Responsib'All Day: Unlocking the power of collective action

June 20th marked the 12th edition of Responsib’All Day – Pernod Ricard’s global initiative where employees worldwide step away from their tasks for a day to focus on giving back to local communities.  

As a proud initiator of this event in 2011, I’ve seen Responsib’All Day evolve into a cornerstone of our company culture. It has become a pivotal way to engage the entire business with topics relating to Pernod Ricard’s Sustainability & Responsibility roadmap, ‘Good Times from a Good Place’, and something colleagues look forward to every year.  

Uniting colleagues under a common purpose  

What makes Responsib’All Day such a success is the way it brings people together and galvanises them towards a common purpose. Conviviality is a driving force of the Pernod Ricard business, and we are always looking to bring people together to create meaningful and joyful moments. Conviviality and inclusivity go hand in hand, and Responsib’All Day is a chance for the entire Pernod Ricard family to come together and unite through concrete action on a global scale.  

A  LinkedIn study found that more than two-thirds (68%) of workers consider it important to work for companies that align with their values.  Today’s employees are drawn to purpose-led organisations that care for both people and the planet and it’s clearly a key factor for employees that they work for an organisation that acts with integrity. Responsib’All Day gives us the opportunity to highlight the sustainable practices Pernod Ricard’s companies are implementing, as well as providing an open forum for employees to ask any questions relating to our sustainability journey.   

We have found over the years that engaging teammates through Responsib’All Day has been beneficial for their wellbeing.  The feedback we receive always mentions the enjoyment that comes from working together to do something good for the community. This type of employee engagement goes far beyond the workplace as it can foster real connection at a human level.  

Championing circularity  

The theme of this year’s Responsib’All Day was ‘Circular Making’, one of the four pillars in the Good Times from a Good Place roadmap.  The drinks industry depends on natural resources, but these are increasingly finite and under pressure. Circular Making is all about reducing and minimising waste at every step of creating and distributing our products, to optimise and help preserve these natural resources.  

The Circular Making theme of this year’s Responsib’All Day looked beyond the business and was all about making the concept of a circular economy understandable. It encouraged us to embrace more circular models at work, home, and in our communities to minimise waste and our impact on the environment.  

Teammates were able to get involved in hands-on repair workshops that focused on giving back to local causes, as well as learn upcycling techniques for products, furniture, and clothing alterations. Examples of the activities they took part in ranged from repairing broken laptops, designing, and building a piece of furniture out of given waste components, turning textile waste into cushion covers for community centres, and even weeding and harvesting fruits and vegetables for a local garden kitchen. They were also able to trial sustainable practices within our business with the Bar World of Tomorrow workshop, learning tips and tricks on how to minimise waste in bars.

Having this day made the principles behind Circular Making tangible for everyone, so that they were able to see how their role in the business fits into promoting circularity and how they can make a difference in their own sphere of influence. 

Taking pride in our work 

One thing that shines through every Responsib’All Day is the sense of pride that comes from employees about the positive steps the company is taking to help people and the planet. Responsib’All Day is about education as well as giving back, and it is always a highlight to hear about the different work the sister companies are engaging in.  

In the London office, the teams were able to learn more about a range of circular initiatives across the Pernod Ricard portfolio. The Global Travel Retail team gave insight into their industry-first Life Cycle Analysis tool, which helps predict the impact of projects in a cumulative manner over their life cycle stages, giving them the ability to assess the potential environmental impact of short-term and long-term retail activations. We also heard from the Pernod Ricard UK team on the Bar World of Tomorrow training program focused on training bartenders in more sustainable and responsible practices, from waste management to saving water.  

I had the pleasure of presenting the successes of Chivas Brothers’ implementation of Mechanical Vapour Recompression (MVR) technology, which captures and recycles heat generated in the distillation process that would otherwise be lost. These technologies reduced total energy consumption almost by half (48%) at Glentauchers distillery, reducing the site’s total carbon emissions by 53% as a result.  What really resonated amongst colleagues was Chivas Brothers decision to put collaboration ahead of competition and make these learnings ‘open source’ to the wider industry, in an effort to accelerate its progress to net zero.  

From interns to executives, we found that our colleagues had a real appetite to learn more, both in how the wider company is promoting sustainability and how they can implement circular practices themselves at home. What I am most proud of was seeing the smiles on people’s faces when they were working together to make a positive impact, demonstrating the joy that comes from giving back to the community with your teammates.