LJMU Biodiversity Delivery Plan 2025-2030
Foreword
A foreword from Phil Vickerman, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Student Experience and strategic lead for Liverpool John Moores University’s Climate and Sustainability Plan.
As the university’s representative for the LJMU Climate and Sustainability Plan on our Executive Leadership Team, I am proud to introduce LJMU’s first ever Biodiversity Delivery Plan 2025-2030.
The Biodiversity Delivery Plan was commissioned in 2024 as part of our effort to address the climate emergency, and more specifically our institutional impact on local wildlife and the biodiversity value of our estate. The Delivery Plan soon became more than that, seeking to follow a holistic approach to external estate management which considers wildlife, social value and climate resilience.
This plan represents a strong and steady commitment to enhance the university estate’s biodiversity value over the next five years, targeting three key themes of habitat quality, green space provision and climate resilience. Furthermore, it reaches beyond our estate and into our community, with the aim of encouraging a wider green and blue corridor through heart of Liverpool that contributes to the National Education Nature Park and the future Local Nature Recovery Strategy for the Liverpool City Region.
Our Biodiversity Delivery Plan not only offers benefits to wildlife but to our students as well. By offering numerous opportunities to conduct species surveys it can help them to develop in-demand skills for use in the consultancy, wildlife charity and research spheres; whilst the data collected during the monitoring of this plan will be invaluable in contributing to new and existing research projects around urban ecology and the Biodiversity Net Gain approach.
We have already started to make meaningful progress through the installation of new green walls at Byrom Street, hedgehog housing across campus, pollinator friendly planting at Tithebarn Building, and the planting of five native trees across our estate. Furthermore, we have a number of works planned for the upcoming year which will have a high impact across the estate including the installation of permeable paving areas at Byrom Street, the planting of 420 native tree saplings, the installation of bat and bird boxes, and soil improvements near the Education Building, to name but a few.
I am excited to see what comes next and welcome the opportunity for LJMU to thrive in partnership with biodiversity.
Vision Statement
Biodiversity is on the front line of climate change, it bears the burden of mankind’s choices (conscious or otherwise), for better or worse. We must be its partner in becoming more resilient to the changing climate.
LJMU will contribute towards nature recovery in the Liverpool City Region whilst providing wellbeing opportunities for our university community. This will be achieved through targeted actions to improve the university’s support for nature recovery and climate resilience using a cross-disciplinary approach that considers not just biodiversity, but carbon, water, air quality and innovative engineering solutions.
Introduction
In 2020 LJMU declared a climate emergencyi and set up a working group to produce and deliver our Climate Action Plan (2022)ii. The LJMU Climate Action Plan made a commitment to increase species diversity across our estate by 2035 which has led to the development of this Biodiversity Delivery Plan. This plan lays out our approach to meeting this commitment, and the ways we are going to measure our performance against this target. This plan serves our Strategy 2030 iii – via the Climate Action Plan – by contributing to a way of living and being that advances a sustainable and prosperous future for people and planet, whilst weaving in elements of the Strategy’s aims such as:
Training students in professional survey techniques and providing opportunities for surveying experience (Education and Student Experience);
Providing further local opportunities for research into biodiversity initiatives in the urban environment (Research and Knowledge Exchange); and
Working with regional partners to deliver meaningful, strategic change for biodiversity, and work with local educational settings to educate and inspire children and young people around the topic of biodiversity (Place and Partnership).
Liverpool City Region (LCR) was built upon vast areas of mudflats, saltmarsh, woodland, fens and peat bog iv , that have all been engineered over the years to provide a hub for industry to thrive, and to house those that powered it. As with the rest of the UK, this did not come without its costs.
Since 1980, 42% of the UK’s pollinators have become less widespread and 24% of pollinator populations are in strong declinev In general, across all species, UK birds have seen a 15% decline since 1970, with 6% of this decline being observed 2017 – 2022 vi . This is not an isolated phenomenon and can been seen across a wide variety of UK species. An accurate account of the loss of vital priority habitats such as woodland and meadows, have not yet been quantified on a national scale vii , however, one thing is clear – biodiversity is suffering from the long-standing impacts of urbanisation, industrialisation, agricultural management and general pollution in ways that we are only now coming to truly understand.
The above factors alongside lifestyle changes have contributed to climate change, with global surface temperatures increasing by +1.1°C (1850 – 1900 to 2011 – 2020). Extremes in weather and climate have already started to lead to adverse impacts on the natural environment and people. Climate change adaptation is now becoming essential if we are to protect our environment, effective examples of which include: community-based adaption, sustainable land management and general approaches that work with natural processes such as ecosystem-based adaptation. Ecosystem-based adaptation can be effective in flood-risk alleviation and reduction in urban heat island effect, one such approach to this is urban greeningviii
Today the LCR contains heavily engineered port-land, grey cityscapes, and extensive suburban areas, as well as some beautiful and beloved green and blue spaces which service its community and wildlife. These strongholds of green and blue form opportunities for a new starting point for the region, providing glimmers of hope and inspiration for local nature recovery. We believe LJMU can play our part by contributing to local nature recovery through the application of urban greening and changes in grounds maintenance practices.
This plan is written in anticipation of the arrival of the Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS) for the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority (LCRCA), with the hope of broadly aligning to key themes that may emerge within the LNRS.
Our Estate
The LJMU estate largely lies within the heart of the city centre – although this might set some limitations on our estate assets (such as urban location, current and future use, and decarbonisation requirements) it presents exciting opportunities to not only make the most of what we have, but to also green our existing hard assets using innovative approaches so the benefits are visible to many across the city.
Compared to hardstanding and building assets (approximately 8.32 ha or 83224m 2), LJMU has marginally more soft estate (approximately 8.53ha or 85305m 2) comprising woodland, allotments, grassland, vacant land, shrub beds and individual trees. Our estate is also home to two green roofs totalling approximately 1.3% of roof cover on our buildings, and a brand-new green wall installation (completed in September 2024) covering approximately 108m 2 at Byrom Street, City Campus – equivalent to +0.3% in green infrastructure at Byrom Street (with adjusted surface area considered on the vertical axis).
For the purposes of this plan and the associated biodiversity enhancements and local habitat connectivity initiatives, the LJMU estate should be considered as six key delivery areas, excluding leased properties. Details of these locations along with a visual representation of their hard and soft assets is provided overleaf, alongside a breakdown of these areas and their current estimated baseline values in terms of biodiversity units – a biodiversity unit is a measure of the ecological value of a particular habitat that is derived from Natural England’s Biodiversity Metric Calculation Tool 4.0ix.
The IM Marsh campus has not been considered as a part of this plan due to the intention to dispose of this asset.
