Should your Business be More Aware of Biodiversity? 

When considering the numerous concerns your business may face every day, the biodiversity of the local ecosystem may not seem like an obvious one to be on the list.  However, as with almost every issue related to the ecology and sustainability of our environment, biodiversity is rapidly rising in the precedence that governments and subsequently businesses are placing on it.  Awareness is on the rise not only amongst professionals and those in the echelons of power, but general consumers are paying more attention to these matters as well and in some cases making choices where issues of sustainability are a key factor.

What is biodiversity?

To ensure that all readers are clear on the terminology, biodiversity is a term that relates to the variety of organisms in a specific environment.  This is made up of plants and animals all varieties from grass, flowers and trees, insects, birds and mammals, everything is relevant.  There are some plants and animals that are more key to certain aspects of an ecosystem than others, but biodiversity is looking at the larger picture – encouraging more plants and animals to live an flourish in a certain area and in greater varieties.

Why does biodiversity matter?

There are a lot of answers to this question; but on a simple level, biodiversity is important as it is key to helping us sustain our environment and planet for the future.  To break this down, we cannot really move animal species around with any real ease and we certainly would struggle to force them to settle in a specific location, as such we can plant the correct trees to encourage more diverse insect life to inhabit the ares.  This in turn will bring animals that feed on insects such as birds and small mammals and these will be followed by larger mammals that feed on these.  All of this is important as it helps perpetuate the natural cycles of the planet.  Insects and mammals are natural pollinators for the plants, and the more plants that are spreading throughout an area, then the greater the variety of species that will be drawn to the area in the first place.  This is not only beneficial for humans as the more plants there are then the better the CO2 and Oxygen balances will be, but there are also numerous benefits for the agricultural industry as well as other factors.

What does my business have to do with this?

Maybe nothing, but maybe an awful lot.  Those businesses that are responsible for building and landscaping can make a huge impact on the biodiversity of their local environments.  For example, rather than simply paving an unused area, installing a small pond or trees can instantly boost the potential for biodiversity – an oak tree for example can sustain around 200 different insect species.  If you have a single business decision relating to an outside space, it is definitely worth getting a biodiversity assessment consultation for your plans to assess the impact it will have on the local ecosystem.  This is also a fantastic point to promote, if your business is seen to care and promote values of sustainability and

biodiversity then you will not only be ahead of the competition, you stand a very good chance of seeing a lot of positive press in return.