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Community projects
Making a difference the Bidcorp way
The goal of our social inventions is to make
a sustainable difference, not a once-off
cheque-writing exercise. To make initiatives
real and relevant, social projects often have a
connection to our business. Further traction is
achieved by encouraging staff involvement.
The approach was recently highlighted by the
One Water campaign at Bidcorp UK and the
follow-up visit to Malawi by a group of staff
members.
One Water, the ethical water brand, supports
clean water, pump repair and educational
initiatives in third world countries, including
Malawi.
Bidcorp UK gave added impetus to One
Water efforts by driving up sales of the
brand. Sales growth of 136% was achieved.
Meanwhile, staff members launched local
fundraising efforts to add further financial
muscle.
A group of employees then flew to Malawi to
see One Water in action, while contributing to
awareness-raising efforts to highlight the plight
of African communities that have no access to
running water.
Netherlands
In western Europe, with its ageing population,
initiatives to assist the elderly receive growing
attention and for the last five years Deli XL
Netherlands has been making a difference
with its Ouderendag intervention.
This is an annual day out for residents of
retirement homes. The chance to get out
and about is always appreciated by these old
people. The intervention also has relevance
to our operations as the institutional business
category is important to Deli XL.
The most recent Ouderendag involved a visit
to a zoo (another customer of Deli XL). As
is the Bidcorp way, our people are actively
involved. Employees volunteer to help and are
on hand to accompany the old people on their
outing.
Ouderendag
is fast becoming a tradition. The elderly, our
customers and our people all enjoy the day.
The staff did not simply observe and contribute
to a social media blog. They handed out basic
learning materials at under-resourced schools,
distributed T-shirts to children who had no
change of clothes, and helped with pump
repairs.
T-shirts carried the slogan “Together we can
make the world a better place” – an insight
borrowed from Bidcorp UK’s plate2planet
website. The slogan also featured on a branded
Bidcorp banner displayed by the group.
UK staff saw African poverty first hand
and joined in the trek
(sometimes down a
mountainside) that village
women and children have
to make to reach water
sources when their village
has no water pump.
The party is now back in
the UK, providing further
traction to this social
intervention as they share
their experiences with
colleagues.
Bidcorp United Kingdom
Bidcorp Europe
Foodservice reaches into homes and families worldwide. Within our group, each decentralised business makes
its own social and sustainability contribution in its own way. It is impossible to itemise every intervention, but we
can describe some projects and the general Bidcorp approach.
Bidcorp believes in partnership and alignment. Partnership with specialists in various areas ensures optimum
impact and minimal duplication. Alignment ensures focus on national and international priorities. Many
interventions dovetail with the UN’s 17 sustainable development goals.
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| Bidcorp Limited Annual integrated report 2016