Biodiversity
Development and nature recovery don’t have to compete. Mitie helps clients embed ecological thinking into infrastructure, estates and workplaces, protecting habitats, strengthening ecological connectivity and delivering measurable improvements that go beyond compliance.
From ecological surveys and habitat creation to living walls and long-term biodiversity management, we combine technical expertise with practical delivery, helping organisations create places that support both people and wildlife. The following pages show this in action.
On this page
Mitie Landscapes
Supporting sustainable infrastructure through ecological insight
As the transition to low-carbon infrastructure accelerates, organisations are increasingly seeking ways to balance development with biodiversity protection. Through Mitie Landscapes, Mitie is helping clients integrate ecological considerations into project planning, enabling infrastructure projects to progress while supporting positive environmental outcomes.
Working with Rock Power Connections, Mitie's ecology team delivered a Preliminary Ecological Appraisal to support a new underground cabling route at East India Dock in London. The project forms part of a wider expansion of EV charging infrastructure, supporting the UK's transition to cleaner transport.
Embedding biodiversity into Infrastructure projects
Mitie's ecologists undertook a comprehensive assessment across a 1.76 km cable route, combining desk-based research with on-site ecological surveys. The appraisal evaluated habitats, species presence, planning considerations and opportunities to minimise environmental impacts.
The assessment included habitat surveys, great crested newt habitat suitability assessments, reviews of designated ecological sites and identification of invasive non-native species. By identifying potential ecological constraints early, the project team was able to inform design decisions and support efficient project delivery.
Creating positive outcomes for nature
Although the project fell below the threshold for mandatory Biodiversity Net Gain, Mitie's ecology team identified opportunities to enhance biodiversity alongside development. Recommended measures included wildlife-friendly planting and the installation of bird and bat boxes to support local species.
Targeted mitigation measures were also identified, including seasonal surveys for protected species, measures to protect potential bat roost features and timing considerations to avoid disturbance to nesting birds.
Supporting the energy transition responsibly
The East India Dock project demonstrates how ecological expertise can help clients balance infrastructure delivery with environmental stewardship. By integrating biodiversity considerations into the early stages of project development, Mitie helps reduce planning risks, support sustainable development and create opportunities for nature-positive outcomes alongside critical low-carbon infrastructure.
Key facts
1.76 km
cable route surveyed
- Supporting expansion of EV charging infrastructure
- Extended habitat and ecological surveys completed
- Protected species assessments undertaken
- Biodiversity enhancement opportunities identified
- Supporting environmentally responsible infrastructure delivery
Mitie Landscapes
Creating measurable biodiversity improvements
Mitie Landscapes
Creating measurable biodiversity improvements
Effective nature recovery requires more than compliance. Through robust ecological assessments and evidence-based planning, Mitie identifies opportunities to enhance habitats, strengthen ecological connectivity and support priority species across complex operational environments.
For a national defence client, Mitie developed a long-term nature recovery strategy that identified significant opportunities to improve biodiversity across the estate. Recommended interventions included meadow creation, woodland planting, pond creation and green infrastructure enhancements designed to strengthen habitat networks and support long-term ecological resilience.
Supporting nature-positive development
Mitie is helping clients move beyond minimum biodiversity requirements by integrating nature recovery into project planning and estate management.
At a Cambridgeshire data centre, detailed ecological surveys and habitat assessments identified opportunities to support priority species, including bats, birds and the four-spotted moth. Practical enhancement and management plans were developed to maximise biodiversity value while aligning with operational requirements, demonstrating how environmental improvements can be delivered alongside business objectives.
Combining nature recovery with workplace community engagement
Environmental improvements can also create value for the communities we work in. Working with National Grid, Mitie delivered a nature recovery outreach and engagement initiative that combined habitat enhancement with staff engagement, environmental education and biodiversity awareness activities for the on-site staff community. The initiative focused on restoring habitats, improving landscape connectivity and strengthening understanding of nature recovery and environmental stewardship. By combining ecological improvements with outreach, engagement and knowledge-sharing, the initiative delivered both environmental and social value outcomes.
Building resilient landscapes for the future
Across projects for critical national infrastructure, data centre operators and defence estates, Mitie is helping clients create more resilient, biodiverse environments through long-term, evidence-based nature recovery strategies.
Through integrated ecology, habitat enhancement and long-term stewardship, Mitie is helping clients move beyond compliance to deliver measurable biodiversity improvements that support nature recovery, environmental resilience and sustainable estate management.
