Translink has scooped top marks in the region’s leading environmental benchmarking exercise for the 10th consecutive year.
The Business in the Community NI (BITCNI) Environmental Benchmarking Survey 2024 attracted 132 organisations from numerous industries with 39 organisations achieving coveted top Platinum level.
The findings are used to benchmark, measure progress and drive improvement year-on-year.
Kieran Harding, Managing Director, BITC said: “The Survey is a self-disclosure exercise that offers organisations a way to be externally assessed and scored on their environmental efforts and performance. Participating organisations have access to a Gap Analysis Report to help them to identify areas that need action and highlights where they are performing well, so it’s a comparison tool and real driver for improvement.”
John Thompson, Head of Safety and Corporate Responsibility, Translink said: “We are delighted to have achieved the top-level Platinum award for Business in the Community’s Environmental Benchmarking Survey. Translink has actively participated in this annual survey for 26 years and achieved Platinum level every year from 2015.
“The results of this survey act as a vital tool for comparison and a useful way to help identify areas we can improve our environmental performance as we strive for continual improvement in our efforts to become more sustainable and achieve our Climate Positive goals.”
Translink has ambitious plans to be climate positive by 2050 and help Northern Ireland become more sustainable and a healthier place for all species.
The public transport operator’s leadership in the area of sustainability is evidenced with its roll out of electric and low emission fleets across the region affording passengers cleaner journeys and an enhanced customer experience. Derry-Londonderry is one of the first cities in the UK and Ireland to operate a fully zero emission urban bus service.
Translink has also collaborated with bus manufacturer Wrightbus and a range of stakeholders including energy suppliers, other vehicle manufacturers and universities to develop the region as a centre of excellence for zero-emission technology supporting the local green economy and creating new jobs.
Earlier this year Translink officially launched its new Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan – an ambitious target-driven approach to deliver nature-positive operations across the transport network by 2030.
Closely aligned with Translink’s Climate Positive Strategy, targets outlined in the strategy include achieving a Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) of 10% by 2035 and increasing woodland cover on adjacent Translink landholdings from 14% to at least 30% by 2030.
Translink’s railway corridor alone extends to 462 kilometres of track and 328 route kilometres with a lineside estate of more than 1700 acres. It comprises 54 stations with 700 bridges, 290 culverts, 10 viaducts and three tunnels. In addition, there are over 363 acres of agricultural lands with 39 acres designated as Areas of Special Scientific Interest.
Designed to deliver landscape-wide transformative change, the key areas in the plan are focused on: Nature-based Solutions (NbS), Positive action for pollinators, Quantifying biodiversity change, Invasive Non-Native Species (INNS) and Partnership working and collaboration.
Translink recently secured Platinum level accreditation in BITCNI and Ulster Wildlife’s Business & Diversity Charter – the highest ranking available and only seven organisations in Northern Ireland have achieved it. The Charter recognises organisations that are committed to enhancing and protecting biodiversity and have taken action to address their impact on all living things from habitats to individual organisms.
John added: “Biodiversity Net Gain is not yet mandatory in Northern Ireland but we also want to be leading in this area and will continue to focus on making biodiversity enhancements through habitat change and within infrastructure projects. We are proud to play our part in delivering a cleaner, greener and more sustainable society.”
Discover more from LoveBelfast
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
