LeasePlan has a proud history of contributing to the communities we serve all over the world.
From painting an orphanage in Romania to hosting a children’s
day in Mexico, LeasePlanners are eager to lend a hand or raise
money for important causes.
“LeasePlanners in our 29 countries have been involved in
volunteering for many years, but these efforts have always been
local, without any official central oversight” says Tessa Peetoom, DE&I Director. “To support our updated environmental, social
and governance (ESG) strategy, Driving to Zero, we wanted to
create a global standard to align our organisational approach
to volunteering. That’s why we launched our Global Community
Volunteering Standard (GCVS), providing LeasePlan’s volunteers
with more structure and guidance to help them make even more
of an impact.”
The GCVS was released to country teams in November, just in
time for the United Nations International Volunteer Day on
December 5. It sets out information on the types of projects
LeasePlan supports and the amount of time LeasePlanners can
spend on community volunteering: four working hours per year
for every employee, for a total of more than 32,000 hours across
the organisation.
The advantage of the GCVS is that, while it provides an
overarching structure and policy, it leaves room for the
employees of each LeasePlan country to decide which charities
to support and what activities to carry out. It is supported by a
new function in Workday where colleagues can formally register
to volunteer and then report on their efforts, allowing for a more
accurate global understanding of LeasePlan’s contribution to
societal well being.
“LeasePlan has a duty as a business to care for the societies
we’re part of,” Tessa explains. “But there are many more benefits
too: LeasePlanners enjoy a chance to socialise with new people,
learn new skills and gain a better understanding of the wider
community. This is a great example of doing well by doing good.”