David McCormack, Director of Sustainable Manufacturing, Irish Manufacturing provided by Barnardos
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“To foster a diverse culture, organisations must educate employees and support the change it brings.”
Sustainability Executive, Business
CSR & Making a Difference
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“Until now, the business drivers that propel digital innovation and sustainability have been disconnected.”
Richa Tiyagi, In The
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To use privilege for good and be a good ally, you have to be aware, listen and speak up. Allyship is a lifelong process. Allies are created by building relationships anchored with trust, accountability of actions and consistent interactions with minority groups over time.
Ryan, Director of Sustainability and Quality Assurance, Origin Green at BordBia Page 06 Scan the QR code to find out more
It may be tempting to ask a few people about their experiences and generalise from the stories of one or two colleagues. Instead, support and mentor colleagues where you seem to have the most ability to influence change.
Organisations are aware of the benefits diverse and inclusive workforces offer. To foster a diverse culture, organisations must educate employees and support the change it brings.
I
Creating a safe space for allyship in the workplace
INISSUETHIS “Whatever the project, our team focuses on engaging employees in measurablewithvolunteeringapositiveandimpactonthecommunity.”TerriO’Brien, Corporate and Programmes Manager, Volunteer Ireland Page “Deforestation06 alone is responsible for about 10% of all Nicoleemissions.”globalSchwab, Co-Head, Nature-based Solutions, World Economic Forum Page 04 “The annual Gold Member awards highlight the meaningful focus companies are giving to their sustainability efforts in response to the urgency of climate action.”
• Allow space: Not everyone is comfortable sharing their stories and speaking to a wider group. Fostering a culture of sharing and trust takes time. Allow people the space and time to come forward without pressure.
How can you be an ally?
• Accountability: Allyship is meaningless if the actions of allies don’t have an impact. Encourage people to show up for others by ensuring that allyship is rewarded, and the company is accountable for taking action on the issues raised.
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Allyship is a very strong tool that can influence the culture of an organisation. It is about recognising personal privilege or power and using it to advocate for people in underrepresented groups.
What does allyship look like?
Actions that build a culture of allyship
• Enhance culture: Encourage your employees to be vigilant about discriminatory behaviours and to speak out when they witness discrimination.
Recent events like the #MeToo and #BlackLivesMatter movements as well as the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on minority groups have demonstrated the reality of inequity in the world.
• Allow feedback: Seek feedback from marginalised groups. Allow for honest feedback creating an honest flow of discussions. Any feedback should not impact a colleague’s position and their work dynamics with other colleagues.
Richa Tyagi Sustainability Executive, Business in CommunitytheIreland
Deirdre
ncidents of inequality have also shed light on the power of allyship and the possibility of creating strong movements of change.
• Build a community of allies: Allow allies to create groups for fighting inequality in the workplace.
• Awareness: Not everyone is aware of the issues that some colleagues might be facing. Educate employees, and make people aware of their privileges and how to use them to support others.
Diversity and inclusion are key focus areas at BITCI. We support our members by building inclusive workplaces that are reflective of Irish society through our Elevate Pledge and our employment and education programmes.
Effect on mental and physical health
How to ease financial pressures
Stephen Moffatt National Manager,PolicyBarnardos
Barnardos staff always consider families’ individual circumstances, appreciating that to help them focus on parenting, it is important to support them. Cost of living increases have meant staff are doing as much as possible to provide families with practical financial help, such as support with food parcels and making sure they have access to heating and electricity.
Children lacking development needs
In addition to financial pressures, the families we support often deal with other adversities and issues, such as parental separation, poor mental health and inappropriate accommodation.
More children are going without necessities. Families we support have no disposable income for social activities, such as after-school activities or trips. These are essential parts of childhood and something they should be entitled to.
Struggling with the increases in the cost of living is placing an additional strain on parents and exacerbating these underlying issues. This can take their attention away from parenting.
We work with over 16,000 children and families in 56 services around Ireland every year. Over the past six months, staff have witnessed the majority of the families we support face additional financial pressures as a result of increases to cost of living.
Families
We rely on our corporate partners to help us fund our crisis intervention work. Find out more or get involved at Barnardos.ie
We know that childhood lasts a lifetime — the longer a child spends living in a household without essentials the greater the impact on their current and future wellbeing andTheredevelopment.isoftennowhere for these families to go to access funds and make up for the shortfall between income and costs of energy, food, clothing and heating. They are being forced to rely on external sources of support to provide their children with essentials.
