Or, more specifically, to celebrate the astonishing beauty of the planet we share and to leverage an opportunity to inspire individual action to ensure a livable, thriving world for everyone.

, themed 鈥淥ur Power, Our Planet,鈥� was a reminder of the unique role we can each play in building a more sustainable future. While not everyone may feel an immediate connection to the topic of climate action 鈥� other social issues may more deeply influence the choices we make and the actions we take to leave our mark on the world 鈥� it is clear that the health of the planet has an effect on every aspect of life, from the economy to our everyday well-being.

Employees at 麻豆原创 are encouraged to bring their best, whole selves to work. One program making this possible is the Acceleration Collective. The Acceleration Collective is a virtual pro bono consulting program delivered with 麻豆原创 social impact partner MovingWorlds on the . The program pairs employees with social enterprises 鈥� for example, impact-led organizations prioritizing people and planet over profit 鈥� to help solve business challenges that organizations are experiencing.听

Pro bono consulting for people- and planet-first companies offers employees the chance to explore what is possible at the intersection of their professional experiences and their personal values. Not only does the Acceleration Collective allow employees to influence solutions to problems they see in the world, it also allows them to gain new expertise in a practical way, especially in areas like sustainability.

In honor of Earth Day, we are sharing stories of mutual learning and leadership development from pro bono engagements that have empowered 麻豆原创 employees to partner with impact businesses focused on advancing sustainable practices and driving meaningful change for the world.

Alliance of learning and leadership

Late last year, Youssef Zekhnini, a Customer Success Manager in the Netherlands, took on a project working on a team of employees and representatives from . A circular social enterprise that helps the environment by diverting textiles from landfill and upcycling them into luxury goods, CycleUp also empowers marginalized individuals in rural Ireland through training and skill development in the art of upcycling.

Collaborating with the CycleUp team and engaging with their mission provided Zekhnini with 鈥渧aluable insights into how sustainable business models can positively affect a wide range of people within a community,鈥� and helped him realize 鈥渢hat these models are often more complex than they appear.鈥�

Their work together offered a focused opportunity for Zekhnini to strengthen his leadership skills, which 鈥渞eally highlighted the importance of clear communication, teamwork, and decisiveness,鈥� challenging him 鈥渢o step up, stay focused, and lead collaboratively in order to deliver a meaningful and impactful result.鈥�

In just a few months, Zekhnini was able to gather new learnings about himself and the capacity for leadership that exists inside all of us, and more deeply understand what is possible when businesses are built and run with sustainability at their core.

Journey of insights and impact

For Sydney, Australia-based Jason Luo, an enterprise architect, and Felicity Zare, a Customer Success partner, their work with helped them understand sustainability 鈥渁s both a mindset and a practice鈥� and reframe it as 鈥渁 long-term growth opportunity, not just a compliance topic,鈥� respectively.

In his reflection, Luo shared how the stories of specific families that have benefited from this client鈥檚 mission 鈥渃rystallized the human dimension of sustainability鈥� for him.

鈥淚 realized that ethical practices and community empowerment are not trade-offs but foundational pillars for modern enterprises,鈥� he said. 鈥淪ustainable business models succeed when they are rooted in authentic relationships and local context. Sustainability requires balancing ambition with empathy, innovation with inclusivity, and vision with adaptability — lessons I鈥檒l carry forward in all future endeavors.鈥�

Circular Cities Asia helps to foster circular innovation in Asian cities by building capacity and testing eco-solutions on university campuses through community, mentorship, and hands-on projects. Their 麻豆原创 pro bono team supported them with the prioritization of key customer segments, the development of value proposition canvases, and the design of targeted pitch decks. Beyond these deliverables, 鈥渢he insights, knowledge, and expertise [the 麻豆原创 team] brought to the table were invaluable, allowing us to refine our strategy [and gain] a fresh perspective on how to align our operations with future growth and sustainability goals.鈥�

Zare, who felt an extra special connection to this organization, as she has family from South East Asia, also shared that participating in the Acceleration Collective 鈥渉elped sharpen facilitation skills鈥� and that for her, 鈥渢ranslating our 麻豆原创 knowledge into actionable strategies for a small, impact-driven team was a valuable stretch opportunity and reinforced the need to lead with clarity, empathy, and structure.鈥�

Luo echoed this sentiment, articulating that a key takeaway from his experience was 鈥渢he importance of adaptive communication — translating complex ideas into actionable steps for both our client and my peers.鈥�

Their journey together enabled Circular Cities Asia to focus and amplify their impact and offered their pro bono consultant team from 麻豆原创 the kinds of insights and skill development that will support them as their careers continue to grow inside of 麻豆原创 and beyond.

