Helping a Berkshire charity reduce its environmental impact

Four pro-bono consultants from 3M spent two weeks working on a 3M Impact Local project to support the Berkshire Community Foundation, a charity that works across Berkshire to raise and distribute money directly to vital local causes.

The charity wanted to explore ways to reduce its environmental impact, and that of the charities it supports, and needed some technical support to create the right tools for the job.

Volunteers Michael Neal, Thomas Edwards, Peter Wilson and Kate Bowyer developed an action plan to help the charity both reduce its carbon footprint and improve operational efficiency.

Their project was one of four supporting non-profit organisations across South-East England as part of 3M Impact, an international pro-bono consultancy programme that gives 3M employees the opportunity to use their skills to help solve some of the world's most pressing problems.

Mike explained: “Our task was to create a carbon footprint reduction roadmap and online interactive tool for use by the foundation and the local charities it supports. We collaborated closely with the host organisation and enjoyed learning how the charity sector works.”

Peter added: “We focused the 3M mindset and were proud of how much we achieved in a short space of time. The experience was really positive and we discovered that rapid prototyping and testing is critical to quick success.”

Thanking the 3M team, chief executive officer, Jon Yates, said: “It was thrilling once we realised how much we could achieve with the 3M volunteers, who worked brilliantly together. They started with a blank piece of paper and came up with a fantastic plan that will save us money as well as saving emissions. We now plan to roll out the tool at a national charity event.

“There are not many scientists working in the voluntary sector and the project gave us a real insight into how these technical skills can be applied to benefit local communities – and the planet.”

The experiences of the volunteers and hosts were shared during an online closing ceremony held at the end of the two-week programme, where it was announced that the four participating non-profit organisations will also benefit from a $5,000 grant from 3M to help them implement the new strategies developed by their pro-bono consultants.

The Impact Local programme was facilitated by Pyxera Global, one of 3M's pro bono implementation partners, which identified the host organisations and skill-matched them with the 3M employees.

UK programme manager, Nataliya Boiarchuk, said: “It was an amazing experience collaborating with the 3M volunteers, who were taken out of their comfort zones, and connecting them to the non-profit organisations who identified some very worthwhile projects. We were truly impressed with the results.”

Speaking about the programme, Human Resources leader for 3M in North Europe, Katherine Parks, comments: “We are delighted to have hosted a 3M Impact Local programme. Our volunteers contributed skills and expertise ranging from talent acquisition, digital operations and marketing intelligence, through to finance, product development, sales, procurement, engineering and supply chain management.

“The programme provides a great opportunity for 3M employees to apply their skills, collaborate, explore creative thinking and make a contribution towards improving sustainability, while giving local community members in need better life chances.”