Local Community Support

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, Centrepoint, 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.

_{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 well-being. 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 barbeques 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.

Supporting communities at times of national crisis

Over the last ten years, the company has supported many local communities at times of crisis including the earthquakes in New Zealand and Indonesia; flooding in northern Thailand and the devastation caused in Kerala, India, from monsoon flooding; the widespread devastation across Fiji from Cyclone Winston; and the more recent hurricanes in the USA and Caribbean.

The first donation by Rentokil Initial Cares was to support the local communities and colleagues in Kerala, India, to help them rebuild their lives and homes after the flooding in 2018 and one of the latest donations was to support those effected by the recent bush fires in Australia.