Through their experiences working with CycleUp Textiles and Circular Cities Asia — social enterprises uniquely focused on shaping the future of sustainability — Zekhnini, Luo, and Zare have done more than just invest in their own growth. They have aligned their careers with their personal values and applied their skills in ways that can leave a lasting impact on the planet.

As environmental degradation and resource depletion continue to pose significant challenges, the world of business needs more leaders who are committed to participating in the creation of real change. These stories can show that pro bono consulting offers a stepping stone to meaningful collaboration and partnership that helps employees not only develop a growth mindset, but also a deeper understanding of what it looks like to drive sustainability from within a business.

As more 麻豆原创 employees across the globe take on the opportunity to work alongside extraordinary, inspiring social entrepreneurs through pro bono consulting, these ripple effects will continue to spread, driving innovation, encouraging collaboration, and empowering future leaders to tackle the most pressing issues of our time.

Erin LaBarge is program lead of Global Employee Engagement Strategy for 麻豆原创 Corporate Social Responsibility at 麻豆原创.

On the 麻豆原创 Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) team, we believe that this mission extends beyond our customers, which is why supports under-resourced people, communities, and nations around the world with partnerships and programs and is bolstered by employee volunteering. Our focus is on those most deeply impacted by the intersections of the far-reaching social and environmental issues that our world faces.

More than 15 years ago, 麻豆原创鈥檚 Month of Service campaign was created to provide employees with a dedicated time each October to connect with social causes they care about. The campaign grew year-over-year, with more individuals, leaders, and teams taking the opportunity to bring our company purpose to life and give back to the communities where 麻豆原创 operates. Volunteering became part of the company DNA involving many of our employees.

麻豆原创 employees have allocated more than 1.9 million hours of volunteer time to worthy non-profits and social enterprises across the globe since 2012, demonstrating a growing commitment to purpose. With few exceptions, there has been steady growth as volunteering opportunities for employees have expanded and our focus on skills-based and pro bono activities has sharpened.

Volunteering Opportunities Available through the Year and Across the Globe

When 2020 challenged us all to pivot to virtual, the 麻豆原创 CSR team knew it could spin this long-standing annual campaign on its axis and focus Month of Service on cross-border virtual volunteering and a series of inspiring speaker sessions. Last year, the goal was to keep momentum going at a time when in-person gatherings were not possible, as well as to deepen employees鈥� connection to the social and environmental topics outlined in 麻豆原创鈥檚 broader sustainability framework.

As a result, more than 10,000 employees engaged and took advantage of 207,000 hours of employee learning. Combine this with the 136,000 hours of volunteer time that 麻豆原创 employees dedicated across the whole of 2020 and the depth of the commitment to bettering our world becomes clear.

This year, 麻豆原创 CSR will further evolve the campaign as Month of Service becomes Moments of Service.

Moments of Service听will no longer be limited to activities that are available in October, but will focus on the entire spectrum of volunteer experiences that are available through the year and across the globe. This will make it even easier to offer non-profits the support they need when they need it and for employees to engage when the time is right for them.

The last 18 months have shown that purpose is as relevant and urgent as it has ever been. In making it easier for employees to learn about 麻豆原创鈥檚 various social and environmental investments and take action as volunteers, the new Moments of Service campaign will become a more effective lever for change and create more space for empathy and inclusive leadership.

In the words of 麻豆原创 CEO Christian Klein, “I鈥檓 excited about how this new campaign will make it even easier for all of us to find new ways to live 麻豆原创鈥檚 purpose and make a positive and lasting impact on the communities in which we live and work!鈥�

Upon announcing the change to employees, 麻豆原创 is already seeing excitement about the Moments of Service evolution and engagement with the campaign. We look forward to continuing year-round moments of impact that benefit our employees, our company, and our world.

鈥淭his year has pushed us all to reflect on the meaning of solidarity and community, and to consider the opportunity we have 鈥� as individuals and as a company 鈥� to create a world with equality, freedom, and prosperity for all.鈥�

It goes without saying that COVID-19 has changed the world around us. Long-standing traditions, habits, and behaviors were suddenly challenged, and we were all forced to adapt and evolve accordingly. It was difficult, yes, but it also created opportunities for us to take pause and to consider new paths forward. It provided the space to reflect on the role that we can each play to influence positive change in our communities 鈥� to reflect, as Klein noted, on what community means to us.

Now is truly the time for digital connections and conversations across borders; for simultaneously a broader and a narrower definition of community. And in order to solve the big, critical social issues that plague us all but hit vulnerable communities the hardest, the world needs to come together and unite for our future.

