An international consultancy, WYG, is celebrating achieving two awards from the prestigious 6th annual Sustainable Ireland Awards held in partnership with the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA).

The awards, Biodiversity Project of the Year and Environmental Project of the Year were presented at a ceremony held yesterday in Belfast before a packed audience of leading players in the environmental, waste management and energy sectors.

Addressing the audience, Minister for the Environment, Edwin Poots highlighted the significance of 2010, declared as International Year of Biodiversity by the United Nations, and stressed the importance of safeguarding biodiversity at both a global and local level.

The Biodiversity Project of the Year award, sponsored by NIEA, acknowledged the Balloo Wetland Nature Reserve, designed and project managed by WYG.

The project has enhanced local biodiversity, supported delivery of a variety of educational programmes and created a recreational resource for local residents to enjoy. Fulfilling the vision of project partners, North Down Borough Council and Ulster Wildlife Trust, the wetland has transformed an area of derelict wet grassland into a haven for both wildlife and the local community.

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Dr. Eleanor Ballard, Principal Ecologist, WYG said: "Winning the Biodiversity Project of the Year award is an honour and reflects the hard work and creative solutions we have provided. The design was developed by our civil engineers who also supplied procurement and construction supervision services, supported by our ecology team who offered expertise to increase the design's ecological benefits. WYG's health and safety consultants were also on hand to provide Construction Design and Management (CDM) coordinator services."

WYG, who also manage the government-funded Envirowise Programme had double cause to celebrate when Envirowise along with project partners, McLaughlin & Harvey scooped Environmental Project of the Year for their submission entitled Development of a Sustainable Construction Supply Chain Model.

Sam McCloskey, Regional Director, WYG & Envirowise Programme Manager NI said: "The model highlights the benefits that can be achieved when construction companies, suppliers and manufacturers work together to develop a viable supply chain to minimise the use of natural resources and lessen the impact on the environment.

"We brought together ten key supply chain companies and sought to identify areas such as environmental management, raw material, energy and water use and packaging and waste, where resource efficiency and environmental performance could be improved."

Richard Robinson, Quality & Environmental Manager, McLaughlin & Harvey explains that the model was pilot tested on Phase 2B of the Royal Victoria Hospital Belfast.

Richard said: "Management of the construction process facilitated significant waste and energy reductions at the Royal Victoria Hospital site, which led to financial savings along the supply chain equating to approximately £280,000.

"Sustainable construction methods resulted in a reduction in carbon emissions of over 60 tonnes. The collaborative approach to resource efficiency benefitted the entire construction supply chain, cutting down on costs for all those concerned.

"The Royal Victoria project illustrates the standard that can be achieved and we are delighted to receive the Environmental Project of the Year award."

(GK/BMcC)