Copperas
Hill Delivery Area (Phases 1, 2 and 3)
The Copperas Hill delivery area is considered to have a value of 2.08 biodiversity units for its habitats and an additional 1.52 biodiversity units for its individual trees – a total of 3.61 biodiversity units overall.
Key
1 – Copperas Hill delivery area (Phases 1, 2 and 3) covers a total area of 27463m 2 comprising 12800m2 or 46.6 % cover of green and brown space (soft permeable landscaping) and 14663m2 or 53.4% of hard impermeable features.
Brownlow Hill Delivery Area (Redmonds Building and John Lennon Art and Design Building)
The Brownlow Hill delivery area is considered to have a value of 1.84 biodiversity units for its habitats and an additional 3.00 biodiversity units for its individual trees – a total of 4.84 biodiversity units overall.
Key
Figure 2 – Brownlow Hill delivery area (Redmonds Building and John Lennon Art and Design Building) covers a total area of 13886m 2 comprising 6017m2 or 43.3 % cover of green and brown space (soft permeable landscaping), 453m2 or 3.3% of formal green infrastructure and 7416m 2 or 53.4% of hard impermeable features.
Byrom Street and Soho Street Delivery Area
The Byrom Street and Soho Street delivery area is considered to have a value of 1.80 biodiversity units for its habitats and an additional 1.88 biodiversity units for its individual trees – a total of 3.68 biodiversity units overall.
Key
Figure 3 – Byrom Street and Soho Street delivery area covers a total area of 37032m 2 comprising 5674m2 or 15.3 % cover of green and brown space (soft permeable landscaping), 121m2 or 0.3% of formal green infrastructure and 31237m2 or 84.4% of hard impermeable features.
Mount Pleasant Delivery Area (John Foster, Rodney Street and Egerton Court)
The Mount Pleasant delivery area is considered to have a value of 0.97 biodiversity units for its habitats and an additional 10.14 biodiversity units for its individual trees – a total of 11.11 biodiversity units overall.
Key
4 – Mount Pleasant delivery area (John Foster, Rodney Street and Egerton Court) covers a total area of 23862m 2 comprising 4751m2 or 19.9 % cover of green and brown space (soft permeable landscaping) and 19111m 2 or 80.1% of hard impermeable features.
City Campus – Other (Tithebarn, Henry Cotton, Great Crosshall Street and Orchard Car Park)
The City Campus – Other delivery area is considered to have a value of 0.56 biodiversity units for its habitats and an additional 2.31 biodiversity units for its individual trees – a total of 2.87 biodiversity units overall.
Key
Figure 5 -City Campus – Other delivery area (Tithebarn, Henry Cotton, Great Crosshall Street and Orchard Car Park) covers a total area of 13705m2 comprising 2917m2 or 21.3 % cover of green and brown space (soft permeable landscaping) and 10787m 2 or 78.7% of hard impermeable features.
FL Calder
The FL Calder delivery area is considered to have a value of 26.49 biodiversity units overall, all trees present are part of a woodland habitat type rather than individual trees.
Key
Figure 6 – FL Calder delivery area covers a total area of 52573m2 comprising 100 % cover of green and brown space (soft permeable landscaping); there are no formal Green Infrastructure features or hard impermeable surfaces.
Local Context
The LJMU estate resides within the Merseyside Conurbation National Character Area (NCA), whose profile details four Statements of Environmental Opportunity (SEOs), three of which feature proposals that strongly support the aims of this plan:
‘SEO2 Provide a network of green infrastructure to create a high-quality urban environment that underpins economic and social wellbeing, improves resilience to climate change, supports biodiversity, and provides recreational and educational opportunities.
SEO3 Plan to connect habitats across the urban fabric, creating corridors and stepping-stones for wildlife, to enhance the landscape, create local routes for walking and cycling, and provide accessible natural greenspaces for people close to where they live and work.
SEO4 Provide opportunities for people to understand the natural… character of the Merseyside Conurbation NCA… providing opportunities for recreation and interpretation and enabling people to access and enjoy the distinctive environment.’x
Key themes running throughout the SEOs are:
Biodiversity and wellbeing-centric thinking;
Improving and increasing green space provision through better management practices, tree planting and education; and
Improving the accessibility of green spaces for the user, be that people or wildlife.
The SEOs detailed above provide a firm basis of regional support at a landscape scale for many of the proposals outlined in this plan.
Additional local context for some of the proposals within this plan will become apparent at the publication of the new LNRS for LCRCA. LJMU has been involved in the development of the LNRS predominantly through an advisory capacity via our Natural Capital Hub, involvement in the LCR Nature Connected Board and local stakeholder workshops. We are thrilled to have been invited on the journey to deliver the LNRS and eagerly anticipate its arrival and what it will mean for biodiversity across the LCR.
Our Approach
Under this plan, we will focus on the delivery of improved habitat quality, with secondary benefits achieved for green space provision and climate resilience where practicable. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and Performance Indicators (PIs) are detailed for each under the relevant theme.
The delivery of performance indicators can be found in greater detail in Appendix A, as well as a decision tree for prioritising biodiverse enhancements, green infrastructure and climate resilience measures through our minor and capital works programmes (see Appendix B ).
Habitat Quality
Not all habitats are considered to be of equal value, therefore in 2024, LJMU undertook a baselining exercise to establish the current biodiversity value of the estate. This was undertaken using the Natural England Biodiversity Metric 4.0 tool ix in conjunction with the UK Habitat Classification System 2.0 xi – both are the most current versions of each system at the time of writing (hereafter they are respectively referred to as the ‘Metric’ and ‘UK Hab’). Biennial tree survey data (2024) for the estate was utilised to quantify biodiversity units for individual, groups and lines of trees across the campus which did not meet the criteria for a woodland habitat.
This approach to habitat baselining was chosen due to its compatibility with new planning stipulations on Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) which have come into effect in the UK from 2024, whereby developments requiring planning permission will have to show 10% net gain in biodiversity units (from the baseline) xii
During the habitat baselining exercise, areas for potential improvements were identified and the feasibility of such improvements explored. A consultant-led exercise is being undertaken to explore the feasibility of delivering the
proposed biodiversity management and resilience initiatives and provide a timeline for the next 10 years for these measures being implemented. Consideration will be given to providing a balance between biodiversity, green space provision for outdoor wellbeing opportunities, and climate resilience measures such as green and blue infrastructure.
In addition to general habitat surveys, baselining of target species will be conducted in 2025 following the designing of a robust surveying strategy that will allow for consistent annual monitoring and research outputs. Anticipated methodologies for surveying are as detailed in Appendix C
Commitments
We will aim to increase species richness across our estate by:
Adding new habitats and additional functionality to existing habitats.
We will increase the quality of habitat available across our estate by:
Changing management practices and maintenance regimes, targeting specific habitat structures, conditions and types.
