An increasingly important question for nature conservation globally is which (if any) economic sectors can find ways to counterbalance biodiversity losses with substantial gains, to the extent that a ‘net positive impact’ is achieved overall. On the one hand agriculture can be implemented in ways that support biodiversity recovery, on the other it is one of the leading global causes of biodiversity loss. Here, we report on the outcomes of an exploration into whether a net positive impact on biodiversity might be achievable for the Dutch dairy sector. The exploration is structured around the concept of the biodiversity impact mitigation hierarchy: that is, biodiversity impacts caused in the process of dairy production are quantified, then avoided or reduced where possible, and finally over-compensated for; leading to a net positive impact for biodiversity in the aggregate. This work was carried out by Wild Business Ltd and Metabolic for the Dutch Sustainable Dairy Chain, Duurzame Zuivelketen (DZK).