communities and providing habitat for vulnerable species including the Malleefowl and the Pink Cockatoo. 

What makes Perenjori Hills different is not just the land itself, but the model underpinning it. Rather than relying solely on public funding or passive protection, the Sanctuary is actively managed through a privately funded stewardship approach.  

Carbon Neutral has committed to long-term, on-ground management that addresses the pressures that often drive slow, silent ecosystem collapse: 

• control of feral animals (like goats and cats)  

• management of invasive weeds and  

• protection of ecological processes critical for landscape resilience 

The Sanctuary is also part of a broader Nature Credits framework that enables corporate investors to fund measurable, long-term biodiversity protection. In simple terms, it offers a way for businesses to move beyond carbon alone and invest directly in the protection and recovery of ecosystems themselves. 

Why does this matter for business? 

Firstly, because the concept of environmental responsibility is evolving. Emissions reduction is still critical, but nature loss is now recognised as an equally material risk to economies, supply chains and long-term value.  

According to new research from S&P Global Sustainable1, 57% of the world’s largest companies have a significant nature dependency risk across their direct operations. So ecosystem collapse doesn’t just disrupt water systems, agriculture, infrastructure, insurance markets and community stability – it disrupts the global economy. 

But there’s also a reputational angle to consider. 

EY’s Nature Action Barometer reveals that while 93% of companies mention nature in disclosures, just 26% align with the Taskforce on Nature related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) framework. 

This gap represents a missed opportunity for businesses, especially where their customers are concerned. Today’s consumers expect more and are willing to pay for it; PwC’s 2024 Voice of the Consumer Survey found that 80% say they’re willing to pay more for sustainably produced or sourced goods. 

Perenjori Hills offers a rare opportunity to rewind the impact of ecological disruptions and bolster consumer sentiment in a credible, tangible and locally grounded way. 

Who really carries the future of ecosystem preservation? 

The Wentworth Group’s Blueprint to Repair Australia’s Landscapes estimates that Australia needs at least $7 billion per year for 30 years to repair landscapes and meet its conservation goals, a scale far beyond current public funding. This highlights the need for additional investment sources, including private capital, to achieve long‑term outcomes. 

Private conservation is not about replacing government policy. It’s about reinforcing the system at precisely the point where it is under the most pressure. For corporate investors, this is not philanthropy in the traditional sense. It’s strategic, risk-aware capital deployment into assets that underpin environmental stability, social licence and long-term economic resilience.  

Investing in the protection of landscapes like Perenjori Hills is, in many respects, an investment in the foundations that future markets depend on. 

To Perenjori Hills and beyond 

Perenjori Hills Sanctuary exists at that intersection. It is both a refuge for threatened ecosystems today and a signal of how conservation funding may evolve tomorrow. For companies thinking seriously about their environmental legacy, it offers participation in the protection of a living landscape at a moment when that protection is critically needed. 

Perhaps most importantly, the Sanctuary is not positioned as a one-off. It’s a template that could be replicated across other high-value ecological landscapes in WA and beyond. And that is where its broader significance lies; it points to a future in which private conservation is not niche but normalised as part of how Australia protects its natural capital. 

To register your interest in the Perenjori Hills Sanctuary, contact us. 

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