Nature recovery benefits
- Targeted support for priority and protected species
- Habitat enhancement aligned with operational needs
- Evidence-based ecological management planning
- Biodiversity improvements beyond regulatory requirements
- Opportunities for meadow creation, woodland planting and pond creation
- Enhanced ecological connectivity across the estate
Key results
69.9%
uplift in habitat units identified
612.8%
uplift in hedgerow units identified
Mitie Landscapes
Enhancing wellbeing through nature: DWP Sensory Garden, Scotland
Mitie Landscapes
Enhancing wellbeing through nature: DWP Sensory Garden, Scotland
Mitie is helping clients create healthier, more sustainable workplaces through nature-based solutions that deliver benefits for both people and biodiversity. Working with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), Mitie Landscapes designed and delivered a sensory garden in Scotland, transforming a limited urban space into an inclusive environment that promotes wellbeing, accessibility and nature recovery.
Supporting people and nature
Developed in collaboration with DWP stakeholders, the garden was designed to provide a restorative space where colleagues can take time away from the workplace and reconnect with nature. Careful use of planting, seating and natural features created a welcoming environment that feels distinct from the surrounding office and parking areas, despite its constrained footprint.
The sensory garden stimulates sight, sound, touch, smell and taste through a carefully selected mix of flowering plants, scented species, herbs, water features and tactile planting, creating an engaging and accessible experience for a wide range of users.
Delivering biodiversity and social value
The planting scheme was selected to maximise biodiversity benefits, supporting pollinators, birds and other wildlife through native and pollinator-friendly species. Additional habitat features further strengthen the site's ecological value while contributing to wider nature recovery goals.
Sustainability was embedded throughout the project through the use of FSC-certified timber, peat-free compost and chemical-free maintenance practices. Together, these measures demonstrate how biodiversity enhancement can be successfully integrated into workplace environments, delivering positive outcomes for both people and nature.
Through projects such as the DWP Sensory Garden, Mitie is demonstrating how nature-based solutions can enhance workplace environments, strengthen biodiversity and support wider ESG objectives.
Key benefits
- Accessible outdoor space designed to support wellbeing
- Habitat creation for pollinators, birds and other wildlife
- Native and biodiversity-focused planting schemes
- Sustainable materials and maintenance practices
- Strong stakeholder collaboration throughout design and delivery
Mitie Landscapes
Recognition and impact
Green Apple Awards (Gold)
Mitie was awarded Gold at the Green Apple Awards in FY26, recognising excellence in environmental best practice and the delivery of impactful sustainability solutions across client estates. The awards, one of the UK’s most established environmental recognition programmes, celebrate organisations that demonstrate measurable outcomes in areas such as biodiversity, resource efficiency and community engagement. Mitie’s success reflects its ability to translate environmental ambition into practical, scalable delivery, combining technical expertise with innovation to achieve tangible environmental and social value.
Green World Ambassador status
Mitie was also awarded Green World Ambassador status by The Green Organisation in FY25, recognising its leadership in promoting environmental best practice on a global stage. This status is awarded to organisations that have demonstrated proven environmental success and are committed to sharing knowledge and influencing wider industry change. The recognition positions Mitie as a leader in sustainable delivery, reinforcing its role in driving environmental innovation and supporting clients in achieving their sustainability goals.
These projects contributed to Mitie’s success at the Green Apple Awards in FY26, recognising excellence in environmental innovation and delivery.
Biotecture
Green warehouse, Croydon
Biotecture
Green warehouse, Croydon
Overview
Biotecture were appointed by Faircloth Construction to bring the UMC Architects green wall design to life on the front of a new 52,605 square foot logistics warehouse in Croydon.
The living wall forms part of the car park elevation and was designed to soften the building’s appearance, increase biodiversity and provide a greener outlook for those arriving on site.
Our approach
The living wall was created using Biotecture’s BioPanel living wall system, a hydroponic, modular system designed and certified for use as rainscreen cladding.
It includes a dimensionally stable, water-retentive growing medium called Grodan, favoured by commercial greenhouse growers.
Our in-house team worked closely with the main contractor, Faircloth, to ensure the living wall was fully integrated into the building façade. This included panel layout, planting design, irrigation design, and flashing design.
The living wall is north facing and required a shade-tolerant plant palette. The plant design includes four different planting matrices across 14 curved bands to create visual interest.
The living wall panels were ‘pre-grown’ in our nursery facility in West Sussex and allowed to mature before being installed on site. This ensured a seamless look from day one.
