Empowering our colleagues to help the environment

Plastic-free Fridays

Even small changes can make a difference to the environment — just ask our team in the Netherlands. ESG Ambassadors there wanted to raise awareness of just how much single-use plastic we use as a society. They started Plastic Free Friday in September 2021 and haven’t looked back since.

Every Friday, a team in the Netherlands use their volunteering hours to go plastic picking during lunch or after work. They’re equipped with bin bag hoops and litter pickers and clean up plastic from surrounding areas. Lisa Stümke, Senior Customer Care Consultant at SThree Netherlands, said:

“I never thought it would give me such a positive feeling, but every time I go plastic picking with my colleagues I feel a rush of by simply cleaning up the streets, having a positive impact on the environment and functioning as a role model to society. On top of that, it gives everyone a nice break from work and allows you to connect with your colleagues on another level!”

60 litres of waste cleared from streets and parks in Belgium and Luxembourg

Our colleagues in Belgium and Luxembourg took the streets, local parks and nearby forests to take action to protect our planet. A total of 32 people used their paid volunteering hours to collect 24 bags full of waste – which amounted to 60 litres.

Teams were supported by environmental partners who provided tools for the clean, which coincided with World Environment Day.

Farm clean up in the UK

A group of volunteers from our Leeds office in the UK used some of their volunteering hours to help at a local urban farm. Every five years, the dogwood trees and bushes at Meanwood Valley Farm are cut down in a specific way to allow them to regrow healthily and to full bloom.

Our colleagues got stuck in using saws, loppers and secateurs to get the job done all in one day. The old trees don’t go to waste as they’re made into patterns and displayed around the farm.