28/07/2010 - Eurotunnel awarded a sixth consecutive Green Flag, recognising its efforts to protect the environment

Today, (Wednesday 28 July 2010) Eurotunnel is being presented with the Green Flag Award® which recognises the best managed green spaces in England and Wales.  This is the sixth consecutive year that Samphire Hoe, the 30 hectare site at the foot of the famous Shakespeare Cliff, and owned by Group Eurotunnel has been given this accolade.

Samphire Hoe was created at the beginning of the Nineties during the tunnelling work to build the Channel Tunnel.  The site was reclaimed from the sea using almost 5 million cubic metres of chalk marl extracted from below the Channel.

Limiting the environmental impact of the construction works, in the UK as in France, was a preoccupation for Eurotunnel from the outset and led to the creation of Samphire Hoe as nature reserve; today you can find 200 different plant species (including 12,000 orchid specimens), 30 butterfly species and more than 200 bird varieties.

The day-to-day management of this natural space has been entrusted to the White Cliffs Countryside Partnership, which receives the support of many volunteers from Kent. The Hoe is open to the public from 7am until dusk. In 2009 there were more than 110,000 visitors.

Judged by a consortium comprising Keep Britain Tidy, BTCV and GreenSpace, the presentation of the sixth Green Flag Award® to Eurotunnel acknowledges the site’s inclusive public access and the quality of its biodiversity.

Nick Hawley, Eurotunnel UK Public Affairs Director, stated:

“Eurotunnel is proud that its commitment to protecting the environment is being recognised and thanks the organisations which confer the Green Flag Award® for this latest tribute. At Samphire Hoe, we have kept to our original promise: the construction of the Channel Tunnel has had as little as possible impact on the environment. And, year after year, Eurotunnel has increased those initiatives (halving its carbon footprint, building wind turbines, and the hybrid works train project) to make the operation of the Tunnel and its transport system by far the most environmentally friendly across the Channel today.”

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Information published on 28 July 2010