Mannok launches Natural Assets Action Plans with Ulster Wildlife

The report was launched at a dedicated event on 21 September, attended by NI Minister for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, Edwin Poots MLA, the Ulster Wildlife delivery team, Mannok’s Environmental Team and company Directors, local political representatives, and local community partners.

Presenting the key findings from the report at the event on behalf of Ulster Wildlife, Dr. Michael Meharg and Professor Jim McAdam highlighted the significance of the work undertaken, which provides a thorough and detailed assessment of various land types, including grasslands, wetlands, woodlands, ponds and quarries. They explained how the report and subsequent actions will benefit the environment locally and leave a positive lasting legacy by:

• Increasing awareness and understanding of biodiversity among Mannok staff, customers, and the local community
• Improving monitoring, measuring, and reporting of biodiversity
• Calculating and maximising the carbon absorbing and storing figures in the lands’ soil and vegetation
• Using Mannok landholdings for rewilding the natural landscape ensuring the wildlife, weather and land are functioning positively together, following the government led Nature Recovery Networks commitment
• Ensuring that Mannok landholdings are resilient to predicted climate change effects
• Working with local communities to care for the special landscapes
• Looking at the bigger picture across the Fermanagh/Cavan border area to contribute to larger landscapes.

Mannok commissioned the report in order to understand its natural assets to provide a baseline for the enhancement of the local environment and varieties of wildlife in the short, medium, and long term, said company CEO, Liam McCaffrey, adding, “This report informs our understanding of the value of natural assets to the business and wider community and will help guide our long-term planning and strategic investment decisions in a way which aims to maintain and enhance those assets.

The report is a comprehensive one, achieving our ambition to create an exemplar study which is not selective in areas of land which it considers, but covers all Mannok assets.

Already it has started to change our perspectives of what was previously considered wasteland. Now, we can see opportunities for careful and considered restoration into valuable natural assets for the future.

Additionally, the work involved in creating the plan has allowed us to focus on the whole area of carbon mitigation in ways which we would not have considered before. The way in which we are looking at carbon reduction through careful management of our land is a relatively novel concept in industry, but we now recognise it as a critical tool in the fight against climate change.

The detail and comprehensive nature of the report demonstrates the enormity of the work that was involved in completing the assessment and I would like to recognize the work of the excellent team brought together by Ulster Wildlife as well as our own team in Mannok, Stephen Linden, Oisin Lynch, Lisa Murphy and Michael McGoldrick.

We must and will now take ownership of this report and the actions contained in it. The report is full of very valuable recommendations on what we can practically do over the next 3 – 5 years and beyond to continue enhancing and restoring our land assets, and we are very much committed to delivering on this. We will commit resources, time, people and finances to develop the recommendations.”

Minster for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, Edwin Poots MLA acknowledged the environmental leadership shown by Mannok, commenting, “I commend the action being taken by Mannok in partnership with Ulster Wildlife to produce an action plan for the biodiversity and carbon assets on their land.? This will greatly contribute to The Executive’s Green Growth Strategy and both the Biodiversity Strategy and Peatland Strategy currently being developed.

Putting sustainability at the heart of our economic recovery from Covid-19 is key to creating a resilient economy and healthy environment for all. Green Growth is recognised globally as an approach to achieve economic growth and development while ensuring natural assets continue to provide the resources and environment on which our wellbeing depends. I would like to encourage other businesses to follow Mannok’s example, taking steps such as this will help all of us reap the benefits of our ‘Green Recovery,’ now and in the years to come as we look towards the launch of our ‘Green Growth’ Strategy in 2021.”

The study provides an integrated approach to biodiversity management and reinforces Mannok’s existing ecological assessments, demonstrating that sensitive management of quarry areas and other landholdings has the potential to benefit the variety of wildlife present and assist carbon sequestration (the process of capturing and storing atmospheric carbon).

Jennifer Fulton, CEO of Ulster Wildlife shared further details on the NAAP, saying,“The Natural Assets Action Plan has been completed to the International Union of the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) biodiversity management standards for the cement and aggregates sector.? Responsible industry leaders recognise the importance of safeguarding and positively managing biodiversity in and around their land holdings to demonstrate good land stewardship. Mannok own and manage a significant land portfolio and it is very encouraging to see their interest and intent to maximise the biodiversity and carbon benefits making a positive contribution to global and local environmental challenges.”

Mannok Sustainability Manager, Paul Monaghan, explained how the action plans would form a crucial part of Mannok’s overarching sustainability strategy, which focuses on three key pillars of people, planet and partners. The significant benefit to the local community and Mannok’s commitment to sustainability was acknowledged by Dr. Lisa McIlveen, Deputy MD of Business in the Community, who commented, “It takes a brave organisation to step up and do some of the top things in what it means to be a responsible, sustainable business and that’s why I have to really commend Mannok for doing this piece of work, and also their whole approach to sustainability. There are no ‘no-go’ areas whenever it comes to Mannok discussing what it means to be a sustainable and responsible business. It’s so refreshing for me to work with an organisation that takes that type of approach to sustainability.”

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcement.com/europe-cis/08102021/mannok-launches-natural-assets-action-plans-with-ulster-wildlife/