In the same month that biodiversity net gain (BNG) legislation extended to small sites, Peter Northcroft joined John O’Conner as its first sustainability officer. Just two months earlier, the requirement had been rolled out across all new major developments in England, making it mandatory for these sites to be left in a better state of nature than beforehand.

It also requires a 30-year management plan to be put in place for these developments – presenting a seemingly huge opportunity for grounds maintenance companies such as John O’Conner.

Unsurprisingly, then, Northcroft decided to make biodiversity his first priority. “This is an area that’s not going to go away – and shouldn’t go away because of the situation that we’re in,” he says. Last year’s State of Nature report found that the wide range of species it monitors has declined by a staggering 19% on average since 1970.

“So, John O’Conner should be involved in biodiversity net gain, not just from a monetary point of view, but because it’s the right thing to do, and we can support our clients to achieve it.”

The best way to do this, Northcroft believes, is by practising what it preaches. When he started his new role in April – having first joined John O’Conner as a countryside ranger for St Albans City and District Council – the company had just undergone an ecological audit which produced a series of recommendations for improving biodiversity.

So, Northcroft picked up his children’s felt tip pens and redesigned the grounds of John O’Conner’s headquarters in Welwyn, Hertfordshire into a biodiverse haven. He’s spent the last few months bringing this to life, installing bat boxes, beetle loggeries and an impressive bug hotel made from repurposed materials. Today, a wildlife pond is being added, followed by biodiverse bulb mixes being planted in the grassland.

He’s hoping it will give operatives an even better understanding of solutions on their clients’ sites. “If you go to a client without experiencing it or witnessing what’s possible then it’s more difficult to make a convincing case.”

The project – named ‘Biodiversity Boost’ – is also trialling various technologies such as wildlife cameras and bioacoustic monitoring to help provide a baseline for the existing wildlife on the site from which Northcroft hopes to improve.

Colleagues can record the wildlife they discover on the site too on the company’s new Sustainability Hub, a collection of resources hosted on Teams and therefore accessible to all 600 employees. Northcroft hopes the hub will “empower” staff, giving them a greater understanding of how to manage their existing contracts as well as those which might be won as part of BNG’s 30-year management requirement.

“Biodiversity net gain is on the agenda for lots of other companies; it’s how you approach the agenda and how you act upon it. For me, it’s about accessibility, so unpicking the details and presenting the nuts and bolts to those on the ground, the contracts managers, the sales team and the directors.”

This is where Northcroft’s background as a teacher arguably comes in – his desire to pass on knowledge to others in a way that ensures the best results. The information on the hub – be it on managing wildlife such as Canadian geese or Lyme disease from ticks attracted to long grass – can be filtered down and found easily. It went live at the end of May and its resources have been growing ever since – it’s now up to more than 90. “I’m hoping this will evolve over time into something bigger.”

Northcroft is now helping John O’Conner to create a client-facing pack with various options for biodiversity gain, from an experience to informal appraisal of a site to a professional survey carried out by an ecologist to community initiatives. “These are the four areas where we see us potentially being able to help clients, depending on what they want.”

The last five months have been a steep learning curve for Northcroft but one thing he’s made sure of is that if he’s learning it, everyone else is too, the benefits of which will undoubtedly be seen across the company and the sites it manages.

Introducing biodiversity net gain is just the start – there’s still plenty of questions that need to be answered for the industry to take full advantage of the 30-year maintenance requirement. Read ‘Ensuring the Longevity of BNG’ here.

Pro Landscaper is hosting a BNG Workshops Day on 11 September. Find out more here.