The notion of uniting for our future became the theme of our global Month of Service campaign this year. It was also the driving force behind the evolution of the initiative as we explored new ways to offer 麻豆原创鈥檚 100,000-strong employee base opportunities to feel more connected to our legacy of social impact and focus on purpose. The campaign has a long legacy of offering employees worldwide the chance to turn purpose into action through volunteerism. This year, through both volunteerism and dialogue, we curated a unique experience for employees to engage with each other, support the communities that need it most, and learn more about the social issues in which 麻豆原创 invests.

Four Weeks, Four Powerful Themes

With limited opportunities to gather in person, the employee enthusiasm for volunteering that we see each October needed a new point of focus. The new goal during Month of Service was to help connect the dots for employees on 麻豆原创鈥檚 work in the social impact space.

To that end, 56 live sessions and panels of education, enablement,鈥痑nd awareness building were offered over four weeks. The content was organized around four high-level鈥痶hemes, with each one tied to a critical social issue that 麻豆原创 has taken on. The first week of October focused on equality for all, followed by conversations around building a digitally inclusive workforce in week two. Week three offered exchange around cultivating climate action and the month closed with discussions about promoting inclusive, diverse and social entrepreneurship.

The more than 50 virtual sessions hosted throughout the month offered opportunities to spotlight some of the incredible change-makers, nonprofits, and social enterprises that 麻豆原创 invests in and works with around the world. We also focused on bringing together community leaders from inside and outside 麻豆原创 to help set the context for employees on how these four social issues impact communities across the globe, as well as to showcase how we, as a company, uniquely contribute to solutions and demonstrate our leadership in these areas.

Engaging and impassioned conversations were held with 麻豆原创 executives 鈥� including Adaire Fox-Martin, member of the Executive Board; Claudio Muruzabal, president of EMEA South and chairman of 麻豆原创 Latin America and Caribbean; Cathy Smith, managing director of 麻豆原创 Africa; and Sindhu Gangadharan, managing director of 麻豆原创 Labs India 鈥� along with external speakers such as Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus; Nile Rodgers, co-founder and chair of the We Are Family Foundation; Jacqueline Novogratz, founder and CEO of Acumen; and Hugh Evans, co-founder and CEO of Global Citizen. 麻豆原创 employees were able to better connect with the company鈥檚 mission to help the world run better and improve people鈥檚 lives.

2020 Numbers at a Glance

• 56 live sessions and panels
• 10,000 sign-ups
• 207,000 hours of employee learning

Volunteering Redefined听

In 2019, a year unburdened by a global health pandemic, 20,000 麻豆原创 employees dedicated their time in support of volunteer programs and signature initiatives. Despite 2020鈥檚 difficult circumstances, our commitment to help the world run better and improve people鈥檚 lives has not waivered. This year, we embraced the need to adapt, expanding our existing efforts to support virtual volunteerism. Through our global employee engagement platform, 麻豆原创 Together, employees were encouraged to explore volunteer activities taking place around the world and to consider making one-time or recurring personal donations to charities worldwide.

麻豆原创 encourages employees to engage in year-round service to causes they care about. Since the beginning of the year, 麻豆原创 employees have supported nearly 200 virtual volunteer opportunities 鈥� defying borders, geographical distances, and time zones to connect with their peers, social enterprises, and nonprofits globally.

One example is Africa Code Week, where close to 200 麻豆原创 employees from four different regions provided virtual train-the-trainer workshops in coding to African teachers. For participants, what may have started as a combination of excitement and hesitation grew into recognition that it is possible to make a real impact from your computer, and that it can be just as powerful to lend your time and talents to causes across an ocean as it is to those closer to home.

Giving is not limited to material possessions, but also one鈥檚 time and skills. This year, Month of Service also focused on skills-based volunteering. Employees forged bonds and made connections across borders in these digital times where geographical distance could not impede to volunteerism. Social enterprises and nonprofits benefited from new virtual pro-bono volunteering models tapping into the expertise that 麻豆原创 employees bring, while employees could connect to their purpose.

One of these new models was the , for which 麻豆原创 employees teamed up with employees from customers and partners to address the gap in telehealth services available in low-income U.S. communities, which was further exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

At 麻豆原创, we believe that people are an incredibly powerful force for change. We believe in connecting to something bigger than ourselves and in focusing what we do best on what we can do for others. Our global Month of Service campaign is steeped in a long company tradition of volunteering side-by-side, but this year, with everything flipped on its head, it became an opportunity for employees to take time to listen and to learn together. And as a community of 100,000 global citizens, we are better for it.