April 22nd 2016 marks the 46th annual Earth Day celebration, where more than 1 billion people[1] worldwide celebrate our planet and the importance of environmental conservation.
Each year at Symantec, we celebrate Earth Day and our dedication to environmental stewardship both inside and outside our company through a variety of global activities and events. Sponsored by our Global Green Teams, a highlight of this year's Earth Day activities include:
- Ireland: Symantec Dublin employees will build a Conservation Garden with The National Trust for Ireland An Taisce, an independent charity who is "working to preserve and protect Ireland's natural and built heritage."
- United States: At our headquarters in Mountain View, California we are holding our 7th annual Earth Day Fair on Wednesday, April 20th with the goal to increase awareness of simple sustainable actions that can be taken at home and at work. The fair will feature 25 vendors ranging from sustainable businesses to local government agencies to nonprofit organizations, offering attendees the chance to test drive an electric vehicle, try out a Segway, taste local, organic fruits and vegetables and learn about other environmentally friendly lifestyle choices.
Additionally, to help keep our oceans and beaches free of waste, in Culver City, California, we are hosting a beach clean up with local employees. We hope to build on last year's successful clean up that resulted in 38lbs of collected waste!
| Symantec employees learn how to make sustainable choices in their everyday lives at Symantec's Earth Day fair held at the company's Mountain View headquarters. |
- India: At our Pune, India office, employees are hosting an art competition where they have invited "little Picassos" (aka employees' child(ren)) to submit paintings/drawings related to the theme of water conservation. The paintings will be showcased on Symantec's Pune office walls during the office's Earth Day celebration on Friday, April 22nd.
| In honor of Earth Day, Symantec's Pune, India site will invite employees' children to submit artwork on the theme of water conservation. |
Earth Day Everyday at Symantec
Alongside this monumental day for the environment, we are proud to highlight one of our most important environmental initiatives at Symantec, our Global Green Teams. Our Green Teams support and challenge our environmental efforts, assist us in reaching key goals such as Symantec's GHG reduction goal, educate and influence employees to reduce their impact on the environment at work and home, and provide opportunities for employees to join activities supporting environmental conservation.
Launched a number of years ago, our Global Green Teams currently exist in 12 sites and comprise of a large volume of volunteers across Symantec who have a keen interest in the environment. Last year our Green Teams executed global and local projects reducing Symantec's environmental impacts including:
- One Mug, One Planet Campaign: Through this campaign to reduce paper cup usage, employees at Symantec pledged to stop using paper cups in favor of a reusable mug. The campaign surpassed our original goal of 1,000 pledges with over 2,400 employees (or 12% of all employees) committing to reduce their use of paper cups.
- Launch of Green Talks: In July 2014, the Green Teams launched quarterly "Green Talks" that educate employees on topics related to Symantec's environmental priorities (e.g. Green IT, resource conservation, responsible sourcing and travel and events). Five talks have been held across Symantec's global network from Mountain View to Mexico to the UK with topics including ocean conservancy, climate-friendly agriculture, and efforts to transform communities to a sustainable/low-carbon future.
What's Next for Our Global Green Teams
While we have experienced significant changes at Symantec with the sale of our Veritas business, we want to ensure we continue building on the momentum behind key corporate responsibility initiatives such as our Green Teams. We are therefore working hard to leverage the work our employees have accomplished so far, while implementing a refined Global Green Team strategy that aligns with our new company structure.
The strategy includes three opportunities for employee involvement:
- Common Cause: All sites are engaged on a Corporate Goal/Objective and metrics are set. For example, our previous "One Mug, One Planet" campaign. Our future GHG reduction goal.
- Grass Roots Cause: Initiatives are selected by local green teams that will energize and engage local employees.
- Environmental Volunteering: Employees identify individual local volunteer opportunities either as a group or on their own.
We have appointed a new Global Green Team Coordinator Amanda Davis (Senior Manager, CR & Environment), who holds quarterly meetings with our local Green Team Leads. Local Green Team leads then coordinate the local greens teams meetings and activities. Its quiet informal and we encourage all of our green team members to participate as much as they can and to have fun.
While our Green Teams framework has been revised, their importance and objectives remains the same. As the Earth Day Network states on their website, "Let's get really big stuff done for our planet. What are we waiting for? Now is the time”.
Now is the Time
Now IS the time to engage yourself, engage your co-worker, office, community in taking small or large steps to protecting our environment.
For those of you outside of Symantec, there are numerous ways you can get involved. Visit http://www.earthday.org/take-action/& Google's list of Earth Day events worldwide https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=zClNjYr-OyQE.kRmd-WG6PK5o for activities in your local area.
“This Earth Day and beyond, let’s make big stuff happen” “Let’s start now. And let’s not stop”[2]
Happy Earth Day to all!
Chris Abess is is Symantec’s VP, Operations and Global Green Teams Executive Sponsor