CRITICAL ENVIRONMENT
“ THE WHOLE ESSENCE OF HOST IN IRELAND IS THAT REAL POWER IS IN THE COLLECTIVE ”
GARRY CONNOLLY PRESIDENT & FOUNDER , HOST IN IRELAND retention rate later , the organisation is one of the key forces for mobilising Ireland ’ s data centre industry , for the sake of driving growth and innovation in the sector . Now , they ’ re trying to save the bees .
“ We attract an ilk of a person that … wants to make things better ,” says Connolly . “ If you ' re someone who works in this business , and you want to do something tangible , projects like DCs for Bees are a great way of getting a community together to create action . The bees don ' t give a bollocks whether you work for Digital Realty or Equinix . They really don ' t . But , if you can get a gang of people together from all these data centre companies with a single sense of purpose , which is way bigger than the industry
90 % of Irish bumblebees will be lost by 2050 at the current rate of decline .
70 % of Irelands crops rely on wild bees for pollination .
1,000 orchards to be planted throughout Ireland by DCs for Bees in 2021-2022 growing season .
50 organisations in the data sector have signed up to the Orchards in the Community initiative they ' re in itself , that can make a real impact .”
Host in Ireland unveiled the DCs for Bees Pollinator Plan back in April of 2021 . It ’ s a 42-point plan , produced in partnership with Ireland ’ s National Biodiversity Data Centre , packed with community and site-based steps that operators can take to make their sites more friendly to pollinators . Steps included in the plan range from , as Conolly said , “ doing nothing ” in order to facilitate the rewilding of green spaces , to planting wild meadows , installing bee hotels , and organising actions like planting days within the local community . Already , some of the industry ’ s biggest data centre operators have embraced the programme with open arms .
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