“On World Environment Day in June 2020, the Brunel Foundation began the ‘Brunel Trash ’n Trace’ challenge.
The initiative tied in with the foundation’s focus on actions that reduce plastic waste before it reaches waterways. And it aligned with the belief that every piece makes a difference.
Maritska Aarts, the Director Brunel Foundation, had this to say on the campaign:
“With Brunel Trash ‘n Trace, the goal’s to encourage Brunel colleagues, friends and family all over the globe, to help clean up their environment. Using the Litterati app is a powerful way to illustrate the scale of the problem & help find more sustainable solutions.”
During the first months, activity in the Global Trash ‘n Trace challenge was slow.
We asked ourselves how can we inspire others to do their bit and create Brunel employee engagement worldwide?
Femke Dijkstra, Director of the Brunel Foundation, shared this key insight:
“We experienced that people weren’t that excited by the thought to clean up someone else’s litter. On the other hand, we heard from those who had engaged with the challenge about how ‘fun, addictive, and competitive’ it was.”
The solution?
We needed to introduce ways to get Brunel colleagues to download the app and use it for the first time.
The ones who got the taste of the experience would spread the word and inspire others to join too.
We integrated Trash ‘n Trace into sales & staff competitions in the US, Canada, Brazil and the Netherlands. During lunch breaks, colleagues began to pick up litter near their offices.
The result? Neighboring companies at these offices noticed & complimented the efforts. It started conversations across different organizations about litter & creating a cleaner environment.
We were pleasantly surprised by this new, effective way of corporate networking.
On World Cleanup Day in September 2020, Brunel organized an epic 24-hour battle between their different regions.
The winning regions got to pick a charity to whom the Brunel Foundation made a donation. This aligns with the Foundation’s key ways to create multiple levels of impact through their initiatives.
And while the winning regions were the Middle East and India, without a doubt the overall winner was our planet.
In total, 440 colleagues, friends, and family members rolled up their sleeves and took action via the Brunel Trash ’n Trace challenge. All together over 96,000 pieces of litter were collected and registered worldwide, and this is only just the beginning.
