'˜Passion to protect our environment' earns platinum

Left to right: Declan Cunningham of Moy Park, David Small from the NI Environment Agency, Elaine Smith of Waste Operations at MEABC and Chris Conway, CEO of Translink and chair of BITC Environment Leadership Team.

The local authority achieved platinum status - the highest scoring level - in this year’s Northern Ireland Environmental Benchmarking Survey.

The survey, which is run by Business in the Community, sponsored by Moy Park and supported by the Department for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency, rewards organisations which are going above and beyond their legal requirements to minimise their environmental impacts and better manage their resources.

Anne Donaghy, MEA chief executive, said: “Council is delighted and proud to have achieved the highest standard that can be awarded for sustainability.

“This reinforces Mid and East Antrim Borough Council’s commitment and passion to sustain, protect and enhance our natural environment, not only safeguarding our built heritage, but driving retail growth and addressing our housing needs.

“Council is committed to creating a vibrant, healthy, prosperous, safe and sustainable communities across our borough as outlined in our Community Plan ‘Putting People First’. The plan puts the onus on all of us to increase awareness, promote positive attitudes and take actions to achieve a clean, protected and vibrant environment.

“I wish to commend the hard work of Council staff and volunteers who have helped achieve this fantastic accolade.

A total of 90 organisations took part in the survey, achieving an average score of 77%.

David Small, chief executive NIEA, said: “It’s encouraging to see so many organisations demonstrating their commitment to improving environmental performance. The survey is a powerful driver of this, and the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs is delighted to support this initiative.

“The results clearly show that consistency is key, with repeat participants achieving year-on-year improvements in their scores. I’d like to congratulate all of this year’s participants. By taking part in this survey, you are publicly committing to improving environmental performance within your own organisation, and helping the wider business community to identify further opportunities for improved efficiencies.”

For more information and to keep up to date go to www.midandeastantrim.gov.uk