Mace to provide major biodiversity boost through new partnership with Lancashire Wildlife Trust

Mace, the global consultancy and construction company, has today announced a new partnership with Lancashire Wildlife Trust to restore 157 hectares of Greater Manchester’s historic lowland mosslands, which will see the habitats of many endangered and rare species of plants and animals repaired. 

According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report 2022, biodiversity loss is one of the biggest dangers we face today. It is essential that action is taken to protect, restore, and enhance the environment, and to ensure biodiversity is given a platform alongside climate change. 

Under the new partnership, Mace will provide funding, expertise on nature-based solutions and staff to volunteer on the restoration of biodiversity as part of the Maximising Manchester’s Mosslands project. 

With 98% of the region’s lowland raised bog habitats having been lost through drainage for peat extraction or through conversion to agriculture, the remaining isolated areas of mossland are in urgent need of repair. 

The work will focus on the Great Manchester Wetlands Nature Improvement Area on behalf of the Great Manchester Wetlands project partners and will include scrub and invasive species management – where those plants which, if left unchecked, would outcompete the natural mossland plants are removed. 

Native plants such as sphagnum mosses, cotton grasses and heathers will be planted to bolster the flora which wildlife, such as the bog bush cricket, large heath butterfly and common lizards, depend upon.

It is hoped the project will also help to recreate a habitat suitable for the reintroduction of the locally extinct white-face darter dragonfly, an indicator of a healthy mossland and once a common sight in the Greater Manchester mosslands. A feasibility study on has been carried out by the partnership which has identified what is required to ensure a successful reintroduction of the species, those findings have fed into the project design.

Mace’s new partnership with Lancashire Wildlife Trust will bring the consultancy and construction firm another step closer to its 2026 Business Strategy ambition to create 500 hectares of biodiversity gain.  

Mace recently published its second annual ESG Report which details the business’s performance against our Environmental, Social and Governance objectives. The report revealed the business was net neutral carbon for the second year running, reducing overall emissions by 11.6% against its 2020 baseline and offsetting more than 12,000 tonnes of carbon with gold-standard offset schemes around the world.  

Mark Holmes, Deputy Chairman of Mace, said:

“Mace is determined to be part of the solution to the climate challenge and is investing in nature’s recovery all over the world. 

“This new partnership, focussing on the historic mosslands of Greater Manchester, represents a significant milestone for us as we work toward our ambition to deliver 500 hectares of biodiversity gain by 2026.”

Neil Sheriff, Biodiversity Lead at Mace, said: 

“Every living creature on our planet is impacted by climate change which is why Mace aspires to lead the industry’s response by investing in nature’s recovery through the delivery of 500 hectares of biodiversity gain by 2026. 

“This new partnership with Lancashire Wildlife Trust is an exciting and promising example of how we can promote biodiversity recovery to create a more sustainable world.”

Great Manchester Wetlands Partnership Co-ordinator, Jo Kennedy, said: 

“The Maximising Manchester’s Mosslands project is amazing news for our mosslands. Not only do these habitats provide homes for lots of rare and specialised wildlife, but they can also store huge amounts of carbon, and provide vital green spaces for our communities. 

“Our mosslands used to be bursting with life, but hundreds of years of drainage and degradation has left them as either green arable deserts, or black desiccated wastelands. Without our help many of these habitats simply wouldn’t recover, so by committing to this five-year project Mace are really showing that they care about wildlife, people and our planet.”