We will deliver an increase in biodiversity units across the estate by:
Enhancing the condition of existing habitats with respect to the Metric condition assessment criteria; or
Replacing existing low-value habitats with higher-value habitats where appropriate.
Targets
Aim to increase combined species richness (across all target groups and species) by +10% by 2030, against a 2025 baseline.
We will aim to manage all our habitats towards ‘Good’ condition, as described in the Natural England condition assessment criteria xiii
Deliver an increase in connectivity through use of appropriate vegetation height (considered to be 1.5m, or higher where safety considerations allow): +5% per annum across all delivery areas where practicable, with an average of +5% across the whole estate; equivalent to 27.6% improvement across the delivery period.
Deliver an increase in functionality for biodiversity by adding advantageous structure to existing green and brown space habitats: +5% per annum across all delivery areas where practicable, with an average of +5% across the whole estate; equivalent to 27.6% improvement across the delivery period.
Monitoring the Wider Impact of our Biodiversity Initiatives
In order to confirm the uptake of the soft estate by target indicator species, there will be a focus on the use of citizen science as well as novel and innovative surveying techniques – by students and staff – in order to monitor indicator species and their population dynamics within the habitats. We will monitor the wider impact of our biodiversity initiatives by working in collaboration with the School of Biological and Environmental Sciences to study the impacts of the initiatives. The benefits of this approach will be threefold:
Verification of a habitat’s success in increasing biodiversity beyond that of plant communities;
Improving student experience by providing real-life ecological work experience to support future job applications; and
Providing research material for BNG related projects.
A total of seven species or groups of species have been selected which are considered to be indicative of good ecosystem health and also of general biodiversity-based improvements in an urban environment. LJMU will conduct annual monitoring of the following species groups:
Bird species;
Pollinators; and
Bats.
The same annual monitoring will take place for what we will consider to be our core target species:
House sparrow Passer domesticus;
Hedgehog Erinaceus europaeus;
Ashy mining bee Andrena cineraria; and
Hairy-footed flower bee Anthophora plumipes
Green Space Provision
The majority of the LJMU estate falls within a very urban landscape, as such it has been shaped by local aesthetics over the years. The need for green infrastructure in the urban environment is becoming increasingly pressing not only to help create ecological stepping-stones across a greyed landscape, but to provide benefits like localised cooling, reduced rainwater run-off and improved mental and physical wellbeing.
Access to green space is becoming well-known for its wellbeing benefits – both physical and mental. It is estimated that up to £2.1billion in healthcare costs could be saved annually if everyone in England had quality access to green spaces, this is due to the inferred potential for increases in physical activity for the population xiv . It is becoming welldocumented that there are positive associations between green space availability and perceived mental health and general healthxv; with evidence linked specifically to urban green space exposure with regards to improvements in mood, attention span and physical activityxvi
We now know that green space can improve social cohesion, promote healthy behaviours, develop skill sets and reduce potential harm from local environmental factors such as the urban heat island effect, air pollution and noise pollutionvii
We currently have a limited amount of formal green infrastructure on our estate, with a large proportion of more generic green spaces (in the city centre) being formal lawns and shrub beds. There is potential to enhance these spaces by improving the sense of accessibility and tranquillity, and by making them into more immersive habitats.
Commitments
We will aim to increase green space availability across our estate by
Actively monitoring changes in the provision, distribution and proportion of our green, brown and grey spaces on an annual basis; and
Taking action to safeguard important spaces.
We will aim to increase engagement of students and staff in the use of green space across our campus by:
Seeking to understand the current usage of our green spaces both temporally and geographically in order to deliver targeted actions for green space provision and enhancements as required.
We will aim to increase engagement of the local community in the use of the FL Calder delivery area by:
Resolving land ownership discussions with Liverpool City Council to formally register the woodland under LJMU ownership.
Working to design and deliver a long-term plan for the development of community biodiversity initiatives at FL Calder, which consider societal needs and health and wellbeing benefits.
Target
All minor and capital works will make use of the ‘Priorities Decision Tree’ ( Appendix B ) to identify potential opportunities for green space provision.
Establish a baseline for green space usage by 2026/27.
All extensive biodiversity-orientated projects will have visible information boards or a QR code to communicate the benefits of the project to the community.
RIBA Stage 2 design for FL Calder will be commissions in 2025/26.
Climate Resilience
Extreme weather events have the potential to cause damage to our estate, be this through extremes of temperature, rainfall, storm events or drought. When we couple this with the risks biodiversity faces from extreme weather events, pollution from poor air quality and surface runoff, it becomes apparent that a degree of resilience to abrupt changes in our environment is needed. This resilience is essential in order to safeguard our soft estate assets (and hard features), and therefore the biodiversity that is and may come to be present within and on them.
One benefit of choosing nature-based solutions such as green infrastructure, is that its biodiversity value can be calculated as part of the Metric. The Metric has provision for calculating the value of a number of infrastructure types including green roofs, green walls, rain garden, bioswales and other types of SuDS – the biodiversity value of the estate and the amount of green and blue infrastructure present are good indicators for climate resilience.
Another way we can assign value to our climate resilient assets is through the use of Natural Capital calculations. Natural Capital is an accounting of the value of the ecosystem services something provides us, such as:
Noise regulation;
Air quality regulation;
Flood regulation;
Local climate (urban heat island effect) regulation; and
Access to green spaces.
Commitments
We will work towards understanding the natural capital value of our estate in order to quantify the value of the ecosystem services our estate provides by:
Working with the Natural Capital Hub to attribute a financial value to biodiversity initiatives, to support funding bids for future biodiverse minor works and capital projects.
We will seek to improve the climate resilience of our estate and contribute to pollution reduction through smart design choices, considering implementation of green infrastructure and sustainable drainage options by:
Implementing formal green and blue infrastructure in appropriate settings.
Greening our buildings through new or retrofitted green roofs and walls – we have started a phased approach to greening of Byrom Street delivery area and will use this as a case study for further greening of hard features across our estate.
Reducing impermeable surface area through suitable permeable replacements – most areas of our estate are considered at risk of some degree of surface water flooding xvii .
We will educate our Estate Development team on Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS), their design principles and benefits.
Introducing individual trees to improve shading and assist with localised cooling in warmer periods.
Using resilient species mixes that prioritise native planting and plants of local provenance (origin) where practicable. We will interrogate the best options for planting on a site-by-site basis to ensure longevity of any planting that is introduced or enhanced.
Using planting that has co-benefits such as localised reduction in air pollution and/or providing pollinator food supplies and habitat.
