Community Spirit
Community Spirit is Boehringer Ingelheim’s corporate social responsibility initiative. By working with organisations and charities close to our hearts the Community Spirit program has helped to improve lives around the UK. The program also raises awareness of local needs and subsequently promotes social inclusion of vulnerable groups. All employees can become involved with Community Spirit and a committee has been established to ensure that requests for help are considered fairly and consistently.
Support is provided by:
- Charity of the Year
- Supporting local talent
- Employee sponsorship
- Payroll Giving
- Community Spirit leave days
- VTI Day
- Environment
Barnardo’s is our Charity of the Year 2011. We will support Barnardo’s by organising fundraising activities throughout the year including a sponsored walk run and cycle rides, raffles, collections and social events.
Barnardo’s is a charity which focuses on helping vulnerable children. Established by Dr Thomas Barnardo in 1867 the charity has grown and now helps more than 100,000 children, young people and their families every year. They believe in the potential of every child and young person, no matter who they are, what they have done or what they have been through.
We care for our neighbours
Community Spirit sponsors Art into Industry Boehringer Ingelheim are working together with a local school to support their art into industry initiative. By leasing art work produced by children between the ages of 14 and 17 the school can raise funds and help promote the children’s work into a business environment.
Many employees participate in an activity or a sponsored event to raise money for a particular organisation. Boehringer Ingelheim actively encourages this and offers financial assistance.
Employees can use these special leave days to make a real difference to people’s lives. Many local organisations require assistance and employees have the opportunity to get involved with the local community. A school could require someone to listen to children read or an old people’s home may need help with decorating or gardening.
Boehringer Ingelheim operates a Payroll Giving Scheme. Employees have the opportunity to donate to any UK registered charity and all donations are made before tax and after National Insurance so employee contributions are not affected. This ensures that the charities receive maximum benefit.
VTI Day occurs each year and employees participate in projects to benefit the community. This could be providing a service, such as helping clean up a local park, or participating in a sponsored activity to raise funds for our Charity of the Year.
Other organisations to benefit have included a family and play therapy group for young children with special needs and 2 local centres for people with learning difficulties. Employees improved their outside areas by hard landscaping, planting and painting to maximise their potential development. Blankets were knitted to help keep the elderly warm and a team of volunteers filled 500 boxes with essential household items for distribution to deprived areas overseas. Some employees opted for a major clean-up of the Bracknell parklands and spent the day clearing invasive species from local beauty spots. These projects will encourage employees to participate in further community activities and prove that we can get results.
We have made a commitment to act with responsibility towards the environment. We recognise that our business activities may have environmental consequences and as a result are committed to understanding and minimising their impact.
In relation to waste management this means waste reduction takes first priority. Where waste reduction is not possible we will endeavour, wherever practically possible, to recycle waste materials, including the reissue of equipment to legitimate parties, for examples charities.
During 2010 we recycled 364 tons of plastic, 140 tons of paper and cardboard (which includes waste paper from office bins), 60 tons of building rubble and 3 tons of oil.
In addition to the above we also recycled 10 tons of metal, 3 tons of glass, 3 tons of solvents, 185 flourescent tubes and 35 tons of other material. Mobile phones and old computers were sent for reuse. Our efforts bring our overall recycle rate in excess of 79% and in total we recycled approximately 980 tons.