Biodiversity
Biodiversity Action Plans

Aggregate Industries UK Biodiversity Action Plan

As a custodian of some of the best wildlife sites in the country, the quarrying industry has a vital role in maintaining and improving biodiversity - a fact increasingly recognised by individual member companies. Aggregate Industries has been quick to get to grips with the challenge, being the first minerals company to publish its own Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) in March 2002. Two years in the making and covering 170 sites across the UK, the plan is a culmination of extensive research and consultation with bodies such as English Nature and the RSPB.

"We wanted to make sure we came up with a strategy for nature conservation across the UK that would fit well with the ethos of company as well as the minerals industry" says landscape architect, Gail Chambers. "The plan is very much a 'living document', which we aim to develop as we learn from our work."

A copy of the Aggregate Industries UK BAP can be downloaded from their website at:

www.aggregate-uk.com then follow the environment links. It details their nationwide commitment to biodiversity in the following key areas:

• Management of designated sites
• Management of priority habitats and species
• Site planning, restoration and aftercare
• Internal education
• External education and partnership

"We are committed to making a lasting contribution to biodiversity," says Miles Watkins, head of quality and environment at Aggregate Industries. "This might be through larger projects such as the nature reserves at Holme Park, or by making small but significant changes to how a patch of grassland is maintained. We are looking at a fundamental change to the way our land is managed. This won't happen overnight but, with our plan now in place, we can make great strides to achieving our goal."