20th March 2026
The Southern Health and Social Care Trust is the first Trust in Northern Ireland to be awarded a Business and Biodiversity Charter.
Business in the Community in partnership with Ulster Wildlife, delivers the Charter as a framework to help organisations to engage with biodiversity.
Biodiversity is the variety of life on earth, including animals, plants, insects and how they live together in nature.
The Trust has achieved bronze level for taking active steps in improving its environmental impact and commitment to increasing biodiversity. A procedure is now in place to increase staff awareness, and training available to encourage biodiversity both in work and at home.
Some examples of biodiversity in action across the Trust include; installing bird nesting boxes, working with the Woodland Trust to plant 3,000 trees at St Luke’s Hospital, supporting ‘no mow may,’ the Lurgan Hospital garden project, identifying areas (e.g. South Tyrone Hospital) where we can mow grass less to grow wildflowers, and the planting of the sunflower field on the Bannvale site by staff and service users which the whole community enjoyed.
The Southern Trust, Director of Finance and Estates, Catherine Marks said:
“As such large organisation with thousands of staff and huge estate, we are keen to support a healthcare system that prioritises our people and the environment.
“I commend the estates team and staff right across our organisation who despite all of the other challenges in their working day, are dedicated to developing a more sustainable organisation. Some of the projects introduced in our drive towards biodiversity have brought great enjoyment to staff and service users, getting them outdoors and in touch with nature. As well as supporting the environmental, they have offered great health and wellbeing benefits for example our lovely outdoor, green areas for patients, visitors and staff to use for exercise, rest and recovery. 
“This bronze charter demonstrates and assures patients, clients, visitors and staff, of the Trust’s commitment to improving our environment. Now that we have achieved this first step, we look forward to progressing to silver status with continued development of our sustainability strategy, reducing our carbon footprint and promoting a greener future for our local population.”
For more information go to: Business & Biodiversity Charter | Business in the Community NI