Paid for by Barnardos For financial advisers only. Not for onward distribution. No other persons should rely on any information contained within. This financial promotion is issued by M&G Securities Limited which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK and provides ISAs and other investment products. The company’s registered office is 10 Fenchurch Avenue, London EC3M 5AG. Registered in England and Wales. Registered Number 90776. SEP 22 / 722010 For Professional Investors only. Sustainable investing needs serious commitment. It requires a long-term outlook, forward-thinking and active engagement. Evolution not revolution. Investing sustainably in a pragmatic, measured way, we can work towards a future that’s better for everyone. mandg.com OUR PLANET. YOUR RETURN. Capital at risk
Many families left deprived of essentials in the cost of living crisis
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with financial difficulties are struggling more, making stark choices about which daily essentials they can and cannot afford. Parents who have managed in the past with tight budgets are beginning to seek help with bills. Their standard of living is drastically affected by inflation, and they are on the cusp of deprivation.
We are receiving an increasing number of calls asking for help with food, clothing and basic household items with
more families earlier in the year asking for assistance heating their homes. More families are proactively looking for financial support. We are calling on the Government to focus resources on those most at risk of going without in Budget 2023.
By addressing some of their financial pressures, they can help place parents in a better position to support their families; thereby addressing their children’s immediate needs.
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The World Economic Forum, through both its Tropical Forest Alliance and 1t.org initiatives, is mobilising stakeholders to commit to action for avoided deforestation, forest conservation, restoration and reforestation.
Jurisdictional approach
A jurisdictional (or landscape) approach to REDD+
Traditionally,
Connecting innovation and sustainability
Nicole Schwab
advancements in technology and sustainability would be viewed mutually exclusive. Since the first industrial revolution, advances in technology have allowed us to access more raw materials and produce multiple new consumer products for an ever-growing world population. All of which lead to significant resource depletion and a rise in CO2 emissions.
Peter Drucker, arguably the world’s greatest management consultant, said it best “If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.” The advent of digital technologies such as industrial internet of things (IIoT) allows integrated connectivity into data sources from equipment and devices, transferring this data through intelligent network and using data analytics to extract meaningful and actionable insights from the data.
EconomicSolutions,Nature-basedCo-Head,WorldForum
Jurisdictional REDD+ projects also offer more robust measurement and monitoring of forest carbon stocks from an environmental integrity perspective.
Digitisation and sustainability are set to be two of the mega trends at both a national level Ireland’s Digital Strategy and Climate Action plan and a European level to build resiliency to protect against further pandemics similar to COVID-19. It will also put the planet in a better place for those coming after us. So how do both digitisation and sustainability complement each other?
At the same event, the LEAF Coalition (Lowering Emissions by Accelerating Forest Finance) — one of the largest-ever public-private efforts to protect tropical forests — announced that it had mobilised USD 1 billion for countries and states committed to increasing ambition to protect tropical and subtropical forests and reduce deforestation.Thereistremendous pressure on companies to also eliminate deforestation from their value chains and activities alongside robust net zero commitments.
The jurisdictional approach seeks to create a new business model for forests that incentivises governments to perform actions that only they have the authority to implement, including policy reform and strict law enforcement.
More than 100 countries pledged to halt deforestation by 2030 at COP26 in Glasgow. These countries own about 85% of the world’s forests.
A whole-of-landscape approach creates the opportunity to factor in ecosystem services of the region, the protection of biodiversity and recognition of indigenous peoples’ and local communities’ rights and participation.
David McCormack Director of IrishManufacturing,SustainableManufacturingResearch
With the climate crisis agenda now rightly moving towards the forefront of business decision making, is sustainability the next industrial revolution?
Forests have the power to sequester carbon from the atmosphere, helping the world stay on the 1.5°C pathway to avoid catastrophic climate change. More importantly, forests provide homes and livelihoods for 1.6 billion people. However, the destruction of our ecosystems continues. Deforestation alone is responsible for about 10% of all global emissions.
Identifying the link between digitisation and sustainable manufacturing
The triple win from forests — for nature, people and the planet
and resilient European industry. It moves focus from shareholder to stakeholder value, with benefits for all concerned thus mutually reinforcing the link between digitisation and sustainability.
More than 20% of the world’s land area is managed by indigenous peoples and local communities.
The insights gleamed by accessing previously data sources that were deemed challenging can be used to drive sustainable focused technology development. This encompasses the total system leading to significantly improved environmental performance, less pollution and products designed for end-of-life recovery.
Supporting indigenous people
are responsible for regulating the climate, recharging groundwater, providing a home to various plant and animal species, acting as flood barriers and much more.
Until now, the business drivers that propel digital innovation and sustainability have been disconnected.
The term represents the fourth major industrial era since the Industrial Revolution of the 18th century. It is characterised by a fusion of technologies that are increasingly blurring the lines between the physical, digital and biological spheres.
Forests
(Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) convenes diverse stakeholders to develop common environmental, social and economic goals in large-scale geographic areas.
