Going Green: environment and conservation lead employee volunteering drives
Safeguarding the planet is the leading focus of employee volunteering programmes in UK businesses, research finds.
The survey commissioned by Royal Voluntary Service of 1,000 businesses * found nearly two-fifths (39%) of those with employee volunteering programmes are using the time to support environmental and conservation causes. Higher than any other cause area.
With COP30 now concluded, the findings highlight a commitment from businesses to ramp up their environmental action and provide staff with opportunities to make a difference to the planet.
Top five cause areas supported by businesses through employee volunteering **:
- Environment and Conservation – 39%
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Health and social care – 38%
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Children and young people – 34%
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Education, employment and training – 33%
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Community projects and causes – 33%
"Employee volunteering has enormous potential to create social and environmental impact and it’s encouraging to see businesses using their people power to drive positive change. By supporting employees to give their time, the effects extend far beyond the workplace - from revitalised green spaces and cleaner beaches to collecting vital conservation data and fostering stronger, more connected communities."
Katie Booth, Marketplace Director, Royal Voluntary Service
One organisation benefitting from the support of corporate volunteers is UK environmental charity, the Marine Conservation Society. It offers corporate beach clean events for company teams.
"When corporate groups encourage their staff to join us on a beach clean, it provides an opportunity to connect; both with each other, and to nature, encouraging greater personal action to protect our seas, and increased purpose and team morale. Every hour of time is so valuable to us, by removing litter from our beaches, not only do volunteers prevent direct harm to marine life, but they collect vital data that helps us to push for policy change and ensure cleaner, healthier and better protected seas for years to come."
Claire Edwards, Team Beach Clean Officer at the Marine Conservation Society
To grow the impact of volunteering nationwide, Royal Voluntary Service has recently launched GoVo. The new digital volunteering platform, made possible by players of People’s Postcode Lottery makes volunteering simpler and more flexible. Its launch comes as a separate study *** reveals UK charities face a shortfall of three million volunteers in the coming year - jeopardising essential services from hospices, conservation, animal welfare and local community support.
More than 4,000 charities, large, small, national and local have signed up to GoVo. And every postcode brings up 150 volunteer roles to choose from - catering to a wide range of interests, passions and schedules. Current environmental and conservation roles include tree planting, online campaign activism, local green space volunteering, campaign event organisation, environmental education, and beach, countryside and city clean-ups.
GoVo will launch for businesses later this year, making it easier for them to activate their employee volunteering initiatives, connect staff with the causes they care about, and track impact.
"87% of businesses say volunteering is important to their company purpose and ESG strategy. Yet, millions of corporate volunteering hours go unused each year. The intention is there, but organisations often struggle to find suitable opportunities that fit with busy work schedules. GoVo will help change that, enabling employers to easily set up and manage volunteering activities with a range of good causes."
Katie Booth, Marketplace Director, Royal Voluntary Service
Alongside GoVo, Royal Voluntary Service has launched the Impact Stack – a flexible suite of consultancy, digital tools and services - to support businesses embed volunteering into their organisation and realise maximum value from giving time for good.
