Brenntag in the Community
What does Community mean to Brenntag employees?
We see ourselves as part of each local community in which Brenntag operational sites are located, as a “corporate citizen”, and we maintain a close dialogue with them. Community Interaction at a local level is represented in various ways - whether by contributing funding, donations in kind, expertise and personal commitment, in terms of time and fundraising.
Local needs vary in line with cultural and structural differences in the many locations of Brenntag UK & Ireland, therefore we enable each site to make their own decisions on how to get involved and where to direct their efforts.
We asked our employees what Community Interaction meant to them individually. It is important to highlight some of the responses, as it is the direct involvement of our staff that makes our Community Interaction programme such a success across our company:
“Getting involved in community projects and using the skills and expertise within the business for the betterment/advantage of our local and national community” Brenntag Belfast
“Community interaction should involve the entity of Brenntag being a recognisable positive influence that contributes back in as many different ways as possible, as well as one that takes heed to local issues” Brenntag Manchester
“Supporting local businesses and local community projects, making sure we are able to listen to relevant stakeholders in our area” Brenntag Lutterworth
“It should have an identity within local authoritative bodies, trade associations, sports groups, schools, newspapers, press, taking interest in supporting events and always presenting itself in a professional way – one that demonstrates opportunity for anyone looking to develop in a global organisation” Brenntag London
These and many other responses enabled us to formulate our Brenntag UK & Ireland national activity map, resulting in the Brenntag Giving programme, developed and managed entirely by our employees.
Employee Involvement and Ownership
As part of the People Focus Agenda, Brenntag Giving encourages individuals and groups of our employees to become more active and mindful in their local community as well as national fundraising awareness. In many cases, our employees get involved personally, collecting money and donations in kind or investing time and manpower in support of a wide variety of charitable causes, often for some deeply personal reason.
Each of the operational sites of Brenntag’s extensive depot infrastructure has a long history of engaging with local communities via a variety of projects and initiatives. Due to the diversity of local charitable engagements at regional and local levels of Brenntag UK & Ireland operations, we realised the need to ensure the voices of each of the local sites are heard and the efforts of employees supported and recognised across the company.
We are immensely proud of our efforts to build relationships with communities across the UK & Ireland and to make a difference to benefit the chemical industry, our business partners and general public. We truly believe that the success of our ongoing community programs lies in ensuring the Community interaction is truly a “people’s business”. Everything we achieve as a business is accomplished with and through our employees, who generate ideas, connect people within the communities and deliver projects that benefit various public groups, both immediately and in the future.