Friends of mine who work in careers ranging from medicine to charity have asked how I feel ethically about working in such a large corporate organisation with a mission to make profit.
I say that I’m extremely proud because Reckitt Benckiser is unlike any other I know.
I don’t blame them for being curious about the corporate sector and its corporate responsibility practices, as you often hear bad press about large scale organisations’ social responsibility when it goes wrong.
But at Reckitt Benckiser, social responsibility is at the forefront our daily practices.
Our CEO, Bart Becht, actually visited the branch I work at to personally present Carbon 20, a new global initiative to reduce the carbon footprint of all our products.
For him to do this himself signals just how much RB will focus on the environment going forward.
It’s motivating because I can – and have to – participate in this in my day job.
Strepsils is the fastest growing global brand we have, so it’s critical we get on board. For example we have changed all our plastic external packaging to a more sustainable version as well as vetting all our suppliers to ensure they also comply by strict social responsibility guidelines.
In our office we even have 3 compartment bins, each of which we use to separate out paper, plastic and general waste. It’s made so easy for us to make a personal difference.
RB has been hosting an ongoing conversation about corporate social responsibility on LinkedIn and the Reckitt Benckiser Facebook page.
However, our social responsibility doesn’t just focus on the environment but also on charity.
Save The Children is our official charity and not only are there many opportunities to participate in fundraising initiatives but anyone in the business can suggest an activity where they fundraise and RB will match it!
A group of 61 employees have just returned from an amazing fundraising trek in the Himalayas for Save the Children in which they were also given the opportunity to help out at local schools projects.
Reckitt Benckiser is unlike any other large scale corporation I know in this respect and I’m extremely proud to be part of it.
Tags: Carbon 20, charity, corporate responsibility, enviromental policy, fundraising, Recycling, reduced packaging, reducing carbon footprint, Save the Children, social responsibility, Strepsils, Sustainability
