Environment Minister opens annual Survey focused on building greener and more sustainable businesses

Andrew Muir MLA, Minister for the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) has launched the 27th annual NI Environmental Benchmarking Survey, for organisations in Northern Ireland assess their sustainability credentials.

Run by responsible business network Business in the Community Northern Ireland (BITCNI), and supported by DAERA and Coca-Cola HBC, participating in the Survey enables an organisation to publicly demonstrate its commitment to being environmentally responsible and transparent. The results  and organisation-specific recommendations  are released in November, and allow companies to examine, compare and drive environmental improvements.

The format is an online self-disclosure questionnaire which asks about topics such as environmental management and performance, circular economy, resource use, waste, and biodiversity. It is free to participate, open to all organisations in Northern Ireland, and is used by many as a regular and external way to measure ongoing environmental progress.

DAERA Minister Andrew Muir said: “It's crucial that everyone plays their part in delivering a net zero, nature positive future. That's why my department is supporting the Northern Ireland Environmental Benchmarking Survey, to positively influence businesses to identify their environmental impacts and showcase those who excel, and I would encourage organisations of all sizes and from all sectors to take part in 2025.

“I have ambitious goals to tackle climate change, drive green growth, promote nature recovery and reduce unnecessary waste. As part of this, the Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging will play a key part in delivering these this year as well as working towards the introduction of a Deposit Return Scheme.

“A commitment to our environment is laid out in my department’s Corporate Plan, which I recently published, as well as the Programme for Government. We are already making progress, with Northern Ireland’s first Environmental Improvement Plan agreed by the Executive last September, and Northern Ireland’s first Climate Action Plan being finalised. The Lough Neagh Action plan has been agreed and many of its recommendations are completed or underway.

“We cannot achieve these pledges alone. It requires buy-in from everyone in society and the public and private sector must work together to address the urgent nature and climate crisis.”

Tom Burke, Corporate Affairs & Sustainability Director, Coca-Cola HBC said: “The Business in the Community Benchmarking survey provides a unique opportunity for Northern Ireland businesses to assess progress on their sustainability journey against industrywide best practice.

“At Coca-Cola HBC, we are fully committed to delivering on our sustainability goals, as outlined in our NetZeroby40 strategy. This survey not only helps us measure our developments but also inspires us to continuously improve and innovate in our sustainability efforts, ensuring a better future for our planet, customers and communities.”

132 NI organisations took part in 2024, with Spirit Aerosystems taking the overall top performer spot and Digestors, Silos & Tanks Ldt t/a Silotank achieving the highest ranking amongst small business submissions. The Top 40 performing organisations were recognised and inspired others at a forum event that took place on 9 April at Belfast Harbour Commissioners.

Kieran Harding, Managing Director, BITCNI: “It’s important to note that the Survey isn’t a competition but a way for an organisation to compare itself to itself, as well as others, over time.

“Both the process and the gap analysis report that we provide following the results launch help organisations to identify and address areas for improvement and the overall findings of the report give us an interesting snapshot of environmental activity across Northern Ireland.

“As an annual exercise, it’s very encouraging to see involvement and action in this area grow year-on-year.”

The Survey opened on Tuesday 8 April and submissions must be completed by Thursday 26 June.

Visit www.bitcni.org.uk/niebs to sign up for a free ‘How to enter’ webinar 10:00 – 10:40 AM on Tuesday 29 April, or to register to take part in the Survey in 2025.

The Survey Report will be released at an event for participants at Titanic Belfast on 25 November.