SES has become the first water company to achieve the Wildlife Trusts’ Biodiversity Benchmark for its environmental protection and enhancement work.
The award was given for a water treatment site in Surrey and the company is working to gain the mark for two further facilities by 2025.
The benchmark is a certification process to help organisations manage land biodiversity and assess their environmental impact.
Achieving the benchmark involved habitat surveys, allowing wildflowers to flourish, installing bird boxes as well as creating homes and food sources for insects.
The site survey at Elmer identified six distinct habitats that support wildlife including dormice, badgers, lizards, slow worms, butterflies and beetles.
Protecting and enhancing biodiversity was a key focus for the company in its 2020-25 business plans and its work continues across its sites to gain certification for Bough Beech Reservoir and Fetcham Springs over the next four years.
SES wholesale director, Tom Kelly, said treating and distributing water should not be incompatible with encouraging biodiversity.
“We are committed to reducing the environmental impact of the essential service we provide and our clear Biodiversity Action Plan, to ensure the careful management of habitats needed for wildlife to thrive, now and in the future, is a great example of this commitment in action.”
Wildlife Trusts commended the company for its work to retain and maintain flower rich grasslands on the treatment site.
The benchmark is open for any business or organisation that manages land.