Corporate and Social Responsibility
Corporate and Social Responsibility is a broad term that refers to a company’s ethical responsibility to the social, physical and business environments in which it operates. Activities falling under this definition are not performed in order to comply with a specific obligation, but rather to "give something back" to deserving causes within the company's sphere of influence.
PGL takes this responsibility very seriously and encourages staff to contribute ideas and effort in this area - everything from running marathons to baking cakes, helping disabled children to contributing to recycling policies.
Given that budgets are always limited, we try to support good causes that are closest to PGL’s business activities, as well as to the geographical locations of our Head Office and centres. We therefore concentrate our efforts on requests from schools and other children’s organisations, sports of all sorts with particular emphasis on outdoor activities, and events in the communities that we interact with. We particularly favour any proposals that link several of these target areas together!
Fun, health and fitness, the environment and relief from hardship are key drivers in the initiatives we support, as you can see from these following examples:
Health and Fitness
We work with Government agencies and official charitable bodies such as the Youth Sports Trust to raise awareness of the importance of exercise and the possibility of improving young people’s lives through physical activity. We worked alongside the Department for Education & Skills and various other key organisations in the creation of the recently launched "Learning Outside the Classroom" Manifesto.
Our Little Canada centre was the venue for an episode of Ian Wright’s “Unfit Kids”, which illustrated how teamwork on outdoor activities can bring positive results. In October 2006 we hosted a “Girls Active Initiative” day at two of our sites (Marchants Hill and Boreatton Park), with Dame Kelly Holmes challenging girls to try out the activities available and think about the benefits of an active lifestyle.
Sport for All
In 2006, PGL sponsored the BCU’s YouthFest at Dorney Lake in Berkshire, an event designed to introduce young people to all types of paddlesport in an atmosphere of fun and excitement. There was a demonstration from Andrew Hadfield, the UK Under 23 Slalom Champion, whose first ever canoeing experience was at a PGL centre over ten years ago! In November, we sponsored the National Schools Orienteering Championships in the Wyre Forest, Worcestershire, and over a thousand youngsters took part.
Charity Fundraising
NSPCC - Simon Hicks from PGL’s Recruitment Department has kept up the tradition of running in the London Marathon to support the NSPCC, raising a grand total of £3,500. This has taken the total raised by PGL runners over the years to over £30,000. We’ve got two runners in training to follow in Simon's footsteps for the next race!
Shelterbox - Following an update to the PGL uniform, we found that we still had a large quantity of the old style garments – all of this clothing was in good condition and so we decided to donate it to a deserving cause. We traced an organisation called “Shelterbox”, which is run by International Rotary in Cornwall and sends clothing and other vital equipment to disaster areas across the globe.
Kiss 4 Life – The centre lifeguards at Boreatton Park swam the equivalent distance of the English Channel to raise money for Kiss 4 Life, a charity which works to raise children’s awareness of lifesaving skills. We also sponsor a swimming gala in the West Midlands because swimming can be a vital skill, is excellent healthy exercise and allows participation in a wide range of exciting watersports.
Recycling Campaign
We have recently introduced a pilot scheme of recycling paper, cans, plastic and glass at our Head Office and selected centres. It’s already had a dramatic effect on the amount of waste that’s going to landfill. Our goal is to roll this out to all of our centres and to include awareness of the importance of recycling as part of the PGL experience.
Saving Energy
Another initiative we have introduced across the company is our list of energy saving guidelines which we hope our staff and visitors will incorporate into their home lives as well as their time at PGL. This includes reminders on turning off lights and not leaving machinery on standby, as well as an emphasis not to waste other resources, such as water and paper.
Working in our Local Communities
We realise that we make an impact on the local area, often through increased traffic and noise. We encourage all our staff to be considerate and we intend to be responsible members of the community. In this regard, we are pleased to contribute to local community initiatives. Just a small sample of the many initiatives we could mention are: the local police force training on climbing towers at Caythorpe Court; hosting a group of Ugandans visiting Weymouth at our Osmington Bay centre; allowing the local scout group to use our facilities at Boreatton Park and in Ross-on-Wye; and assistance with mapping for the local orienteering club at Dalguise.
If there is an initiative that falls within the parameters outlined here and you would like us to consider, please email full details to our Corporate Affairs Director martin.hudson@pgl.co.uk
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