Celebrating Earth Month with team Gen

How our sustainability benefits and employee groups help protect the planet

NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESS WIRE / April 26, 2024 / Gene

Written by Amanda Davis Sr. Manager, CR and Environment

Genblog | People & Impact

Earth Month 2024 is a special one. Not only does it remind us of our shared responsibility to help protect the planet, but it also marks the two-year anniversary of our Sustainable Home Improvement Program (SHIP), which has become one of our most successful and beloved sustainability initiatives.

We launched SHIP on Earth Day 2022 to help Gen team members bring sustainability into their daily lives. The awarded program provides individual grants of up to $500 per year for housing projects that benefit the environment, and the response from Gen team members has been extraordinary. To date, more than 1,800 SHIP projects, both large and small, have been funded, from upgrading home appliances to more energy-efficient models to planting trees and backyards.

“I recently moved into a new house and needed to upgrade it to make it more heat efficient,” says Lisa Traynor, with the Global Supply Chain Team and based in Dublin. “Although beautiful and green, Ireland can also be wet and damp! I used the SHIP grant for attic insulation with spray foam, which reduced my energy use and energy costs, making my home much more efficient in retaining heat. The SHIP grant was easily accessible and easy to use.”

Gen team members interested in using the benefit must submit an application detailing how they will use the funds. The Gen Environment team reviews each one and then reimburses the applicant once they complete the project.

“I chose to plant trees in my backyard,” says Alan Zhang, a Senior Network Security Engineer based in Ontario, Canada. “I believe it is a positive and meaningful way to celebrate and make a difference in the world. The trees can improve local air quality, provide habitat for wildlife and reduce erosion. I believe this program is a good approach is to build a better world for future generations.”

The long-term benefits provided by the program were a key motivation for team members to participate. Katharina Polainer, a sales and marketing specialist from Tettnang, Germany, used SHIP to purchase solar panels and an accompanying battery for her home. Such efforts also help us reduce our overall Scope 3 (GHG) emissions from upstream and downstream activities.

“With PV panels we can produce environmentally friendly electricity for our own home and the community during the high season,” Katharina explains. “I really appreciate this incentive as prices for solar panels and batteries are still at quite a high level, so anything that helps us financially is a big plus.”

The SHIP initiative is one of many initiatives that have empowered employees to choose sustainability during this Earth Month. Open to all team members interested in environmental topics, TERRA’s employee group hosts events throughout the year to raise awareness of sustainability, biodiversity, green energy and more. In recent months, TERRA has organized webinars on the impact of climate change on the weather, key insights from the United Nations COP28 climate conference and tips on going green during the holidays. The group has grown to more than 70 members worldwide.

The more we do to reduce our impact, the more sustainable our world can become. Find out how you can take action today on https://www.earthday.org/earth-day-2024/.

View additional multimedia and more ESG stories from Gen at 3blmedia.com.

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E-mail: (email protected)

SOURCE: Gene