Recently, Ecuador’s highest court ruled that indigenous peoples’ consent for new oil and mining projects is required throughout the Ecuadorian Amazon. One of the pillars of Ecuador’s REDD+ strategy supports the poorest private and communal landholders, offering guaranteed yearly payments for forest conservation activities.
The European Commission have recently moved to the concept of Industry 5.0 when it comes to their research program. Industry 5.0 complements the existing Industry 4.0 paradigm by highlighting research and innovation as drivers for a transition to a sustainable, human-centric
Public and private funding
Source of life
Ireland experienced a net gain of tree cover from 2000–2020. However, tree gain does not negate the impacts of deforestation in other regions.
Digitalisation of organisations has begun in earnest in the early 2000’s under the banner of what we now call the fourth industrial revolution. This was a phrase first introduced by Klaus Schwab (Executive Chairman of World Economic Forum) in 2015.
Investments in forests
Unlocking the data
MEDIAPLANETREAD MORE AT BUSINESSNEWS.IE 05 AN INDEPENDENT SUPPLEMENT FROM MEDIAPLANET WHO TAKE SOLE RESPONSIBILITY FOR ITS CONTENT Trade in is subject to trading in an eligible device. Average trade in value is €130 for devices that have met the trade in criteria. For full terms see vodafone.ie/terms Trade in your smartphone for up to €400 and we’ll recycle and repurpose it. Good for the planet and your pocket Search Vodafone trade in Forests have the power to sequester carbon from the atmosphere, helping the world stay on the 1.5°C pathway to avoid catastrophic climate change. Nicole Schwab, Co-Head, Nature-based Solutions, World Economic Forum
“Since the programme’s inception in 2012, we have grown to collaborate with 55,000 farms and over 300 leading Irish food and drink companies to prove and improve their sustainability practices to meet the evolving needs of global customers and consumers.”
The annual Gold Member event, now in its third year, acknowledges the efforts of companies that have achieved exceptional annual performance on their sustainability targets in areas such as raw material sourcing; water and energy efficiency; waste reduction; packaging; and social sustainability based on the assessment of our independent verification authority, Mabbett.
Ways to develop employee volunteering communitiesbenefits
Activities run the gamut — providing business advice to charities; hands-on painting and gardening projects; delivering science and art projects to primary schools; social activities with refugees and the elderly; assembling essential care kits for the homeless.
4. To spark their interest, share potential project ideas (eg. repainting playground markings, clearing a garden, painting a geometric mural or speaking to students about careers).
Since the establishment of the awards in 2020, 130 Irish food and drink companies have been awarded Gold Membership.
Deirdre Ryan Director Sustainabilityof and Quality Assurance, Origin Green at Bord Bia
Helping the local community Community Volunteers provides a unique opportunity for individuals to get involved locally — supporting events, projects and urgent needs as they arise (eg. Covid-19 and the Ukrainian crisis).
5. Provide a budget for materials along with a donation for the organisation’s time.
2. Ask employees to use their local knowledge — is there a school, community garden, sports club or community centre in need of support?
An annual awards event recognises sustainability excellence.
With escalating economic costs and rising client demand, charities are turning to the development of long-term corporate partnerships to sustain their organisations and provide support to communities and clients.
The programme allows people to volunteer as often or as little as they like. Opportunities vary and could include volunteering as a welcome ambassador at a local festival, grocery shopping for someone isolating due to Covid-19 or acting as a race steward at a local fun run.
Rewarding efforts
Terri O’Brien Corporate VolunteerProgrammesandManager,Ireland
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Accelerating sustainability ambition in the Irish food and drink industry
Striving to be sustainable Speaking at the awards, Deirdre Ryan, Director of Origin Green and Sustainable Assurance with Bord Bia, says: “The aim of Origin Green and its members is to inspire the entire Irish food and drink industry towards sustainable production. It gives me great pleasure to announce 55 new Gold Members for 2022. It’s wonderful to see the range of awardees from all areas of the industry this year, as the assessment of Gold Membership allows smaller companies to be recognised alongside large organisations for the strength of their sustainability achievements. Since the inception of the Gold Membership in 2020, it has strengthened the ambition of our members and encouraged Irish food and drink companies to increase their sustainability efforts to differentiate themselves from the competition in the marketplace.”
Since the establishment of the awards in 2020, 130 Irish food and drink companies have been awarded Gold Membership. The annual Gold Member awards highlight the meaningful focus companies are giving to their sustainability efforts in response to the urgency of climate action and the need for sustainable food production. This year, three companies celebrated their third consecutive year of Gold Membership: Butler’s Chocolates, Norfish Ltd and Slaney Foods Ltd.
3. When contacting groups, let them know you are making an initial enquiry.
Large-scale corporate partnerships Volunteer Ireland’s corporate programme collaborates with companies on large-scale partnerships engaging hundreds of employee volunteers in community projects.