The results
The living wall has created a greener, more welcoming entrance to the warehouse and a pleasant backdrop for an outside seating area.
The diversity of plants, including flowering plants, will support a wide range of pollinators, including bees, hoverflys and butterflies.
The Biotecture BioPanel living wall system’s robust design, combined with an automatic irrigation system and regular maintenance visits will keep this living wall thriving for years and decades to come.
The wall looks great – it really came together and stands out really well, it has been a pleasure working with the Biotecture team.
Brian Funga
Construction Manager, Faircloth Construction
Key facts
88m2
of BioPanel living
5,280
plants
15
plant species
Biotecture
Floral Street living wall, Covent Garden
Overview
Biotecture was appointed to deliver TP Bennett’s vision for a living façade at 27b Floral Street. The living wall forms part of a wider retrofit and refurbishment of an existing 1990s mixed-use retail and office building.
Covent Garden is one of London’s most vibrant retail and cultural destinations, renowned for its plant-lined streets and floral displays that nod to its history as a former flower market. The living wall celebrates this rich heritage while bringing contemporary greenery to the façade.
Biotecture designed and installed a 140m² living wall using our modular, hydroponic Biotecture BioPanel system, a fully compliant living cladding solution designed for long-term performance in urban environments.
Our approach
The process of delivering a Biotecture BioPanel living wall starts with design work, including panel layout, planting and irrigation design. After sign-off, plants are pre-grown into the Biotecture BioPanel in our nursery and allowed to mature before being installed on site.
The living cladding was installed in two phases: the first fix included the installation of the backing board, geotextile drainage layer, aluminium cladding rails and irrigation rig; and the second fix brought in the fully mature planted panels.
The living wall wraps around South and East elevations, with planting carefully zoned to respond to differing light conditions. Shade-tolerant species were placed in less exposed areas, while sun-loving, seasonal plants feature in brighter zones to attract pollinators.
All our planting schemes use Matrix planting, with mixed species in each zone to enhance biodiversity and resilience.
The results
The completed living wall brings natural softness and year-round greenery to a vibrant part of Covent Garden.
The living wall will improve the building’s performance adding additional insulation to reduce the need for mechanical heating and cooling.
The living wall will also help reduce air pollution in this busy part of London.
Services
- Design and project management
- Horticulture and installation
- Automatic irrigation monitoring
- Regular horticultural maintenance visits
Key facts
140m2
of BioPanel living cladding
8,400
plants
15+
plant species
Biotecture
Roof terrace living walls at 101 Moorgate
Bringing biodiversity and wellbeing into the built environment
Mitie supported the delivery of living walls at 101 Moorgate, a landmark office and retail development in the City of London. Installed across roof terraces on the 5th, 6th, 7th and 9th floors, the living walls help transform underutilised urban spaces into vibrant green environments that support biodiversity, employee wellbeing, and climate resilience. The installation demonstrates how nature-based solutions can be integrated into commercial developments to enhance environmental performance while creating attractive and accessible outdoor spaces.
Delivering nature-positive infrastructure
Working with Mace and specialist living wall provider Biotecture, the project combined innovative design with long-term environmental performance. The living walls were created using a modular hydroponic system and planted with a carefully selected mix of evergreen and seasonal species to provide year-round visual interest while supporting urban biodiversity. Remote irrigation and ongoing maintenance arrangements help ensure the walls remain healthy and resilient over the long term.
Supporting biodiversity, wellbeing and urban resilience
The completed installation has created distinctive green roof terrace environments that contribute to the building's biodiversity and wellbeing objectives. In addition to enhancing the user experience for building occupants, the planting provides habitat opportunities for pollinators and other urban wildlife. By bringing nature into a dense city-centre environment, the project demonstrates how green infrastructure can help create healthier, more sustainable workplaces while supporting wider environmental goals.
Key facts
10 plant species incorporated into the design, with roof terrace installations across four floors supporting biodiversity and employee wellbeing objectives
110m2
of BioPanel living cladding
6,270
plants installed
Biotecture
Sustainability benefits of external living walls
Bringing nature into our cities is a vital component for a sustainable future. Living walls are an ideal solution in urban areas where space is literally and financially at a premium. Living walls are proven to help reduce air pollution, aid biodiversity, uplift people and help meet sustainability targets and improve business. No other cladding system can do all this.
CO2 sequestration
Scientific research has shown that, on average, plants in a living wall filter particulate matter from the air and convert CO2 into oxygen: 1m2 of living wall extracts 2.3 kg of CO2 per annum from the air and produces 1.7 kg of oxygen.
