Church Commissioners for England 
The Church Commissioners took this award for treating farmland stewardship as core business rather than a bolt-on. Their tenant survey provided a genuine baseline for the portfolio, the judges said, with 56% of tenants adopting nature-friendly practices, 94% working to improve biodiversity and 62% cutting fertiliser use. These were all tied to explicit 2030 targets and backed by independent emissions reviews, data on the condition of ‘Sites of Special Scientific Interest’, and green leases.

Across roughly 80,000 acres and 40 estates, the fund has managed to influence behaviour across a highly fragmented tenant base while lifting investment performance to 5.9% in 2025 from 3.8% the year before. Judges described the Church Commissioners as the asset class' "heart and soul" investor, citing a level of granular, farmer-like engagement rarely seen among institutional owners.

That additionality, driving change across an independently operated farming ecosystem through peatland work and policy engagement, outweighs the underlying asset's short-term economic value. A pure UK focus and transparent reporting on tenant control and policy considerations rounded out what judges rated an outstanding, credible long-term strategy.