Nearly 65 acres of land around Nestlé's UK factories have been planted to attract butterflies including the large white, red admiral, small copper, wall brown and meadow brown.
The company has also persuaded seven dairy farmers to follow its lead and create wildflower meadows on another 10 acres.
It aims to develop biodiversity programmes at each of its 14 factories by 2015, to encourage indigenous wildlife and up to 10 species of butterfly to these new ecological sanctuaries.
Nestlé is working closely with the Wildlife Trust and Butterfly Conversation groups to help create the meadows and lessen the decline of butterflies in the UK. A survey is done at each factory to identify the right local plants and grasses for butterflies in the area.
Each meadow is planted with the help of staff and people from the local community, since education is at the heart of the project. As the meadow grows and develops, they also monitor butterfly populations – noting down the varieties and numbers for conservation databases. The company believes butterfly meadows will also educate employees about what natural capital means since butterflies are a key indicator of the general environmental health of an area.
The butterfly meadow programme has shown that any site, no matter where it is or how big the space, can improve local biodiversity. So far Nestlé has planted meadows at factories on the west coast of Scotland, in Newcastle upon Tyne, Buxton, south Derbyshire, and Cumbria.
Now the company wants more businesses in its supply chain to follow the lead of farmers already involved so it can scale-up the project and begin piecing together a "jigsaw" of butterfly meadows nationally. The seven farmers already involved are part of the company's First Milk Sustainability Partnership and supply the Scottish factory.
Jackie Wills is part of the wordworks network
The Guardian Sustainable Business Sustainability Case Studies contain articles on all the initiatives that met the criteria for the GSB Awards.