Better air quality
‘Air quality is the largest environmental health risk in the UK’ according to the Defra Clean Air Strategy, 2019. During photosynthesis, plants absorb CO2 and other gases like oxides of sulphur and nitrogen (SO2 and NOx), ozone (O3) and airborne ammonia(NH3) through their stomata. Plants also reduce air pollution by intercepting suspended particulate matters and aerosols and retaining them on the leaf surface.
In densely populated areas of high-rise development, pollutants can become trapped in urban street canyons. A study carried out in 2012 showed that ‘planting of vegetation in Street Canyons can reduce street-level concentrations by as much as 40% for NOx and 60% for PM (Particulate Matter).’
According to a wide ranging 2016 study, the World Health Organization (WHO) cites poor air quality as being a link to a more than 5.5 million premature deaths annually, largely as a result of increased mortality from stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer and acute respiratory infections.
WHO data shows that almost all of the global population (99%) breathe air that exceeds the WHO guideline limits containing high levels of pollutants.
Biodiversity Net Gain
A recent Royal Horticultural Society study found that the more vegetation a living wall has, the more invertebrates it attracts, with diverse plant mixes offering even greater benefits. Typically, a single living wall contains at least 10–15 different evergreen and flowering plant species, creating a thriving habitat for pollinators. To further enhance biodiversity, we can also incorporate bee and invertebrate boxes, providing essential shelter for wildlife. Living walls can help meet Biodiversity Net Gain calculations depending on the starting score.
How can living walls improve thermal performance?
As well as multiple other benefits, green walls have been proven to provide energy savings to help reduce the carbon footprint of existing buildings. Buildings directly account for 17% of UK GHG emissions and space heating accounts for over 60% of all energy used in buildings. Living walls and green infrastructure provide insulation, and solar shading helps to keep buildings cool in summer and warm in winter, which could play a part in helping the UK to achieve its Net Zero commitments.
Reducing heat loss
Researchers at the University of Plymouth’s Sustainable Earth Institute recently carried out a study looking at how living wall systems affect the thermal performance of buildings. They found that the amount of heat lost through a section of the building covered in a living wall was 31.4% lower than through an uninsulated cavity wall.
They also found that daytime temperatures within the section covered by a living wall remained more stable than the section behind the bare wall; meaning less energy was required to heat it.
Solar shading
Researchers at the University of Venice and the University of Siena found that screening from direct solar radiation by green walls is among the most important factors affecting the thermal performance of building envelopes. Foliage provides solar shading, helping to keep buildings cool and reducing the need for mechanical cooling in summer.
The researchers found that, in Mediterranean climates, green walls can be up to 20 degrees cooler than bare walls and can reduce energy demand for cooling by up to 66%.
Relief from ‘urban heat islands’
As well as reducing the energy consumption of individual buildings, living walls and green infrastructure can also help keep our cities cooler in summer. Climate change science predicts that London will have similar temperatures to those currently experienced in Marseilles by 2050. London and other UK cities are not designed for these sustained levels of high temperatures. Heat can become trapped at street level, allowing heat to accumulate.
Plants lower temperatures through evapotranspiration, the combination of water evaporated into the atmosphere and plant transpiration, during even the warmest part of the day. On a city-wide scale, the introduction of vegetation can have a dramatic effect on reducing the extremes of the urban heat island effect. The scale of green infrastructure is directly related to the potential benefits.
Cooler streets
Cities have higher temperatures than surrounding areas, an effect known as the ‘Urban Heat Island’. The number of heat islands and degree of temperature increase is set to rise with urban population growth, rising air pollution and climate change. Various studies have shown that living walls can lower temperatures in the immediate vicinity, providing relief from urban heat island effects, and potentially leading to fewer deaths. In a 2008 study, green walls were estimated to decrease canyon air temperature by up to 4 degrees in Hong Kong and 5 degrees in Riyadh.
Improved insulation
Green walls have been proven to provide energy savings to help reduce the carbon footprint of existing buildings. Buildings directly account for 17% of UK GHG emissions, and space heating accounts for over 60% of all energy used in buildings. Living walls and green infrastructure provide insulation and solar shading, helping to keep buildings cool in summer and warm in winter, which could play a part in helping the UK to achieve its Net Zero commitments. A research team at the University of Plymouth recently found that the amount of heat lost through a section of wall covered in a living wall was 31% lower than the original structure.
