Leaving the world a little better than they found it

We all want to live in a world where rivers, forests, wildlife, people and oceans thrive. This is the world ANZ’s Green Ambassadors are helping to create, united by their desire to make a difference and reduce their environmental footprint, they’re inspiring those around them to act.

Our internal employee engagement program equips our people with the knowledge, tools and mindset to live more sustainably. In 2021, despite the global pandemic, ANZ’s Green Ambassador squads have adapted their initiatives to lockdown settings and created some incredible solutions to pressing environmental challenges.

In Manila, 247 staff showed their support for the planet by switching off power for one hour as part of Earth Hour. They saved 100kWh, and ignited discussions about use of non-essential electricity, climate change and the environment. They were joined by Green Ambassadors across ANZ’s markets, from Papua New Guinea to New York, while buildings in Australia and Bengaluru dimmed their lights in a symbolic display of support.

To celebrate World Environment Day in June, we launched an exclusive offer with Zero Co. The ANZ customer and Australian start-up delivers home-cleaning and personal care products direct to your door using recycled plastics pulled from the ocean and waste destined for landfill. To date, ANZ sits proudly atop the ‘Work Waste Challenge’ leaderboard, with staff sign-ups to the company having stopped more than 6,400 single use plastic bottles from being thrown into landfill in the next 12 months.

During the month of July, our Green Ambassadors also worked to reduce their plastic footprint. Invigorated to tackle the global waste problem (made worse by the rapid rise in single use plastic associated with the pandemic) Green Ambassadors adopted reusable alternatives to everyday items and took up 'plogging' as a means of exercise during lockdown restrictions.

Additionally, in one endeavour to promote recycling and reduce the reliance on single use plastic bags, hundreds of volunteers in our Bengaluru Service Centres joined virtual paper bag making sessions, turning old newspapers into paper bags. This year, more than 90,000 paper bags have been distributed to vendors in their local communities.

Like much of 2021, virtual events coloured the advocacy and education work carried out by our Green Ambassadors. In Indonesia, staff learned how organic waste can be managed by Black Soldier Flies during a Teams call, while Thailand’s eight-week environmental awareness campaign on Yammer – to coincide with the launch of the United Nations Decade on Ecosystems Restoration in June – is still going strong.

More than 600 attendees joined the virtual Green Ambassador Summit in July – a week-long event exploring sustainability insights, opportunities and ways our Green Ambassadors have reduced their footprint and connected with nature.

Sowani Nabukavou (team member of our Fiji Squad) inspired those who dialled in for the closing session of the week, by quoting Lord Baden-Powell: Try and leave this world a little better than you found it. Our Green Ambassadors, with their creativity, passion and innovation, are doing just that.