We will work towards understanding our estate’s carbon sequestration potential and the opportunities this provides for quantifying our true carbon footprint by:
Working with the Natural Capital Hub to calculate a carbon sequestration baseline for the estate and opportunities for enhancing sequestration through the delivery of biodiversity initiatives.
We will aim to increase green infrastructure provision across our estate by:
Actively monitoring changes in the provision, distribution and proportion of our green, brown and grey infrastructure on an annual basis; and
Taking action to safeguard green and brown infrastructure.
Target
All minor and capital works will make use of the ‘Priorities Decision Tree’ ( Appendix B ) to determine the best approach towards climate resilience.
Baseline the natural capital value in 2024/25
Develop a methodology for improving NCV score year on year and implement it before 2030.
Cross-cutting Themes
It is anticipated that there will be interactions with some existing plans and activities across the institution as follows.
Climate Action Plan
The delivery of this plan falls under the Campus Management theme of our Climate Action Plan (2022 – 2035) under action CM9:
Phase 1 (2022 – 2024) of CM9 was the commissioning of a biodiversity delivery plan by 2024.
Phase 2 (2025 – 2027) aims to enhance campus biodiversity and develop community biodiversity initiatives within the FL Calder delivery area, which is located near Calderstones Park in south Liverpool.
Phase 3 (2028 – 2031) and Phase 4 (2023 -2035) had no specific actions allocated for CM9.
Carbon Management
Soft Action 31 of the Carbon Management Plan involves the exploration of the carbon sequestration potential of the estate via liaison with our Natural Capital Hub, with a focus on potential tree planting. The requirements of the Carbon Management Plan have been considered under the ‘Climate Resilience’ theme of this plan, and any carbon sequestration investigations will be considered through the implementation of biodiversity initiatives.
Active and Sustainable Travel
It is anticipated that this plan will interact with the Active and Sustainable Travel Plan with regards to the placement and potential greening of external infrastructure. An emphasis will be placed on preserving or enhancing habitat where active and sustainable travel requirements increase, as there are obvious co-benefits to active travel in a greener environment.
Sustainability Communications and Engagement Plan
This plan will regularly interact with the Sustainability Communications and Engagement workstream under the Climate Acton Plan in order to promote biodiversity-led initiatives.
Outdoor Learning and Recreation
We have several courses throughout the university that are increasingly making use of the outdoor learning opportunities our campus can currently provide. We also have staff and student growing groups for those wanting to grow their own food or practice their hand at gardening.
In 2022 with the help of Mersey Forest, we started to grow our Forest School at the John Lennon Art and Design site. The aim was to create a valuable inner-city outdoor learning resource for our local community, and for our students that are learning to diversify their future practices to provide enhanced wellbeing benefits for those they work with.
In addition to this, we established four wildlife garden outdoor labs and a small woodland area at our Byrom Street campus, all of which are used to teach surveying skills to our students in the School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, as well as providing valuable research outputs. Byrom Street also hosts a herb garden which is used by our Nutrition programme for their studies.
There is an ambition across our faculties to provide further outdoor learning opportunities for our students and local community, an ambition which goes hand in hand with this plan.
Governance
The approval route for this plan is via the Climate and Sustainability Group prior to presentation to the Executive Leadership Team with the recommendation that all proposed measures are subject to individual business cases.
Rigorous oversite of the Plan will be required if meaningful progress is to be made. The Campus Management Group which oversees all campus related workstreams in the Climate Action Plan was established in 2023. The group, which meets every six weeks, is chaired by the Director of Estate Development, and will have responsibility for delivery and regular monitoring of the plan including the overarching biodiversity performance indicators.
A quarterly progress and risk report will be presented to the Campus Management Group and escalation will be via the Climate and Sustainability Group. Detailed business cases for major projects such as relandscaping projects will be submitted to Capital Committee for budget and financial approval, and regular updates will be provided to the Estates Finance Group, chaired by the Director of Finance and Chief Operating Officer to ensure costs are monitored and managed and considered in the annual budget cycle.
Conclusion
The purpose of this plan is to provide a five-year framework for LJMU towards a more biodiverse and green estate, that contributes to local nature recovery. It considers the necessity to be collaborative with our peers and neighbours across the LCR in order to have a meaningful impact, as well as taking bold, new decisions in the management of our green, brown and grey external space that question the norm of what is considered suitable grounds maintenance.
The outputs of this plan will seek to reframe the way LJMU considers its landscaping, opting for wilder, biodiverse and immersive habitat rather than manicured. It will embed biodiversity at the heart of our grounds maintenance procedures, and will take biodiversity out into the local community so that all can benefit from more biodiverse green spaces.
This plan identifies a strong starting point to delivering BNG and improvements in species richness, and in preparation for the next five-year plan in 2031, strives to trial projects and practices to improve our climate resilience and green space provision.
Together, with our staff and students we will upskill, improve our knowledge and help our local wildlife thrive.
Glossary
Green Infrastructure – the green features within our environment that can provide environmental benefits and contribute to quality of life.
Climate Resilience – the ability to prepare for, recover from and adapt to climate-based impacts.
Green Roof (Intensive) – a high-maintenance green roof that has been designed as a garden or park, and contains trees, shrubs, grasses and perennials.
Green Roof (Biodiverse) – an extensive green roof that is designed for biodiversity and that includes deeper substrate of varying depth, that supports a wide range of sedum and grassland wildflower species.
Green Roof (Extensive) – a roof or deck that has intentional vegetation growth and/or established habitats for wildlife.
Green Wall (Façade-bound) – plants growing in a façade-bound substrate such as specialist textiles or containers.
Green Wall (Ground-based) – climbing plants trained to grow up the feature, in an ornamental or food production capacity.
Natural Capital – those elements of the natural environment which provide valuable goods and services to people, such as the stock of forests, water, land, minerals and oceans xviii
Pollinators – in the context of this plan, invertebrate species that transfer pollen between plants and passively assist in plant reproduction.
Soft estate – the parts of the estate that are formed of green, blue and brown spaces, typically vegetated and made up of habitats that are permeable and allow rainwater to drain naturally into the ground.
Species richness – the number of different species present.
Species abundance – the number of individuals of a single species found in a set area i.e. the ‘count’.
SuDS – Sustainable Drainage Systems, a type of green or blue infrastructure.
Urban Heat Island – highly built-up urban environments with limited greenery, which have a relatively higher temperature compared to outlying areas that may be less built-up and be more vegetated.
Appendix A – Delivery of KPIs and Supporting PIs
Habitat Quality: We will aim to increase species richness across our estate.
B1.1 Encourage hedgehogs to inhabit our estate.
Actions:
Explore options for changes in management and setting aside habitat for hedgehogs on our estate.
Explore potential for enrolling in SOS-UK Hedgehog Friendly Campus programme based on staff and student interest levels.