Whatever the project, our team focuses on engaging employees in volunteering with a positive and measurable impact on the community.
Green, Ireland’s national sustainability programme has awarded 55 food and drink companies Gold Membership in recognition of their industry-leading sustainability ambitions in 2022.
Measuring national sustainability Deirdre Ryan says: “Ten years since this world-leading programme was launched, we have held the unique position of being the only sustainability programme, globally, to measure and monitor sustainability across the entire national food supply chain.
Individual employee volunteering Support your employees to engage in individual volunteering. I-VOL, the national volunteering database, has hundreds of opportunities: board roles, drivers, painters, job coaching with refugees, cleanups, translation, citizen science, conservational English tutors, youth leaders and many more.
1. There is no single list of one-off corporate volunteer opportunities.
Origin
One-off team volunteering
Along with making a measurable impact on opportunitieseducationalpotentialfacingintosustainabilityincreasingcommunities,organisationalandgaininginsightstheworkandchallengesourcommunities,thereisforpartnershipstoprovideandvolunteeringforemployees.
With the worst of Covid-19 seemingly behind us, corporate interest in oneoff, team volunteering opportunities has surged. Things to keep in mind when looking for one-off opportunities:
“Being able to introduce RCNE to a larger audience and shed light on their cause was our main objective. There was a brilliant community spirit from everyone who was there; the paddlers, the volunteers and the people who came along to spectate and support the charity event. This together with the most amazing weather made for a perfect day,” says Melissa.
An initial step was to provide access to Viatris’ marketing
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team who were able to use their skills and knowledge to help the charity’s centre manager and staff members transform their digital capabilities.
Splashing out
“Time is usually a resource we can give,” says Melissa, who is responsible for the company’s medicines in Ireland. Viatris was formed in November 2020 through the combination of Mylan and Upjohn. They have five campuses across the country, from Galway to Cork to Dublin, covering R&D and manufacturing, coupled with a strong awareness of their role in the community. “We do not exist in our own ecosystem. We exist as a part of the communities we serve and rely on, and it is so important to give back in whatever form we can,” she says.
Volunteering programme
Melissa
Under its volunteering programme in Ireland, they provide local employees with two paid days each year, to take part in volunteering activities to support a charity of their choice. In addition to the volunteer program, they have an employee-nominated Charities and Community Support scheme, which has seen them make donations to more than 50 charities in Ireland since“People2019.are incredibly generous here, whether it is a skill they can pass on or enrich someone by teaching them how to do it.”
With approximately 2,000 colleagues in the country, they support a number of charities including Rape Crisis North East (RCNE), the only not-for-profit charity specialising in sexual violence counselling. They offer a free, confidential, non-directive and non-judgemental service.
For a growing number of companies, engaging with the local community is an increasingly integral part of what they do and how they act — helping to give back while enabling their staff to participate in charitableactivities.
is a global pharmaceutical company empowering people worldwide to live healthier at every stage of life. Formed in November 2020, Viatris brings together scientific, manufacturing and distribution expertise with proven regulatory, medical, and commercial capabilities to deliver high-quality medicines to patients in more than 165 countries and territories. Learn
Empowering people
The visibility of RCNE reached a new level when Viatris recently sponsored their fundraising paddle event called Splash Out which took place at Blessington Lakes in County Wicklow in August, helping to generate further awareness of the charity.
Melissa Fisher Country Manager, Ireland Commercial, Viatris
How CSR initiatives can benefit communities in the longterm
us on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube
Through their network of connections and the continued support of their marketing and communications team, the event saw 150 canoeists supported by volunteers and the paddling community tackle a 10km course and then met on the beach for food and live music.
Paid by Viatris
Going forward, they will continue to work with RCNE, particularly through digital marketing and social media support.
WRITTEN BY Mark Nicholls
In just a few months, feedback from the charity has been positive. The impact of better digital strategies on raising awareness of the charity and its services has beenImprovedsignificant.awareness of RCNE has raised their profile as a discreet place where survivors can meet and receive muchneeded support and advice.
viatris.com and investor.viatris.com Connect
“As a global healthcare company, our mission is to empower people worldwide to live healthier at every stage of life. We want to foster healthy communities around the world.”
PhotosWhite©Liz
Community outreach
Viatris more at with at @ViatrisInc
Fisher, Country Manager at Viatris in Ireland, underlines the value of advancing sustainable and responsible practices, both to companies and communities, including local community engagement and support, but also recognises the challenges people may have in donating funds or skills in the current economic climate.
for
“To do that, it was imperative to help RCNE do things smarter and to use social media to the best advantage — not to just raise funds but also awareness of what is happening, particularly in the rural parts of our country,” adds Melissa.
~Terri O’Brien, Corporate and Programmes Manager, Volunteer Ireland
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Support your employees to engage in volunteering.individual
