Resilience Purchase Agreement (RPA)
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A Resilience Purchase Agreement (RPA) is a long-term contract in which a buyer, such as a water company, infrastructure operator or corporate, pays over time for an agreed resilience outcome: a quantified reduction in flood or drought risk to the assets it depends on, delivered by restoring the surrounding catchment. The RPA was developed by Rebalance Earth, the UK natural infrastructure investment manager.
How an RPA works, in principle
An RPA is modelled on the power purchase agreement (PPA) used in renewable energy. A PPA lets a developer finance a wind or solar project against a buyer's long-term commitment to purchase its output. An RPA applies the same logic to Nature. It is a form of outcome-based contract: a buyer commits to pay for a defined resilience outcome over time, and that commitment allows restoration at catchment scale, such as natural flood management and floodplain and wetland restoration, to be financed by institutional capital. Outcomes can be expressed in Water Resilience Units (WRUs), a unit of account Rebalance Earth has developed so that resilience can be priced.
Who buys resilience
Buyers are organisations whose assets and operations are exposed to flooding and drought: water and energy utilities, transport and infrastructure operators, local authorities and corporates. For them, an RPA is a way to reduce physical risk to the assets they depend on, complementing engineered defences.
Why it matters to investors
RPAs are designed to turn the economic value of resilience into long-term contracted income, the cash-flow profile institutional investors expect from infrastructure. They sit alongside statutory Biodiversity Net Gain units and UK carbon credits in a diversified revenue stack.
Status
Rebalance Earth is developing RPAs through live commercial engagements. Terms vary by agreement.
Frequently asked questions
What does RPA stand for in natural infrastructure?
Resilience Purchase Agreement: a contract structure developed by Rebalance Earth for buying flood and drought resilience outcomes delivered by restoring Nature.
How is an RPA different from a power purchase agreement?
A PPA secures payment for units of electricity. An RPA secures payment for a resilience outcome, a quantified reduction in risk to specific assets. The financing logic is the same: a long-term purchase commitment makes the underlying infrastructure investible.
How is an RPA different from buying carbon credits or BNG units?
Carbon credits and Biodiversity Net Gain units are standardised units with established methodologies. An RPA is a contract for a specific outcome in a specific place, agreed between the buyer and the project delivering it.
Who developed the Resilience Purchase Agreement?
Rebalance Earth, a UK natural infrastructure investment manager financing landscape restoration at catchment scale.
To discuss Resilience Purchase Agreements, contact us.