Rentokil Initial Cares (RIC) supports local communities in all regions. Each region has an ambassador who coordinates the fund to match colleagues’ efforts locally and to commit financial support to those local charities which protect people and enhance lives in line with the Company’s purpose.

Community activity is coordinated, monitored and reported (with an approval process for additional funds) through the RIC committee, has clear rules and policies, and results are communicated across the company.

Local charities supported in 2019 reflect the passion of colleagues to support these great causes including, PAPYRUS, Centre point, L6 Community Association, Families affected by Cerebral Palsy (Australia), Alzeimer’s Scotland, KWF Kankerbestrijding (Netherlands), Macmillan Coffee Morning, Whizz Kids, Orchid Cancer Appeal, MIND, Dreams Come True, Trust Aid, Alzheimer’s Society, Cancer Research UK, Home Farm Trust, Hotspurs USA, Parkinson’s UK, Contact, National Autistic Society, Breast Cancer Now, Tommy’s, Save the Children.

Total Charitable cash donations:

2019 – £206,000
2018 – £202,000
2017 – £213,000
2016 – £171,000
2015 – £128,000
2014 – £70,000

Excludes the provision of value in kind and colleague generated donations and efforts.

Nelson Mandela Day

In July every year, colleagues across South Africa donate 67 minutes of their time – one minute for every year of Mandela’s public service – to go out into their local communities and make a difference. This year, across South Africa, colleagues gave their time by supporting causes that helped people in need:

• In Johannesburg: Our Pest Control team carried out free pest control treatments at De Wetshof Retirement village as part of a campaign with one our customers and the City of Johannesburg, to improve the environment of the village for its elderly residents.
• In Cape Town: Our Accounts Receivables team collected sanitary towels to be delivered to schools in the area, building on their support last year to the national initiative to end period poverty across the country.
• In Port Elizabeth: Colleagues visited Sinako We Can, a learning centre for youths and adults with special needs; donating clothes, toilet paper and soap.
• In Kempton Park: Colleagues visited Casa Caritas, a centre for disabled children, where they installed new soap dispensers in bathroom and kitchens. They also deep cleaned the bathrooms and donated cleaning products and other necessities.

Global Handwashing Day

Global Hand Washing Day is an event in October every year to raise awareness of the importance of good hand hygiene. The simple act of washing hands with soap and water can reduce the risk of getting a stomach bug by as much as 47% and is the most effective and affordable way to prevent the spread of diseases. Rentokil Initial colleagues participated in events in branches, schools and local communities.

• In India, the Better Futures team held a series of feminine hygiene awareness events to educate young women on the hygienic disposal of sanitary waste and to raise awareness about the harmful environmental consequences of improper waste disposal. The talks were attended by 700 students, with the presentation also given to 740 of our customers’ employees who work in the technology and food manufacturing industries. In South Africa, colleagues around the country visited schools, while the team in Cape Town visited their biggest Ambius customer to swab hands and mobile phones. As a result, hand sanitisers were put on contract for the whole building.

Supporting the Daintree Rainforest

In Australia, Ambius has been a proud sponsor of Rainforest Rescue’s Daintree Buy Back and Protect Forever Project since 2006. In 2019, Ambius became a Silver Sponsor and pledged to donate $12,000 to continue the work that benefits both Australia and the world. Colleagues also helped to plant 1,200 trees to regenerate damaged parts of the rainforest.

CSR Malaysia Award

Rentokil Initial Malaysia was presented with the Top Company award in the Pest Control & Hygiene Services category at the CSR Malaysia Awards in 2019. The company was recognised for its activities in the Gotong-Royong local communities and as well as it’s Adopt-A-School programme which has carried hygiene education programmes to more than 20,000 students to date.

Anti-Bullying Campaign

In November 2019, we added our support to a global anti-bullying video developed by US and UK anti-bullying charities and supported by numerous well-known celebrities. Data suggests that approximately 49% of school children are bullied at some point in their school years and it can have long-term effects on an individual’s wellbeing. The video highlights the issue and at the end of 2019, the video had been watched almost 3 million times.

https://vimeo.com/371472212

Steptember

In our Australian business, 100 teams registered to take part in Steptember, with each colleague pledging to take 10,000 steps every day for 28 days to raise awareness and funds for the Cerebral Palsy Alliance. Leading with humorous names such as the Anti-inflammatories, Sydney’s Scrambled Legs and The Muffin Tops, steps were counted during several fundraising events, including barbecues and raffles, increasing the donation pot. By the end of the month they had collectively taken 67,343,975 steps and raised AUS $30,227.07.

Ciudad del Niño

In Chile, our colleagues partnered for the second year with the Ciudad del Niño Foundation to host a day of fun for 184 vulnerable children and teenagers from the local community.

