Testimonial
FrieslandCampina
“A fun, positive way to engage in sustainability.”
During the FrieslandCampina, we challenged employees from all over the world to step up for a better planet. More than 2,000 employees from 28 countries accepted the challenge. In 40 days they have reduced their footprint, increased their handprint and contributed to the sustainable ambitions of their organization. Together with the FrieslandCampina team, we look back at the challenge.
Peter Boterman
Corporate Director Sustainability
Why did you organise the FrieslandCampina Footprint Challenge?
Peter: “By organising the Footprint Challenge we want to activate and engage our employees worldwide in the impact of their behaviour on the planet. In this way we created awareness of our company’s impact on the planet and motivate people to contribute to our sustainability goals.”
Esther: “Sustainability is an important theme for FrieslandCampina. We think it’s important to bring sustainability to the attention of our employees in an interactive and positive way. The Footprint Challenge was a perfect fit.”
What did you hope to achieve?
Esther: “We hoped to create more awareness among our employees about the theme of sustainability, but we also wanted to actually do something, to actually contribute to a sustainable future.”
Esther van Laar
Internal Communication Specialist
“An astonishing result that has exceeded my expectations.”
Roger Loo
Vice-President FrieslandCampina Professional
How did you feel about participating in the FrieslandCampina Footprint Challenge?
Roger: “It’s such an important topic, and sometimes you feel like you can’t make the impact you want, or you just don’t know where to start. The Footprint Challenge was an excellent way for me to reduce my footprint, by learning simple things that make a difference! I’m so glad I took part, not just as an ambassador, but simply because we all have to contribute to make a difference for our future generations!”
Esther: “I thought it was a fun, positive way to engage in sustainability. It gave me a lot of insights and, above all, showed that I can contribute to a sustainable future with relatively simple actions. Due to the duration of the challenge, it also helped me to turn the actions into a new habits.”
What has the FrieslandCampina Footprint Challenge meant for you as an organisation and for your employees?
Esther: “The Footprint Challenge has been received very positively by our employees. Many participated actively and during the period of the challenge it was very alive. We also saw this reflected in our internal communication channels such as the Yammer community. Even after the challenge, we see that employees keep working on it and encourage us to organise the challenge again next year.”
What do you think of the result of the FrieslandCampina Footprint Challenge?
Peter: “The fact that 2,000 employees worldwide passionately participated is an astonishing result that has exceeded my expectations. It shows that FrieslandCampina employees embody our purpose “nourishing by nature” and have a strong drive to make a positive contribution to our planet, our people and society.”
Esther: “Both the figures and the sentiment among employees were very positive. With more than 2,000 participants, we have reduced our footprint by 346 hectares on an annual basis, an amazing result! And more importantly, participants have been made to think and have developed new habits to continuously contribute to a sustainable future.”
What are you most proud of?
Esther: “I am most proud of the fact that with the challenge we have mobilized many employees, spread over all our locations worldwide, and that there were so many active participants that it really lived among the employees.”
Renske: “I am very proud of the efforts and enthusiasm of colleagues all over the world who have participated! I am also surprised by the many great examples that have been shared in the Footprint Community: so nice to see how everyone has taken actions in its own way to live more sustainably!”
Renske Akerboom
Senior Communication Specialist
What do you think of the way we organised the challenge?
Esther: “I am very positive about the collaboration. You were always there when needed, you managed the programme smoothly and the sessions were always well prepared. In addition, we could build on the content you provided and we always knew that the Footprint Community was managed even on weekends.”
Renske: “Miriam and Laura are very professional and knowledgeable. They have really unburdened us in the collaboration: they respond very quickly, think along well and have guided the participants with great passion and enthusiasm.”
Would you recommend other organizations to participate in a Footprint Challenge?
Esther: “Absolutely, it’s a fun, playful way to bring sustainability to the attention of employees.”
Renske: “I definitely recommend that! It helped us to create more awareness about sustainability among our employees. Thanks to the Footprint Challenge, we as FrieslandCampina employees have stepped up together for a better planet!”
