- Petition launched by Buglife via campaign group 38 Degrees calls on Google to live up to its sustainability promises and save the nationally important wildlife haven at Arena Essex.
- The petition, addressed to Google UK Managing Director, Kate Alessi, demands that Google finds an alternative location for a proposed data centre to protect a nationally important wildlife site. The campaign, launched by Buglife in partnership with 38 Degrees, has been backed by 25,200 members of the public in just a few weeks.
- The former Arena Essex Raceway is a designated Local Wildlife Site and a crucial habitat for hundreds of invertebrate species, including the Brown-banded Carder Bee and the Five-banded Weevil-wasp. It is also home to rare plants like the Endangered Broad-leaved Cudweed and Red Listed birds such as the Nightingale – however he proposed Google development threatens to destroy over 80% of this precious natural space.
- The petition highlights that Google’s plans stand in direct contradiction to its public sustainability commitments, which include pledges to “cultivate nature” and “rebuild nature.” Campaigners are calling on the tech giant to uphold these values by choosing a different, less environmentally damaging site for its new campus.
Matthew McGregor, CEO of 38 Degrees, said:
“25,200 people have sent an unequivocal message to Google: stop the bulldozers and protect this incredible wildlife haven. The public expects big companies to act responsibly and not destroy vital ecosystems. This is a crucial test of Google’s commitment to its own green promises. We will continue to stand with Buglife and the thousands of people who are fighting to save this site until Google commits to finding a new home for its data centre.”
Jamie Robins, Buglife Programmes Manager, said: “Google boldly claims that it is “Cultivating nature on our campuses” and “rebuilding nature in the very places it’s been paved over”, while at the same time putting forward plans that would bulldoze half of the Arena Essex Local Wildlife Site that is home to a nationally important community of invertebrates. We’re in a nature emergency, with our insects in steep decline, so we need to protect the precious habitat that we have left. We’re calling on Google to do the right thing and leave this wildlife haven intact and put its data centre campus somewhere else.”
