Flagship’s biodiversity strategy

Flagship's biodiversity and land manager, Daniel Salliss, left, and neighbourhood operations manager Ryan Cox at one of the wildflower meadow sites in Horning.

Change is possible - and this Earth Day, we’re proud to be a part of it Today marks one year since we launched our Biodiversity Strategy, which outlines how we’re planning to transform the way we manage our outdoor spaces.

In that strategy we outlined plans to encourage wildlife by installing bird baths and houses, as well as bug hotels and loggeries for stag beetles and other bugs, in our green spaces across the areas we operate.

We’ll also be reducing the use of harmful chemicals for suppressing weeds, as well as keeping grass short in some areas and long in others, and installing picnic areas, benches and signage to create places where people can connect to nature.

And here are just some other huge achievements to highlight from the last 12 months to show what we’ve already done.

In March, we held a Biodiversity and Housing networking event at Pensthorpe Nature Reserve near Fakenham, Norfolk. More than 40 professionals from across biodiversity and housing organisations came along to talks about the necessity of investment in biodiversity as an essential choice which has benefits for housing providers, residents, and the wider economy.

Our commitment to creating wildflower meadows and adapting the ways we maintain our green spaces is in full swing. Back in December 2024, we spotlighted bulbs being planted at a green space in Ipswich, part of a much wider plan to plant bulbs across the east of England. We’ll be planting 12,000 bulbs across green areas in Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and Cambridgeshire, with each of our 24 neighbourhood officers planting 500 bulbs to plant in their patches.

At the biodiversity summit at Pensthorpe were, from left, Kate Digney from Levitt Bernstein, Jen Burlingham from the Norfolk and Suffolk Nature Recovery Partnership, Sam Jones from the Green Partnership, Morgan Taylor from Greengage Environmental and Daniel Salliss and James Payne from Flagship

Also reaffirming our commitment to sustainability, Flagship has been shortlisted a number of times at major awards recently for our work towards greater sustainability. We were just shortlisted for six awards at the Unlock Net Zero awards, with our colleagues in Gasway also receiving three (read more). And we were also finalists, for the second year running, in the Environmental Fleet of the Year at this year’s Fleet News Awards (read more).

And on the subject of awards, we were also honoured with the inaugural biodiversity recognition plaque from Cromer Green Spaces for a wildflower meadow created at Meadow Close, off Hall Road in the seaside town.

Daniel Salliss (front, right) receiving the ‘biodiversity recognition plaque’ from Mark Allbrook of Cromer Green Spaces

We’re also embedding sustainable practices in our communities too – for instance, we recently held an urban gardening workshop hosted by ex-Blue Peter horticulturalist Chris Collins, who taught tenants in North Walsham how to make the most of their new community garden.

This is a small cross-section of the extensive work we’ve been doing towards making our spaces and work greener. But we’re only just getting started – for instance, our plan is to have meadows on most of our green spaces by 2030, and we won’t stop there.

Are you getting green-fingered this Earth Day? Join the discussion on our social media and let us know what you're doing – find us on LinkedIn and Instagram.

Flagship’s biodiversity strategy – one year in