Three more years together to help nature
HeidelbergCement and BirdLife International to continue conservation partnership until 2017
LAST week (17 March) HeidelbergCement and BirdLife International signed an agreement to continue their nature conservation partnership until 2017. The two organizations have been working together since 2012 to conserve and restore ecosystems in various European quarrying sites.
During the next three years HeidelbergCement and BirdLife will further expand their nature conservation work from Europe to Asia and Africa. At the same time the partnership intends to broaden the scope of co-operation from the management of local biodiversity and the restoration of quarrying sites to wider natural resources and environmental management.
Dr Bernd Scheifele, CEO of HeidelbergCement, said: ‘Nature conservation has a special place at HeidelbergCement. Quarries and gravel pits transform the existing landscape, therefore we have to minimize our impact on nature and compensate it. We thereby focus on biodiversity protection and sustainable land use because we believe that this is the best way to generate real value for nature and society. In BirdLife, we found a trustful and honest partner to help us achieve this.’
Patricia Zurita (pictured), CEO of BirdLife International, responded: ‘The sustainable use of natural resources and the fight against the loss of biodiversity are crucial pillars in BirdLife’s mission. Both challenges can only be won if we engage with the main agents of the economy, consumers and suppliers. That is why working with HeidelbergCement is strategic for us.
‘NGOs have a long track record of working with governments and regulators to shape the rules for nature protection. But we need to get better at working together with business to make positive changes in the way these policies are implemented on the ground. We want to be, together with responsible businesses such as HeidelbergCement, a force for positive change to the world.’