Target / KPI:
Install 8no. hedgehog houses across campus and monitor uptake by hedgehogs.
Include hedgehog friendly provisions in annual plans.
Target Date: 2025/26
Enabling Activity:
Run community and internal events for installation of hedgehog houses.
Conduct stakeholder engagement on campus to gauge whether staff and students would like to get involved in a formal hedgehog friendly campus programme.
Owner: Director of Estate Development.
Responsibility: Head of Maintenance and Infrastructure; Environmental Sustainability Project Manager (Biodiversity); and Environmental Sustainability Co-ordinator.
Risk: Lack of interest from internal and external stakeholders.
Mitigation: Early engagement with local community, and good on-campus presence for receiving stakeholder feedback.
Supporting Plans and Policies: Not applicable.
Topic: Biodiversity.
B1.2 Control and eradicate Schedule 9 invasive plant species on our estate.
Actions: Control/ treat Schedule 9 invasive plant species across our estate.
Target / KPI: 100% control of 2024 spread of Schedule 9 invasive species across the estate.
Target Date: 2030
Enabling Activity: Work with FM contractor to follow a schedule of works to eradicate invasive species across the estate.
Owner: Head of Maintenance and Infrastructure.
Responsibility: Environmental Sustainability Project Manager (Biodiversity).
Risk:
Members of local community causing the spread of invasive species across our estate.
Contractors causing the spread of invasive species across our estate.
Mitigation:
Develop robust treatment schedule with FM contractor.
Ensure all relevant contractors are notified of the presence of invasive and virulent non-native species as identified within this plan.
Supporting Plans and Policies: Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981: Schedule 9, Invasive Species.
Topic: Compliance; maintenance; enhancement.
B1.3 Control and eradicate non-native bluebell species such as Spanish bluebell Hyacinthoides hispanica and hybrid bluebell Hyacinthoides × massartiana, to make space for replanting with native bluebells Hyacinthoides non-scripta.
Actions: Control/ treat non-native bluebell across our estate, with a focus on the FL Calder delivery area.
Target / KPI:
100% control of non-native bluebell species extent.
10% eradication of non-native bluebell stands at FL Calder.
Target Date: 2030
Enabling Activity: Work with FM contractor to follow a schedule of works to eradicate invasive species across the estate.
Owner: Head of Maintenance and Infrastructure.
Responsibility: Environmental Sustainability Project Manager (Biodiversity).
Risk:
Members of local community causing the spread of invasive species across our estate.
Contractors causing the spread of invasive species across our estate.
Mitigation:
Develop robust treatment schedule with FM contractor.
Ensure all relevant contractors are notified of the presence of invasive and virulent non-native species as identified within this plan.
Supporting Plans and Policies: Not applicable.
Topic: Maintenance; enhancement.
B1.4 Interact with and contribute to the local B-line.
Actions: Add any completed biodiversity-orientated projects which are aimed at improving pollinator habitat, to the Buglife B-line network map.
Target / KPI: 100% of complete pollinator projects mapped on the Buglife B-line.
Target Date: Annual
Enabling Activity: Creation of a GIS database of proposed and completed projects.
Owner: Environmental Sustainability Project Manager (Biodiversity).
Responsibility: Environmental Sustainability Project Manager (Biodiversity).
Risk: Relatively low risk involved as this is an elective activity rather than a compliance activity.
Mitigation: Submission of new records to the Buglife B-line map upon completion of project/ following contractor handover to Estate Development.
Supporting Plans and Policies: Not applicable.
Topic: Communications and Engagement.
B1.5 Work with local educational institutions to establish a green network within Liverpool City.
Actions:
Liaise with local nurseries, schools and colleges to encourage involvement in the National Education Nature Park movement.
Liaise with the University of Liverpool and Liverpool City Council to plan a co-ordinated approach to delivering the Local Nature Recovery Strategy on and between our sites.
Target / KPI:
50% initial engagement with local nurseries, schools and colleges achieved.
Collaborative Nature Recovery Delivery Plan drafted.
Target Date: 2030
Enabling Activity: Work with existing community outreach programmes within LJMU to target appropriate settings.
Owner: Environmental Sustainability Project Manager (Biodiversity).
Responsibility: Environmental Sustainability Project Manager (Biodiversity); Biodiversity and Green Space Working Group.
Risk:
Low engagement from local settings.
Insufficient resources to deliver engagement activities.
Mitigation:
Foster strong relationships with local settings and target those with suitable resource (some green space/ spare land areas) to achieve good engagement.
Ensure strong liaison with internal stakeholders to maximise outreach.
Supporting Plans and Policies: Not applicable.
Topic: Communications and Engagement.
B1.6 Aim to increase biodiversity across our estate.
Actions: Use citizen science and student volunteers to study the impacts of biodiversity initiatives across our estate, with a focus on annual monitoring of populations of: all bird species, pollinators, all bat species; and specific monitoring of house sparrow Passer domesticus , hedgehog Erinaceus europaeus, ashy mining bee Andrena cineraria and hairy-footed flower bee Anthophora plumipes
Target / KPI: Aim to increase combined species richness (across all target groups and species) by +10% against a 2025 baseline.
Target Date: 2030
Enabling Activity:
Collaborate with the School of Biological and Environmental Sciences to design a robust monitoring schedule.
Assess the species richness baseline of target species in 2025.
Owner: Director of School of Biological and Environmental Sciences.
Responsibility: Environmental Sustainability Project Manager (Biodiversity); Senior Lecturer in Ecological Sciences.
Risk: Lack of volunteer effort for monitoring leading to increased budget requirements.
Mitigation:
Early engagement with the School of Biological and Environmental Sciences to ensure good uptake of volunteering opportunities.
Explore funding of higher-input monitoring via Unitemps internship.
Supporting Plans and Policies: Climate Action Plan (CM9).
Topic: Monitoring.
B1.7 Ensure robust annual monitoring programme is set up to measure progress against KPIs and PIs.
Actions:
Train student surveyors in the use of the UK Habitat Classification System Version 2, and the Natural England Biodiversity Metric 4.0 condition criteria.
Train student surveyors in professional field skills such as mapping, note taking and general data collection.
Train student surveyors in the use of prescribed monitoring methodologies.
Target / KPI: 10no. trained students volunteer for a survey area/ session.
Target Date: Spring 2025
Enabling Activity: Liaise with School of Biological and Environmental Sciences to build into the curriculum.
Owner: School of Biological and Environmental Sciences.
Responsibility: Environmental Sustainability Project Manager (Biodiversity).
Risk: Limited number of students wanting to receive training.
Mitigation: Build UK Habitat Classification System and Biodiversity Metric 4.0 condition assessment training into curriculum as a ‘professional skills’ option; supply all monitoring participants with professional skills reference letter.
