Manutan International : gets involved in citizen clean-up operations

The Manutan Group has set itself a goal: Entrepreneurship for a Better World. This results in many actions for its stakeholders (customers, employees, suppliers, etc.) as well as wonderful citizen initiatives for the planet. In this dynamic, Manutan France and UK recently took part in two major clean-up operations. The aim was twofold: to pick up as much rubbish as possible, while raising the participants' awareness of the environmental challenge we face with pollution.

Each subsidiary targeted its action on the principle 'think global, act local'. Manutan France focused on the area surrounding its European Centre (Gonesse) while Manutan UK visited Boscombe beach (Bournemouth). A dozen employee volunteers, some of whom brought their friends and family and even suppliers, devoted a few hours of their time to cleaning these spaces full of litter (cigarette butts, plastic, masks, etc.). In total, several dozen kilos of rubbish were picked up.

Cameron Elliott, product manager at Manutan UK, shared his reaction: "This opened our eyes to the condition of our beaches and oceans, which are full of rubbish. Some materials that we picked up can take up to a thousand years to decompose. It breaks my heart to think that this rubbish will survive us, and our own children. Thanks to this initiative, however small it was, we had the feeling that we were having a positive impact and we became aware of the importance of managing our rubbish better as well as educating everyone about this issue."

In light of these results, the Manutan Group wants to take on new initiatives to continue raising employees' awareness of ecological challenges, while strengthening its subsidiaries' local community commitment.