Informa’s Green Week grows
After planting a seed in 2009 and nurturing it carefully, Informa’s Green Week has grown from a one-week to two-week celebration. It is thanks to green-conscious employees that it thrives.
Green Week2, as it’s now known, centred around four new Group-organised programmes to raise awareness of the world’s sustainability issues. These included Informa Farm, a commuter challenge called ‘Rethink Your Ride’, Informa in Bloom and The Big Green Idea. Individual teams from Informa offices around the world also created their own initiatives including volunteering, eco-tours and charity drives.
Two thousand pounds was on offer as a prize for one entrepreneurial employee in the Big Green Idea. In the end, the quality of the entries was so strong, four runners up are also to receive £500 each. One of the things Informa does best is stimulate entrepreneurial thinking. So, The Big Green Idea aimed to inspire new business ideas from employees by encouraging them to use their business skills and market knowledge to dream up a workable new environmental product or service. The shortlisted proposals were judged by CEO’s and MD’s from Informa’s businesses, which provided each employee with worthy kudos. The winning idea is an ‘Informa Sustainability Knowledge Centre’ for which plans are now being developed.
Informa also helped the World Land Trust (WLT), saving 11.5 acres of land, thanks to employee support. The Informa Farm project encouraged staff to send in the measurements of the space they use for growing fruit and vegetables in m2. All sizes of employee land counted, whether a small plot or large acreage. In total, Informa’s collective farm grew to 5.75 acres with Informa committing to save double the equivalent area of threatened wildlife habitat - an area bigger than either than Buket Nanas, the world’s smallest rainforest, or New York’s Central Park.
Rethink Your Ride pitched employee against employee, team against team, challenging commuters to make their daily work journeys ‘one step greener’. If someone drives, they were challenged to catch the train, or if they get the bus, they could cycle. The winning team, ‘The M4 Corridor’, made up of 4 employees spanning 3 offices and 2 continents, sped their way to victory and was able to adopt an endangered animal of their choice - they chose an Orang-utan - through the WWF.
A simple but visually lovely idea was for all staff to send in photos of the most unusual growing space. Called Informa in Bloom, it provided inspiration for all. The best were posted on Informa’s intranet, Indigo, so all staff could vote for the winner.
And of course, around the world, employees created their own initiatives and programmes. Employees from Switzerland, the US and UK volunteered to clean up areas in their regions. Singapore staff went on an eco-tour of a local water plant. The 11th Hour and Fresh Water from the Planet Earth Series were screened in a number of offices. There were charity drives, an Upcycling workshop to give worn items new life and a Food Miles Morning Tea.