WebHEALTH - Plogging for World Cleanup Day
Webhelpers from around the world engage in our Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) strategy to bring our vision to life and make a positive impact.
September 18th marks the annual World Cleanup day movement. This day harnesses the power of people around the world to come together and help clear our planet of waste: from forests and rivers to beaches and local streets.
According to the World Bank, humankind generates 2 billion tonnes of waste worldwide annually, part of which ends up in our natural environment, polluting our streets, oceans, countryside’s and more: did you that “global waste is expected to Grow by 70 Percent by 2050 Unless Urgent Action is Taken”?
At Webhelp, we strive to take action and make a positive impact, beyond our recycling efforts and reduction of plastic consumption. We believe in our people and the good they can do around them and for the planet. This September, we are stepping up our efforts and have combined the WebHEALTH Kilometer Challenge with plogging, to take care of our mind, body and our planet.
Our goal this year is to hit a target of 150,000km in 30 days. We are halfway through the challenge and our passion-game changers have already achieved 62,564km, with some already achieving their country target! Our Webhelpers have been running, cycling, walking and much more whilst picking up waste, with many involving their family and friends to achieve something great and make a difference.
The smallest efforts can have a great impact. Alone we can do a lot, together we can do so much more!
Learn more about this year’s WebHEALTH Kilometer Challenge.
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WebHEALTH Kilometer Challenge - Mind, Body, Planet
For the second year of many more to come, Webhelpers across the globe reunite for the annual Kilometer Challenge.
The first edition was an immense success in terms of participation and going beyond expectations, coupled with raising funds and awareness.
This September we’ve not only set the bar higher, with close to 1500 passionate game-changers taking on the challenge of covering 150.000 kilometers in 30 days, but we again do so for a cause worth making an impact for.
Doing more for the environment with our Kilometer Challenge
As a purpose-driven company, our Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) strategy is key in bringing our vision of making business more human, come to life. Throughout the year, many of our teams engage in activities around our four pillars of People, Planet, Progress, and Philanthropy, while as a business we continuously invest in initiatives to make a positive contribution.
For this year’s Kilometer Challenge, we’re encouraging our participants to not only work on their mind and body, but also take care of our planet, by plogging their kilometers.
The term plogging comes from Sweden’s Ploka and jogging, where people were keen to make a difference by combining their jogging with picking up litter: particularly waste that can’t degrade naturally and poses a threat to the environment such as plastics and metals. Although consciousness and the threat of waste and plastics has particularly been rising across the world, we still have a long way to go. According to the UN, in just one lifetime the amount of plastics produced has exploded massively, with over 56% of the volume produced in the 21st century. While some plastics are used for long periods of time, about 40% of products are discarded within a month leading to about 300 tons of plastic waste yearly, of which only 10% is recycled today, more than half ends up as waste in landfills or nature.
At Webhelp we regularly undertake actions to make a positive impact, beyond our recycling efforts and reduction of plastic consumption. Over the past summer, our WebHEALTH running club which reunites running enthusiasts from all over the Webhelp world, plogged their way through Plastic Free July. On World Environment Day, 25 Algerian Webhelp volunteers paired up with an association for kids with Down syndrome to plant trees and clean over 1000m2 of forest. And with the Kilometer Challenge we are stepping up our efforts to make a positive impact for our planet.
We’re strong believers that even the smallest effort can have a snowball effect, so we’re calling our Kilometer Challenge participants, but also our supporters and partners to raise awareness and take action. Alone we can do a lot, together we can do so much more!
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WebHEALTH goes above and beyond to raise funds and awareness.
This September we set out on our WebHEALTH Kilometer Challenge, traveling the circumference of the world in 30 days.
As a people-first company with a strong dedication to our social and environmental responsibility Webhelp embarked and completed an inspiring journey with great success.
By partnering up with STEPtember, a charity event raising funds for critical research on cerebral palsy, we’re happy to contribute to a world in which children will be able to overcome this debilitating motor disorder.
As exercise and simply moving are also great to prevent heart disease, we put the spotlight on World Heart Day, spreading awareness and knowledge on keeping up a healthy lifestyle.
And of course, we managed to live our values and reinforce our unique culture every day. Community and support are essential to well-being, especially in the challenging time that is 2020, and we strive to enjoy every day by focusing on the positives whenever we can.
