BUSINESS in the Community, in partnership with Ulster Wildlife, has launched a new Business and Biodiversity Charter that aims to inspire and encourage businesses throughout Northern Ireland to help protect and enhance biodiversity.

Ian Nuttall, Head of Environment at Business in the Community Northern Ireland explained: “Biodiversity is at the heart of virtually all the natural day-to-day processes that we take for granted. From the air that we breathe, to the food that we eat and water we drink – to more economically relevant issues such as the supply of raw materials – it really is a critical business issue.

“All businesses, regardless of organisational size, location or the industry sector they operate in, are both affected by, and rely upon biodiversity and ecosystems. With almost 10% of the Northern Ireland landscape now classified as urban, it’s vital that we engage employers in protecting biodiversity.”

He continues: “That’s why, in partnership with Ulster Wildlife, we’ve developed a new Business and Biodiversity Charter that will provide a framework to help local businesses to engage with biodiversity. The Charter uses a staged approach that makes it manageable and accessible to all organisations from micro-businesses to large facilities owned by multi-national companies. We hope that this new programme will encourage businesses to develop their biodiversity initiatives, and we would urge businesses of all shapes and sizes to get involved.”