April 2007
Aggregate Industries signs up to help create Breathing
Places
Aggregates Industries has committed £360,000 to The Wildlife
Trusts over the next three years, in support of the environmental
organisation’s involvement in the BBC Breathing Places
campaign.
The campaign - which generates local action for wildlife - was
launched by the BBC last year following the success of its wildlife
TV programmes, including the hugely popular Springwatch series
which is watched by over 30 million people. With a target to
get one million people off the couch and into their local
environment, the BBC has teamed up with key delivery partners like
The Wildlife Trusts to achieve this.
Aggregate Industries’ funds will help The Wildlife Trusts to
establish coordinators in each of their nine English regions as
well as Scotland, Wales and Ulster to engage with Breathing Places
over the three year campaign, targeting The Trusts’ 670,000
membership base and the wider UK public.
Ben Vivian, Aggregate Industries’ UK CSR Advisor explains,
“Sustainability and the environment is high on our agenda and we
are a committed supporter of conservation.
“Effective management and protection of the environment at a
local level is key, to reduce the environmental impact over the
full life-cycle of our products or services, including the
restoration of extraction areas to high standards. As a
reflection of how we manage our environmental issues, we have a
Business in the Community Corporate Responsibility Index score of
100%, more than 90% of sites are certified to ISO 14001 and have
been producing Sustainability Reports for the last six years.
“Our support of The Wildlife Trusts takes our commitment to a
higher level and ensures we can be directly involved in projects
and with an organisation which provides real value for the
communities in which we operate.”
Stephanie Hilborne, chief executive of The Wildlife Trusts,
says, “Aggregate Industries’ involvement will help to release the
true potential of The Wildlife Trusts to engage people in their
local environment as part of the Breathing Places
campaign.
“We live in a society where many people are in danger of losing
contact with green spaces and the wildlife which lives there.
There is compelling evidence that well-organised activities can
enrich people's lives and their learning. As a lead partner
to the BBC’s Breathing Places we will, with the help of Aggregate
Industries, be able to provide more opportunities for people to
experience local open spaces and enjoy wildlife. The Wildlife
Trusts have unique access to local sites, staff and volunteers with
diverse experience and expertise and a track record of innovative
project development. By providing fresh experiences, and
enabling people to develop a positive relationship with the natural
environment, we create an effective route for learning about how to
protect and sustain it.”