Supporting Plans and Policies: Not applicable.
Topic: Monitoring.
B1.8 Enable ad-hoc observations through a citizen science approach.
Actions: Set-up an iNaturalist project to enable free visibility of biodiversity records that are submitted within our campus areas.
Target / KPI: Project areas set up.
Target Date: 2024/25
Enabling Activity:
Liaise with the iNaturalist project.
Advertise iNaturalist record collection internally and externally to the local community.
Host bioblitz to encourage citizen science biodiversity recording.
Owner: Environmental Sustainability Project Manager (Biodiversity).
Responsibility: Environmental Sustainability Project Manager (Biodiversity).
Risk: Limited number of records restricts LJMU record collection area.
Mitigation: Work to advertise record collection through various means.
Supporting Plans and Policies: Not applicable.
Topic: Monitoring.
B1.9 Publish findings of the impacts of biodiversity enhancement studies.
Actions: Use monitoring results to share best practice with the sector and wider academic community.
Target / KPI: Publish one paper related to a suitable biodiversity net gain topic.
Target Date: Annually from 2025/26
Enabling Activity: Annual monitoring of target species and habitats.
Owner: School of Biological and Environmental Sciences.
Responsibility: Environmental Sustainability Project Manager (Biodiversity).
Risk: Limited monitoring results providing insufficient data to work with.
Mitigation: Design annual studies to be robust enough to provide sufficient data and potential interest.
Supporting Plans and Policies: Not applicable.
Topic: Reporting.
B1.10 Ensure general environmental awareness within the Estate Development team.
Actions: Mandatory Site Environmental Awareness Training Scheme (SEATS) completion for all Estate Development team members.
Target / KPI: 100% completion.
Target Date: End 2025.
Enabling Activity: Communication of training requirement from Operational Safety and Enhancement Manager.
Owner: Operational Safety and Enhancement Manager.
Responsibility: Operational Safety and Enhancement Manager.
Risk: Lack of engagement with training materials.
Mitigation: Liaise with Operational Safety and Enhancement Manager to ensure regular communications on completion requirements.
Supporting Plans and Policies: Environmental and Energy Management System.
Topic: Training.
B1.11 Ensure LJMU representation in local and regional forums for biodiversity.
Actions:
Engage in technical advisory work for the Local Nature Recovery Strategy for Liverpool City Region Combined Authority.
Have representation on the Nature Connected Board (the Defra appointed Local Nature Partnership for Liverpool City Region) to engage in:
o Promoting and valuing the natural environment;
o Liaising with existing interest groups for nature;
o Developing, maintaining and using a robust evidence base for use in decision making; and
o Providing strategic influence.
Target / KPI: LJMU representation on relevant regional biodiversity meetings.
Target Date: Ongoing
Enabling Activity:
Engage in local stakeholder workshops and technical advisory groups for the LNRS.
Continued engagement with the LNRS Technical Advisory Panel, Nature Connected Board, Nature North and other relevant regional stakeholders.
Owner: Director of Estate Development; Natural Capital Hub.
Responsibility: Environmental Sustainability Project Manager (Biodiversity); Natural Capital Hub.
Risk: Limited risks.
Mitigation:
Continued meaningful engagement with relevant regional stakeholders.
Continued engagement with relevant regional stakeholders.
Supporting Plans and Policies: Not applicable.
Topic: Policy
Habitat Quality: We will increase the quality of habitat available across our estate.
B1.12 Implement a robust grounds maintenance specification that puts biodiversity at its heart.
Actions: Work with Head of Maintenance and Infrastructure to draft a new maintenance specification.
Target / KPI:
Prepare biodiversity-centric tender pack for new FM contract.
We will aim to manage all our habitats towards ‘Good’ condition, as described in the Natural England condition assessment criteria.
Target Date: 2025; Annual to 2030 respectively.
Enabling Activity:
Development of new grounds maintenance specification.
Internal stakeholder consultation across relevant parties.
Owner: Director of Estate Development.
Responsibility: Head of Maintenance and Infrastructure; Environmental Sustainability Project Manager (Biodiversity).
Risk: FM contractor procedures do not align with the desired grounds maintenance specification and procedure as defined in the Environmental and Energy Management System.
Mitigation: Engage with FM contractor to develop ground maintenance procedure and schedule.
Supporting Plans and Policies: Climate Action Plan; Environmental and Energy Management System.
Topic: Maintenance.
B1.13 Maintain deadwood features within woodland, parkland and linear habitats.
Actions: Preserve monoliths or deadwood features on mature trees where safety considerations allow.
Target / KPI: 100% preservation of safe deadwood features as defined by biennial tree survey reports.
Target Date: 2030
Enabling Activity: Work with FM contractor to put ‘no work’ measures in place for safe deadwood features.
Owner: Head of Maintenance and Infrastructure.
Responsibility: Environmental Sustainability Project Manager (Biodiversity).
Risk: FM contractor’s ground maintenance work does not align with LJMU expectations.
Mitigation: Work closely with FM contractor to ensure compliance with requirements.
Supporting Plans and Policies: Not applicable.
Topic: Maintenance.
Habitat Quality: We will deliver an increase in biodiversity units across our estate.
B1.14 Manage urban trees and woodland to promote age, species and structural diversity.
Actions: Use habitat baseline data, tree survey data and further site inspections to determine suitable diversitybased interventions for trees and woodland across the estate.
Target / KPI:
Enhancement of 1no. delivery area targeted per annum.
Prepare programme of proposed tree and woodland interventions across all delivery areas.
Target Date: Annual to 2030 and 2025 respectively.
Enabling Activity:
Utilise contacts within School of Biological and Environmental Sciences to design functionality interventions.
Work with FM Contractor to deliver appropriate management schedule/ practices.
Development of a new Ground Maintenance Specification that better serves the objectives of this plan (see B1.12).
Work in line with Forestry Commission ‘Right Tree, Right Place, Right Reason’ principles as outlined in The UK Forestry Standard
Owner: Director of Estate Development.
Responsibility: Head of Maintenance and Infrastructure; Environmental Sustainability Project Manager (Biodiversity).
Risk:
FM contractor does not deliver interventions as requested.
FM contractor’s ground maintenance work does not align with LJMU expectations.
Mitigation:
Early engagement with FM contractor for all proposed interventions/ changes in management, providing clear specification on expected activities.
Work closely with FM contractor to ensure compliance with requirements.
Supporting Plans and Policies: Not applicable
Topic: Enhancement; maintenance.
B1.15 Improve habitat connectivity for the benefit of local wildlife.
Actions:
Deliver changes to habitat by providing more diverse vegetation height (considered to be 1.5m, or higher where safety considerations allow).
Identify and initiate new management practices for all habitat types, see B1.1 – B1.3 above.