Reuniting thousands of amazing, unique people across the world around a common vision is something we do daily, making sure we’re a great place to grow.
Thanks to the contributions and support of our Webhelpers from around the world, it has been an incredible journey. And as passionate game-changers who thrive on making a difference, the participants not only reached our target of 40.075km but went on to reach for the stars.
We traveled an incredible 112.968 km, walking, running, biking, rowing and all you can think of, not only around the Earth, but the Moon, Mars and Venus!
We’ve always known our Webhelpers are a talented bunch, so we weren’t surprised to see them enjoying so many different forms of exercise throughout September. Check out our highlights reel featuring clips and photographs of our journey here below.
Our journey doesn’t end here though. This challenge is part of our global WebHEALTH program which focuses on our people’s wellbeing every day and everywhere. We’ll continue to invest in our people and planet through dedicated initiatives, bringing our vision of making business more human to life in everything we do.
Webhealth KM Challenge
WebHEALTH KM Challenge has travelled beyond the Earth to raise funds for STEPtember!
Webhelp launched its biggest WebHEALTH challenge yet, reuniting thousands of Webhelpers from across the world around one common goal; travelling the circumference of the world through exercise in just 30 days. We’ve now hit the halfway mark of our time to complete the WebHEALTH KM Challenge, and have smashed our initial goals far beyond!
In just 15 days, we’ve not only travelled the circumference of the world, we’ve also gone around the moon for a total of 50.996KM!
Back on earth, some of our participants are getting very creative in adding kilometers, like our colleague Tor Andre, a customer service representative based in Malaga who took his Webhelp spirit to the next level!
Besides having fun and working on our fitness as a community, there’s a bigger reason behind our dedication to this challenge.
As a company determined to make business more human, Corporate Social Responsibility is highly important to us.
For many, being able to exercise or even simply walk might be an entirely normal thing, but unfortunately, this is not the case for everyone.
One of the many reasons we launched this initiative is to sponsor important charities such as STEPtember, a global initiative to raise funds for critical Cerebral Palsy research.
Cerebral Palsy is the most common motor disability in childhood that in various degrees hinders its patients’ from living a normal life.
Webhelp has joined many major global and local corporations to raise funds through the STEPtember initiatives to support research that could truly change many patients’ lives.
To find out more please visit www.steptember.us.
Here is what Sandrine Asseraf, Group Managing Director, People & Business Development – Legal & Compliance and Dominique Chatelin, President of Supervisory board Webhelp Payment Services had to say about the initiative:
How does Webhelp and sponsoring charities fit together?
Sandrine Asseraf: Our Think Human approach means that we take care of our people and their health. We look after each other and also the communities we live in. Participating or funding the associations in our communities which contribute to changing the life of people, is part of our commitment to positively impact our societies. The KM Challenge is not just Webhelp supporting an amazing cause, it is each Webhelper playing their part in making business more human – inside and outside of Webhelp.
Why is it so important to participate in STEPtember?
Dominique Chatelin: WebHEALTH Kilometer challenge is a great initiative, and by combining it with STEPtember, we can raise money to finance medical research and support for kids suffering from Cerebral Palsy. This gives us the opportunity to Think Human as we walk for kids that will probably never walk. The program was born in Australia, and is now also available in France, Netherlands, Turkey and many other countries: https://www.steptember.org.au/
Are you participating in the challenge yourself and how?
Dominique Chatelin: Of course! I am running and you can support me on my page: https://www.steptember.fr/fundraisers/dominiquechatelin.
In the past, I have participated in a semi-marathon pushing a wheelchair to contribute to the same cause.
Sandrine Asseraf: I am a much slower runner than Dominique so I try to do some biking as well to put in more kilometers!
Any words of wisdom to close with?
Dominique Chatelin & Sandrine Asseraf: Having good health is an undervalued gift that we often take for granted. Until we face people that do not have the chance of this invaluable gift, running for them takes little efforts. Nonetheless, it is such a big help for these kids and adults who will never walk! Enjoy your WebHEALTH Kilometer Challenge and have fun contributing to STEPtember.
We’ve managed an incredible achievement in these first 2 weeks already, but now is not the time to stop! We are on our way around Mars as we continue to reach for the stars!
You can keep track of our progress in this blogspace and across our social media pages through the hashtag #WebHEALTHKilometerChallenge