Mid and East Antrim Borough Council recognised through Northern Ireland environmental action report
Monday 25 November 2024
Over 130 of Northern Ireland’s most sustainable organisations were revealed at an event to announce the results of the 2024 Northern Ireland Environmental Benchmarking Survey, organised by responsible business network Business in the Community (BITC).
Business in the Community NI’s annual NI Environmental Benchmarking Survey results have been released at an event at Titanic Belfast attended by over 200 sustainability professionals.
Over 130 Northern Ireland organisations from a range of sectors declared the measures they take to improve the environment and their emissions. The findings are used to benchmark, measure progress, and drive improvements year-on-year.
Mid and East Antrim Borough Council achieved Platinum in the 2024 Northern Ireland Environmental Benchmarking Survey.
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.”
“As a council we continually review and monitor what we do and look for innovative ways to reduce our impact on the environment. We embed sustainability principles through ongoing training, education and awareness raising with Elected Members, senior management and staff. We are committed to reducing environmental impacts and improving our performance. We continue to reduce our operational carbon footprint to deliver both our sustainability duty and to meet targets set out in the Climate Change (NI) Act 2022.” Shaun Morley, Director of Operations.
132 NI-based organisations from sectors including: General Manufacturing; Local Authority; Education; Utilities; Construction; ICT; and Food and Drink took part in the Survey, with 39 organisations achieving coveted top Platinum level.
On some of the findings from the Survey, Keelin McCone, Head of Environment, BITC said: “We can see that businesses in NI recognise that an increase in the likelihood of extreme weather events due to climate change poses significant challenges to operations, supply chains, and long-term financial stability.
“The Survey highlighted that at least 89% of companies have identified climate risks to their business and just over half of organisations who took part in the Survey have mitigation plans in place.
“Biodiversity is being considered too, with 65% of businesses reporting that they have taken action to improve their impacts by making biodiversity a fundamental element in their ESG strategy. They’re making a difference along the value chain too, by engaging with sub-contractors, the local community, and schools, to clean up local green areas, provide bird boxes, planters, soil and wildflower seeds.”
To download the full Report and see a full list of who participated, visit visit the Business in the Community Northern Ireland website.