Launched in 2019, DCs for Bees promotes urgent action to save bees, which are facing extinction across the world. However, in Ireland, which has 98 wild bee species, one third of these are threatened with extinction.
Now, the DCs for Bees Pollinator Plan will unite Host and 40 of its industry partners to help preserve bees in Ireland. It's a first of its kind =plan for the global data centre industry, it intends to highlight ways for individuals and businesses to take action in addressing Ireland’s biodiversity plight.
“When we launched DCs for Bees, we committed to raising awareness, becoming advocates and most importantly taking action to reverse the dramatic decline in Ireland's pollinators. Today's launch of the Pollinator Plan is our continuance of this pledge,” said Garry Connolly, founder of Host in Ireland.
“We hope this initiative acts as an exemplar for other industries to follow suit and make an even bigger difference for this very important global issue,” Connolly added.
The aim is to reduce, stall or even reverse extinction and to do that Host will raise awareness and drive action by enabling business in the data centre ecosystem to get involved – promising to engage everyone from the smallest supplier to the largest data landowner.
Backed by the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan, partners will receive a toolkit of 42 pollinator-friendly actions to ensure the survival of bees for future generations.
Dr Úna FitzPatrick, co-founder and project manager of the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan, explained: “Host in Ireland were the first industry-wide organisation to approach us about how they could help address bee declines in Ireland. We have worked in partnership to ensure they were creating the right plan of action at the right time for the right results.
“We are delighted that Host in Ireland and its data centre industry partners have stepped forward and are uniting to make a difference with the DCs for Bees Pollinator Plan,” FitzPatrick added.
CyrusOne is one of the first Host partners to sign up. EVP and MD for Europe, Matt Pullen, said: “The specific plan of action in the DCs for Bees Pollinator Plan makes it easy to roll out across our company and gives our employees a tangible way to give back to our community.
“As with our broader involvement in Host in Ireland, being a part of a collective provides an opportunity to have a bigger, longer lasting impact. For something as important as Ireland’s biodiversity, we are very proud to be a part of this programme.”