Target / KPI: Improve +5% area (m2) per annum across all delivery areas where practicable, with an average of +5% across the whole estate; equivalent to 27.6% improvement across the delivery period.
Target Date: Annual to 2030
Enabling Activity:
Development of schedule of works on annual basis.
Enhancing the condition of existing habitats with respect to the Metric condition assessment criteria, see B1.7
Replacing existing low-value habitats with higher-value habitats where appropriate.
Owner: Director of Estate Development.
Responsibility: Head of Maintenance and Infrastructure; Environmental Sustainability Project Manager (Biodiversity).
Risk:
Lack of internal support/ funding.
FM contractor’s ground maintenance work does not align with LJMU expectations.
Mitigation:
Ensure robust case is put forward for all biodiverse works.
Work closely with FM contractor to ensure compliance with requirements.
Supporting Plans and Policies: Not applicable.
Topic: Enhancement.
Green Space Provision: We will aim to increase green space availability across our estate.
B2.1 Aim to increase green space availability across our estate.
Action: Actively monitor changes in the provision, distribution and proportion of our green, brown and grey spaces.
Target/ KPI: GIS mapping updated by year end.
Target Date: Annual to 2030.
Enabling activity: GIS mapping of all minor and capital works which impact external spaces.
Owner: Director of Estate Development.
Responsibility: Head of Space and Asset Management; Environmental Sustainability Project Manager (Biodiversity).
Risk: Resource availability for mapping becomes restricted.
Mitigation: Work with Minor Works, Capital Works, and Space and Asset Management team to gather up to date records and forward plan for GIS workload.
Supporting Plans and Policies: Not applicable.
Topic: Monitoring.
B2.2 Improve green infrastructure and green space provision across our estate.
Action: All minor and capital works will make use of the ‘Priorities Decision Tree’ ( Appendix B) to identify potential opportunities for green space provision.
Target/ KPI: 100% completion of decision log highlighting when and why opportunities were not identified/ discounted for each project.
Target Date: Annual to 2030
Enabling Activity:
Early engagement with Head of Capital Projects and Head of Maintenance and Infrastructure for projects impacting external spaces.
Toolbox talk for Project Managers, Building Surveyors and Minor Works Officers.
Owner: Director of Estate Development.
Responsibility: Environmental Sustainability Project Manager (Biodiversity).
Risk: Estate Plan and minor works don’t prioritise biodiversity enhancements.
Mitigation: Engage with Project Managers to ensure early consideration on biodiversity initiatives for all relevant projects.
Supporting Plans and Policies: Not applicable.
Topic: Enhancement.
Green Space Provision: We will aim to increase engagement of students and staff in the use of green space across our campus.
B2.3 Aim to increase engagement of students and staff in the use of green space across our campus.
Action: Seek to understand the current usage of our green spaces both temporally and geographically in order to deliver targeted actions for green space provision and enhancements as required.
Target / KPI: Establish baseline of green space usage.
Target date: 2026/27
Enabling activity:
Gather annual data on green space usage by courses and outreach programmes via formal timetable bookings.
Undertake feasibility study and costing exercise on outdoor space monitoring options.
Owner: Director of Estate Development.
Responsibility: Head of Space and Asset Management; Environmental Sustainability Project Manager (Biodiversity).
Risk: Lack of senior support for uptake of outdoor space monitoring technologies or approaches.
Mitigation: Work with JMSU to gauge student approval rating for various approaches to outdoor space monitoring, and to provide supporting evidence for higher rated options.
Supporting Plans and Policies: Not applicable.
Topic: Monitoring.
B2.4 Communicate biodiversity improvements and their purpose to our community.
Actions:
Introduce infographics/ interpretation boards/ QR codes (linking to Sustainability webpages) as appropriate, to educate and engage interested persons in our work around biodiversity.
Publish news articles on the LJMU website visible to all users.
Target/ KPI:
All extensive biodiversity-orientated projects will have some form of visible information/ QR code about the purpose of the project and its benefits.
75% of all initiatives will have a news article posted on the LJMU website.
Target Date: Ongoing.
Enabling Activity:
Work with Corporate Communications to ensure appropriate level of representation for the workstream on LJMU newsletters/ website.
Build on-site information into the design of relevant projects.
Owner: Environmental Sustainability Project Manager (Biodiversity).
Responsibility: Environmental Sustainability Project Manager (Biodiversity); Environmental Sustainability Coordinator (Communications and Engagement).
Supporting Plans and Policies: Environmental Sustainability Communications and Engagement.
Topic: Communications.
Green Space Provision: We will aim to increase engagement of the local community in the use of the FL Calder delivery area.
B2.5 Formally register the FL Calder woodland under LJMU ownership.
Actions: Continued liaison between LJMU and Liverpool City Council legal teams and Directors of Estates.
Target / KPI: Formally register the woodland plot at FL Calder under the ownership of LJMU.
Target Date: 2030
Enabling Activity: Resolve land ownership discussions with Liverpool City Council to enable formal registration of the plot.
Owner: Director of Estate Development.
Responsibility: Director of Estate Development.
Risk: Delays or lack of action in the formalisation of ownership lead to delays in investing in biodiversity initiatives at FL Calder.
Mitigation: Continued engagement with Liverpool City Council to register the woodland under LJMU ownership.
Supporting Plans and Policies: Not applicable.
Topic: Estate Management.
B2.6 Develop community biodiversity initiatives on FL Calder.
Actions: Undertake community consultation on future biodiversity proposals for FL Calder.
Target / KPI: Achieve engagement with 90% of target stakeholder groups.
Target Date: 2025/2026
Enabling activity: Utilise contacts within the institution and local community to ensure equitable representation across the community local to FL Calder.
Owner: Director of Estate Development and Campus Management.
Responsibility: Environmental Sustainability Project Manager (Biodiversity).
Risk: Limited engagement from local community.
Mitigation: Foster strong stakeholder relationships and work to improve visibility within the local community.
Supporting Plans and Policies: Climate Action Plan (CM9, Phase 2).
Topic: Community.
B2.7 Implement community biodiversity initiatives on FL Calder.
Actions: Develop design for future layout and use of the FL Calder site, with community stakeholder engagement.
Target / KPI: RIBA Stage 2 design commissioned in first quarter of 2025/26.
Target Date: 2025/2026
Enabling Activity:
RIBA Stage 2 Design.
Community Stakeholder Workshop.
Stakeholder Feedback Report disseminated to stakeholders.
Owner: Director of Estate Development.
Responsibility: Environmental Sustainability Project Manager (Biodiversity).
Risk: Majority negative feedback to the proposals; lack of positive engagement.
Mitigation: Build positive relationships with the local community and consider a weighted approach to consultation responses.
