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Thursday, February 13, 2025

John O’Conner’s sustainability officer on empowering colleagues to spice up biodiversity


In the identical month that biodiversity internet acquire (BNG) laws prolonged to small websites, Peter Northcroft joined John O’Conner as its first sustainability officer. Simply two months earlier, the requirement had been rolled out throughout all new main developments in England, making it obligatory for these websites to be left in a greater state of nature than beforehand.

It additionally requires a 30-year administration plan to be put in place for these developments – presenting a seemingly large alternative for grounds upkeep firms reminiscent of John O’Conner.

Unsurprisingly, then, Northcroft determined to make biodiversity his first precedence. “That is an space that’s not going to go away – and shouldn’t go away due to the state of affairs that we’re in,” he says. Final 12 months’s State of Nature report discovered that the wide selection of species it displays has declined by a staggering 19% on common since 1970.

“So, John O’Conner must be concerned in biodiversity internet acquire, not simply from a financial standpoint, however as a result of it’s the suitable factor to do, and we will assist our purchasers to attain it.”

One of the best ways to do that, Northcroft believes, is by practising what it preaches. When he began his new function in April – having first joined John O’Conner as a countryside ranger for St Albans Metropolis and District Council – the corporate had simply undergone an ecological audit which produced a collection of suggestions for enhancing biodiversity.

So, Northcroft picked up his kids’s felt tip pens and redesigned the grounds of John O’Conner’s headquarters in Welwyn, Hertfordshire right into a biodiverse haven. He’s spent the previous couple of months bringing this to life, putting in bat containers, beetle loggeries and a powerful bug lodge constructed from repurposed supplies. In the present day, a wildlife pond is being added, adopted by biodiverse bulb mixes being planted within the grassland.

He’s hoping it would give operatives a fair higher understanding of options on their purchasers’ websites. “In case you go to a consumer with out experiencing it or witnessing what’s potential then it’s harder to make a convincing case.”

The challenge – named ‘Biodiversity Enhance’ – can be trialling numerous applied sciences reminiscent of wildlife cameras and bioacoustic monitoring to assist present a baseline for the present wildlife on the location from which Northcroft hopes to enhance.

Colleagues can report the wildlife they uncover on the location too on the corporate’s new Sustainability Hub, a group of assets hosted on Groups and due to this fact accessible to all 600 workers. Northcroft hopes the hub will “empower” employees, giving them a larger understanding of the right way to handle their current contracts in addition to these which is likely to be gained as a part of BNG’s 30-year administration requirement.

Biodiversity internet acquire is on the agenda for many different firms; it’s the way you method the agenda and the way you act upon it. For me, it’s about accessibility, so unpicking the small print and presenting the nuts and bolts to these on the bottom, the contracts managers, the gross sales staff and the administrators.”

That is the place Northcroft’s background as a trainer arguably is available in – his want to go on data to others in a manner that ensures the perfect outcomes. The data on the hub – be it on managing wildlife reminiscent of Canadian geese or Lyme illness from ticks interested in lengthy grass – may be filtered down and located simply. It went reside on the finish of Might and its assets have been rising ever since – it’s now as much as greater than 90. “I’m hoping this may evolve over time into one thing larger.”

Northcroft is now serving to John O’Conner to create a client-facing pack with numerous choices for biodiversity acquire, from an expertise to casual appraisal of a web site to an expert survey carried out by an ecologist to group initiatives. “These are the 4 areas the place we see us doubtlessly having the ability to assist purchasers, relying on what they need.”

The final 5 months have been a steep studying curve for Northcroft however one factor he’s made certain of is that if he’s studying it, everybody else is just too, the advantages of which can undoubtedly be seen throughout the corporate and the websites it manages.

Introducing biodiversity internet acquire is simply the beginning – there’s nonetheless loads of questions that should be answered for the trade to take full benefit of the 30-year upkeep requirement. Learn ‘Making certain the Longevity of BNG’ right here.

Professional Landscaper is internet hosting a BNG Workshops Day on 11 September. Discover out extra right here.

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