Ronald McDonald House

Colleagues in Australia have been long-time supporters of Ronald McDonald House, a programme which provides support to seriously ill children and their families with accommodation only steps away from the hospital. As Silver Sponsors, our colleagues provide the charity with free pest control hygiene and plant services and they participate in many events across the year to raise additional funds for the charity.

Ben Comer, Local Service Manager, Sydney Branch, takes a break with Ronald.

Singapore Corporate Responsibility Event

Colleagues partnered with Foodbank Singapore to sponsor and distribute essential foods to less fortunate in Toa Payoh area. Local fundraising and donations augmented food supplies. On the day, colleagues and their families worked together to pack and distribute 140 food bundles to underprivileged communities in the city.

Dragon Boat Festival

Colleagues in Hong Kong spent time with residents at the Wan Hon Integrated Home Care Service and donated rice dumping to them on this special day. Not forgetting the younger generation, colleagues also organised a pizza making party for 25 underprivileged children from the Kwun Tong Happy Teens Club.

Dengue Awareness Education

In Vietnam 22 Rentokil Initial colleagues representing all parts of the business visited a primary school to help deliver hygiene and awareness training, particularly hand hygiene, and to show pupils and teachers how to minimise the risk pf contracting diseases like Dengue, which are spread by mosquitoes.

Case Study

Rentokil Initial set up a donations portal through the Australian Red Cross. Many regional teams set up fundraising events such as Australia Day BBQs, Snack Shop and Bake sales and a Pie and Lamington Day. The money raised through localised fundraising efforts was pooled together and through Rentokil Initial Cares (RIC), our Group initiative to support charities globally in line with our purpose to protect people and enhance lives, the company matched all donations up to $20,000.

Volunteers

Many of our colleagues were out fighting the fires and Rentokil Initial supported them though the payment of unlimited Special Leave to carry out these special services during emergencies or natural disasters. Here are some of their stories:

Tom Corbett is a Pest Control Service Technician based in Newcastle and was our first colleague to volunteer when the fires began. Tom has served as a member of the Rural Fire Service for the past 17 years. His first callout was in August 2019 in Killingworth at Lake Macquarie that destroyed over 50 hectares. Tom also spent a significant amount of time across the Christmas break at the Gospers Mountain fire.

Throughout the bushfire crisis, Tom had the responsibility of managing up to six crews and arranging logistics and supplies for the station and his station sent teams to Tamworth, Armidale, Glen Innes, Grafton, Casino, Kempsey, Wauchope, Forster, Taree and Bulga.

Kelly Vinken is an Initial Hygiene Service Technician in our Canberra business. Kelly always wanted to be a part of the Rural Fire Service (RFS), so when she moved to a rural location in New South Wales, she signed up. Kelly was deployed on Christmas Eve and stayed out with the Marulan fire brigade and worked under their supervision until January 2020.

Kelly was out at the Green Wattle Creek and Morton fires, working as part of a group of two or five firefighters. Her assignment was to clear paddocks to form a fire break at a home that was about 1km away from where the fire was heading. Kelly was amazed at how much work firefighters do to prevent the spread of fire – work that is just as exhausting as being in the thick of trying to put out a fire. She was also very humbled by the amount of donations, goods, food and other items donated by the local community.

Brett Mattner, Sales Manager from Adelaide, joined Greenock County Fire Service when he moved to the Barossa Valley in 2011. He lives in of a high-risk area and he wanted to contribute to the local community. In addition to fire-fighting, Brett is also trained in Frontline Leadership, Structural Breathing Apparatus, Wildfire Suppression, and Incident Management. He is now in the position of 1^st Lieutenant and group training officer. His team of 17 active members trains weekly to ensure they are always 100% on their game. Since joining the fire service, Brett and his fellow firefighters have responded to nearly 500 fires and road crash rescue incidents.

Melbourne-based Pest Control Service Technician, Martin Burt and his wife, Bronwin, have both been volunteers for many years now. They have a deep appreciation for the natural environment and see it as their duty to be involved and contribute to protecting people and managing the challenges the bushfires bring each year. Over Christmas, Martin stepped up to work in the Gippsland areas that were completely devastated by the fires.

Sue Massotti, Operations Manager, Initial Hygiene & Ambius, Adelaide, is a volunteer with Fauna Rescue. Sue and her husband Chris are doing what they can to help the animals injured or displaced due to the bushfires. South Australia has lost about 8,000 fruit bats due to the Adelaide heat waves – almost an entire generation of flying foxes has been wiped out. This species is listed as vulnerable and could soon be on the endangered list.

Around 400 fruit bat pups survived (and were collected from the ground under the trees in the botanical gardens by volunteers); so Sue and her husband have been growing, purchasing and preparing fruit to feed the surviving young who are now being looked after.

Volunteers are also building aviaries and preparing for the long-term care of the bats as they cannot be released until their habitats have been restored.