Supporting Plans and Policies: Not applicable.
Topic: Estate Management; community.
Climate Resilience: We will work towards understanding the natural capital value of our estate in order to quantify the value of the ecosystem services our estate provides.
B3.1 Understand Natural Capital Value of our estate.
Actions:
Calculate a 2025/26 baseline for the natural capital value of the estate, taking into consideration biodiversity improvements within 2024 and the additional value they created.
Monitoring of Natural Capital Value changes following capital projects which impact external spaces.
Target / KPI:
2025 baseline recorded.
Case study on added value of biodiversity improvements in 2024.
Case study on value change for external capital projects.
Target Date: 2025/26 (baseline recorded); ad-hoc.
Enabling Activity: Liaise with the Natural Capital Hub on a consultancy basis to complete baselining assessment.
Owner: Director of Estate Development.
Responsibility: Environmental Sustainability Project Manager (Biodiversity).
Risk: Natural Capital Hub have limited availability to work on the baseline.
Mitigation: Early engagement with Natural Capital Hub to ensure availability for consultancy exercise.
Supporting Plans and Policies: Not applicable.
Topic: Natural Capital.
Climate Resilience: We will seek to improve the climate resilience of our estate and contribute to pollution reduction through smart design choices.
B3.2 Explore the potential for downspout disconnection.
Actions: When considering green infrastructure such as SuDS, consideration shall be given to the integration of rainwater harvest for supporting planting within or in the vicinity of SuDS features.
Target / KPI: 1no. trial SuDS site/ project.
Target Date: 2030.
Enabling Activity: At project inception, build in a feasibility assessment of downspout disconnection.
Owner: Head of Capital Projects.
Responsibility: Project Managers, Capital Projects.
Risk: No suitable sites are identified.
Mitigation:
Document the feasibility process to ensure due consideration has been given to the practicalities of implementing a SuDS site/ project.
Look at simpler solutions such as water retaining planters designed as rain garden SuDS features (where there is not potential to implement larger scale SuDS).
Supporting Plans and Policies: Not applicable.
Topic: SuDS.
B3.3 Contribute to improvements in building performance.
Actions: Introduce bio-solar/ bio-PV roofing options where practicable; or green roofing where PV installation is not a requirement.
Target / KPI:
All major flat-roof renewals to consider installation of a form of green roof.
All new build roofs to have proportion of green roof within the design with preference for type of green roof as follows: intensive > biodiverse> extensive.
Target Date: Ongoing
Enabling Activity: Exercise to assess the weight-bearing capacity of all flat roof areas (as carried out for PV installation feasibility).
Owner: Director of Estate Development.
Responsibility: Environmental Sustainability Project Manager (Biodiversity); Head of Capital Projects; Head of Engineering Services.
Risk: Limited uptake of green roof initiative.
Mitigation: Early involvement from Environmental Sustainability Project Manager (Biodiversity) on relevant projects.
Supporting Plans and Policies: Carbon Management Plan.
Topic: Estate Management.
Climate Resilience: We will work towards understanding our estate’s carbon sequestration potential and the opportunities this provides for quantifying our true carbon footprint.
B3.4 Work towards understanding our estate’s carbon sequestration potential and the opportunities this provides for quantifying our true carbon footprint.
Actions: Work with the Natural Capital Hub to calculate a carbon sequestration baseline for the estate and opportunities for enhancing sequestration through the delivery of biodiversity initiatives.
Target / KPI: Baseline of carbon sequestration value.
Target Date: 2025
Enabling Activity: Consult with Natural Capital Hub.
Owner: Director of Estate Development.
Responsibility: Environmental Sustainability Project Manager (Biodiversity); Energy Manager.
Risk: Sector definition for ‘insetting’ is currently fluid and may change what is considered acceptable as a means of carbon offsetting.
Mitigation: Liaise with EAUC Offsetting Community of Practice to understand the current ‘insetting’ landscape and the definition the sector wishes to proceed with.
Supporting Plans and Policies: Carbon Management Plan
Topic: Insetting.
B3.5 Meet biodiversity criteria on sustainable construction projects.
Actions: Identify feasible biodiversity criteria that can be met via chosen sustainable construction standard.
Target / KPI: 100% of sustainable construction projects will consider the inclusion of achieving the minimum biodiversity criteria for the chosen sustainable construction standards.
Target Date: ad-hoc.
Enabling Activity:
Understand, in depth, the biodiversity criteria for each of our target sustainable construction standard.
Early engagement in the sustainable construction scoping process.
Owner: Director of Estate Development
Responsibility: Head of Capital Projects; Head of Maintenance and Infrastructure.
Risk: Delayed involvement in selecting sustainable construction standard.
Mitigation: Keep up to date with Head of Capital Projects and Head of Maintenance and Infrastructure.
Supporting Plans and Policies: Environmental and Energy Management System.
Topic: Sustainable Construction.
B3.6 Ensure sustainable sourcing of plants and other materials in biodiversity activities.
Actions:
Prioritise use of local suppliers where practicable.
Prioritise use of seed and plant stock of local provenance.
Target / KPI:
>90% of plant and seed stock will be of local or regional provenance i.e. grown within the north-west of England, or within the UK where regional stock is not available.
100% of non-native exotic plant and seed stock being imported will have a verified plant passport.
Target Date: 2025/26
Enabling Activity:
Liaise with School of Biological and Environmental Sciences to build local provenance and plant passports into their procurement practices.
Liaise with Procurement Team to disseminate this requirement through the future Sustainable Procurement Strategy.
Owner: Head of Procurement; Environmental Sustainability Project Manager (Biodiversity).
Responsibility: Procurement Team; School of Biological and Environmental Sciences; Estate Development Team.
Risk: Bypassing of the proposed procurement requirement through third-party purchasing of plant and seed stock.
Mitigation: All requisitions for plant and seed stock to evidence local/ regional provenance and/or plant passport.
Supporting Plans and Policies: Not applicable.
Topic: Sustainable Procurement.
B3.7 Ensure SuDS awareness and general environmental awareness within the Estate Development team.
Actions:
Mandatory SuDS training course from the ICE for all Estate Development team members.
Mandatory Site Environmental Awareness Training Scheme (SEATS) completion for all Estate Development team members.
Target / KPI: 100% completion.
Target Date: end 2024 and 2025 respectively.
Enabling Activity: Communication of training requirement from Operational Safety and Enhancement Manager.
Owner: Operational Safety and Enhancement Manager .
Responsibility: Operational Safety and Enhancement Manager.
Risk: Lack of engagement with training materials.
Mitigation: Liaise with Operational Safety and Enhancement Manager to ensure regular communications on completion requirements.
Supporting Plans and Policies: not applicable.
Topic: Training.