BAA’s commitment to biodiversity in local communities around the airport has been recognised by 'The Wildlife Trusts', which has awarded the company the prestigious Biodiversity Benchmark standard for the management of its conservation sites in the Heathrow area.
Howard Park, corporate relations manager for 'The Wildlife Trusts', presented the Benchmark to BAA’s logistics director Shaun Cowlam at one of the company’s ten conservation sites, The Causeway Nature Reserve in Bedfont, at a ceremony on Thursday 9 October. The sites contain a wide range of habitats supporting an array of different species, including grass snakes and pipistrelle and soprono bats. Heathrow is also one of the most diverse areas in London for spiders and beetles.
The pioneering Biodiversity Benchmark is a rigorously audited certification, which enables organisations across the UK to assess the quality of their land management, improve their contribution to the environment and demonstrate their commitment to biodiversity.
Shaun Cowlam, BAA’s logistics director said “We are delighted to be awarded the nationally-recognised Biodiversity Benchmark. This award shows how strongly we feel about conserving natural habitats and wildlife at Heathrow. Our biodiversity programme is important to our local communities, and to a wide range of local stakeholders, all of whom will be pleased to see BAA Heathrow gain this accreditation.”
Howard Park from 'The Wildlife Trusts' commented: “There is increasing awareness amongst the business community of the need to develop more sustainable business operations and I am pleased that BAA at Heathrow has recognised the importance of responsible land management, investing in conservation on these sites. BAA joins an increasing number of organisations who have shown such commitment to achieve the Biodiversity Benchmark.
“Every organisation that owns or uses land can play a vital role to help protect and restore our native wildlife by managing their land with the environment in mind. I hope that this example will encourage many more organisations to meet the challenge of the Biodiversity Benchmark.”
Also at the event on 9 October were local Hounslow councillors, members of the Crane Valley Partnership, Friends of the Earth, the Environment Agency and staff from BAA’s environmental contractors Hasmead, Glendale and Middlemarch. After the presentation ceremony, the guests enjoyed a tour of the site from BAA’s conservation ecologist, James Webster.
Notes to editors
- Six of the ten conservation sites are fully or partially open for community use and these sites provide important habitats for wildlife in an urban landscape.
- Around 63 hectares of land that is owned, managed or leased by BAA around Heathrow is set aside to conserve or enhance biodiversity. This involves developing site management plans, practices and projects in support of biodiversity objectives and working in partnership with local stakeholders to improve the local environment.
- BAA seeks to operate and grow its business in accordance with the good-practice principles for business and biodiversity published by the UK Roundtable for Sustainable Development in 1997. BAA aims to use all land as efficiently as possible and to act responsibly where local ecological resources may be affected by its operations or development programme.
The Wildlife Trusts (TWT)
There are 47 local Wildlife Trusts across the whole of the UK, the Isle of Man and Alderney. We are working for an environment rich in wildlife for everyone. With 765,000 members, we are the largest UK voluntary organisation dedicated to conserving the full range of the UK’s habitats and species, whether they be in the countryside, in cities or at sea. 135,000 of our members belong to our junior branch, Wildlife Watch. We manage 2,200 nature reserves covering more than 84,000 hectares; we stand up for wildlife; we inspire people about the natural world and we foster sustainable living.
Biodiversity Benchmark
The Wildlife Trusts have created the Biodiversity Benchmark to encourage organisations to manage their land for wildlife and it is the first scheme to recognise continual biodiversity improvement of land. The Benchmark is flexible and adaptable, so that it can be applied to any organisation, which manages land, from businesses through to local authorities, service utilities, developers and charities. The Wildlife Trusts' Biodiversity Benchmark is designed to recognise biodiversity improvements on an organisation's landholdings; it is not an endorsement of an organisation's activities or a measurement of its broader environmental performance or impacts.
