Belzona was shortlisted for the ‘Business in the Community’ Award, as part of the Harrogate Advertiser’s Business Excellence Awards. In order to be shortlisted for the Award, Belzona had to demonstrate strength in the following areas:
- Explain the company’s strategic mission to engage with the local community and why this was important to the business
- What the strategy involves and how this is implemented
- The positive impact the strategy has on the community; people, places, purpose
- How the business works with the community in relation to employee engagement, marketing, training and support
Below is an overview of Belzona’s submission for this Award.
Belzona Invests in the Local Community
In Belzona’s new three-year business plan, the Business outlines a commitment to the three ‘I’s’ – ‘integrity, innovation, investment’. The ‘investment’ pillar is identified in the Business’ commitment to ‘investing’ in the local community. It does this through a variety of fundraising and volunteering activities.
Fundraising and Volunteering Activities
1% Club
To support staff members’ participation in volunteering opportunities within the local community, Belzona formed the 1% Club. This enables employees to be given paid leave (up to 1% of their annual working time, or three days per year for most full-time staff) to spend volunteering at local causes.
Examples of where staff have volunteered in the past include Henry Smith, UK Technical Supervisor, who took part in the interview process for the Arkwright Engineering Scholarship. Also, Chloe Hirst visited her old Sixth Form to talk to students about her career as a Senior Copywriter.
Three-Year Partnership with the White Rose Forest
One of Belzona’s strategic business goals outlined in its new Business Plan, is to be recognised as an ‘environmental champion’. One of the ways in which the Business fulfills this goal is through a three-year partnership with the local community forest, the White Rose Forest. Belzona supports the community forest in its mission to plant seven million trees by 2025.
In its Action Plan 2021 – 2025, the White Rose Forest explains why this is beneficial for the local area: “We estimate, for example, that if we were to increase tree cover in North and West Yorkshire from 11% to 19% by 2050, we could annually sequester up to 50% of potential residual CO2 emissions* from 2050.”
*These residual CO2 emissions relate to the estimated amount of CO2 that will remain in our atmosphere assuming that emissions pathway reductions are followed in North and West Yorkshire.
As well as carbon sequestration, there are many other benefits for the local community, including, amongst others:
– Flood Risk Mitigation
Carefully targeted woodland creation in rural river catchments will, over time, help reduce flooding in towns and cities downstream.
– Air Cooling
Trees help clean and cool the air in urban areas, creating more pleasant places to live and work.
– Economic Investment
A well-designed and maintained urban forest will boost investor confidence in the region and help to retain people and businesses by providing attractive working environments.
– Public Wellbeing
By improving the quality of public open spaces, trees encourage people to be more active outside, which has positive outcomes for both mental and physical health.
The Belzona staff responsible for organising the partnership are Corporate Development Supervisor, Natalie Carpenter and Corporate Development Coordinator, Lily Alexander-Pike. Commenting on Belzona’s first tree planting activity in February 2022, in a joint statement, they said: “We were absolutely thrilled to see so many colleagues getting involved in our first tree planting project. Working alongside the Bilton Conservation Society, 25 Belzona volunteers, including employees and family members, worked together to plant 1,200 trees in the local area.”
In October 2022, Belzona staff took part in two acorn collections in support of the White Rose Forest and Yorkshire wildlife organisation, KindleWoods. Across the two days, staff collected over 100kg of acorns at Jacob Smith Park, Knaresborough and Ripley Castle. These acorns will form part of the next generation of oak woodland in the area, creating many benefits for the local community, as outlined above.
Charity Planting Project
In February 2023, Belzona staff members assisted a local charity, Henshaws, by taking part in a planting project on the grounds of their Arts and Crafts Center.
Fundraising Activities
Belzona staff members have taken part in numerous fundraising activities over the years. These include sponsored challenges such as The Great North Run and climbing Mount Snowdon. One of the fundraising activities even saw Export Sales Director, Jeremie Maillard, winning a Guinness World Record for running the fastest marathon time dressed as a mythical beast. Other fundraising activities include a charity pub quiz and an upcoming sponsored walk of the Yorkshire Three Peaks. Each year, the funds go to two of Belzona’s chosen charities, this year these are Cancer Research UK and the local charity, White Rose Forest. The Board of Directors has agreed to match fundraising efforts for the White Rose Forest for 2022 and 2023. This will contribute an additional £5000 for the White Rose Forest in total.
In 2021, Belzona fundraised £5,586.50 and in 2022, Belzona fundraised £4,599.00 in total. A spokesperson from Saint Michael’s Hospice, a Charity that Belzona fundraised for in 2021, said: “We have absolutely loved working with Belzona this year, on behalf of all the team at Saint Michael’s Hospice, thank you so much for your incredible support during a very challenging time.”
Careers Open Day
Belzona will be hosting an Arkwright Connect Day on Friday 14th April at its Harrogate facility. The event, entitled ‘Engineering for a Sustainable Future’, will bring together 16 Arkwright Engineering A-level students from around the country and aims to provide them with an insight into career pathways within engineering.
Donations to Local School
Belzona donated metal containers to Harrogate High School which were used for plant containers and recycling bins. The Business also donated several boxes of books, and has paid the High School to rent out their football pitches for matches.
Interested in a Career at Belzona?
Chloe Hirst, Senior Copywriter, Belzona Inc., Harrogate, UK.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chloe-hirst-2b1a79211/
