One of Ventient’s pillars of workplace wellbeing is ‘Give: Your time, your words – look after each other’, and one of the ways we do this is by encouraging our teams to take part in volunteering activities, working with different community groups.
Our employees have the opportunity to take two additional days of paid leave each year specifically to enable them to participate in volunteering activities, and on the International Day of Volunteering 2022, we are looking back at just some of the volunteering activities the Ventient team has taken part in over the past year.
For World Environment Day, a team of 12 from our Portuguese office organised a forest cleaning outside Lisbon, helping to thin invasive acacia tree trunks to reduce the risk of fire and control the balance of the local ecosystem. Their work covered 2 forests in the area, and was a great opportunity for fun, teamwork and taking care of the local nature. At the same time, a team in the UK including Ventient’s HR Director, Jill Freestone, was taking part in a canal cleaning exercise as part of our ESG ‘Only One Earth’ initiative.
Jill also regularly volunteers at London Zoo, and animal welfare is another theme the team have taken on this year, with Victoria Adams completing a sponsored ride for the British Horse Society in aid of their involvement with the care and evacuation of horses in Ukraine, as well as their rescue centres treating, rescuing, and caring for horses worldwide.
This wasn’t the only sponsored ride as Sam Ballard took on 175km on his bike in ‘Earth, Wind & Tyre’, raising money for Renewable World who support remote communities in Africa, empowering them and providing a source of both clean energy and independence. Sam and his daughter are also members of his local parkrun core team, helping manage and host the event for almost 500 people on a weekly basis.
Continuing with our riding theme, Gavin Lippitt volunteers for the Highland & Islands Blood Bikes who rely on volunteers to courier vital medical supplies and samples free of charge for the NHS between the Scottish Highland’s hospitals and other medical facilities. Completely run by volunteers, the charity’s activities could not take place without the support of the local communities.
Also active in their local communities are Jon Priddy and Clayton Piper. Jon and his partner volunteer for the Rogart Development Trust promoting the local natural and cultural heritage and supported them this year by marking out the course of a loop walk around the area, while Clayton volunteers at his local church, giving up several days each year to support the more vulnerable members of the community in the surrounding areas at Christmas.
Education also plays an important role in our volunteering, and several members of our team regularly visit local schools and universities to speak about climate change, renewable energy and more. In 2022, outside of the many visits to highlight the importance of these topics, Bruno Santos provided a lecture on HR at a local university, and Esther Isichei took part in the BWAM conference for connecting and empowering black women leaders in asset management.
These are just a few examples of how the team has given their time this year, and Ventient continues to support and promote these initiatives, recognising that our activities have a direct impact on the local communities where we are present and aiming to support them – not just as a company, but as individuals – and ensure that impact is a positive one.
