WWF & HP Living Planet @ Work (LP@W)- Spring Things Campaign:

WWF’s 2014 “Spring Things” CEO committee is a groundbreaking approach to leveraging the links between employee engagement, philanthropy and addressing the astonishing fact that under 3% of Canadian donations are directed to environmental causes (StatsCan). David Miller (President & CEO of WWF-Canada) and Lloyd Bryant (Managing Director of HP Canada) co-chaired this first-ever group that helped WWF raise more than $400,000 via workplace giving, a 270% leap over 2013. These funds will go to support WWF in its critical conservation work. This leadership and new funding model address key issues for WWF, at a time when our support for conservation organizations and charities has never been more critical. Together, these leaders are charting a new course for businesses and employees to be a true force for nature!   

The problem:

• The environmental challenges we face today have never been more complex and the urgent need to do research and conservation work never been higher.
• Less than 3% of all charitable giving in Canada goes to support environmental causes (StatsCan).
• Most donations come from individuals; for WWF, with an annual budget of $24 million, over 50% of funding comes from individual donors.
• Corporate donations to environmental charities are decreasing; and traditional workplace giving campaigns are most often facilitated by umbrella charities that do not include the environment as a focus area.

The trailblazing solution:

Leverage the power of environmental employee engagement and business leadership – where CEOs put their personal passion behind this issue to open up a new fundraising stream to support the critical conservation & sustainability work done by WWF.

WWF-Canada’s 2014 “Spring Things” is a groundbreaking campaign that forges the link between employee engagement, philanthropy and conservation. Part of WWF’s Living Planet @ Work (LP@W) employee engagement program championed by HP, the campaign called for businesses and employees to fundraise for WWF’s conservation work in the Spring of 2014.

President and CEO of WWF-Canada, David Miller, and Managing Director of HP Canada, Lloyd Bryant, co-chaired the inaugural “Spring Things” campaign CEO committee along with five other CEOs. It’s the first time that business leaders stand together to harness the power of employees to drive funding for the environment. “Spring Things” took place between February 24 and May 1, 2014 and focused around three employee engagement and fundraising events: Polar Bear Week, Earth Hour Week and WWF’s CN Tower Climb.

Tackling the issue head-on, Lloyd challenged HP employees to raise over $10,000 for polar conservation and when employees delivered, led the plunge into Lake Ontario on a record-breaking cold day in February. (Video here)

The results by the numbers:

• $400K+ raised in total by LP@W companies this year to protect nature.
• 270% leap in the fundraising dollars generated by employees via LP@W.
• 6 CEOs joined the inaugural “Spring Things” CEO committee and together with their employees raised $86,500.
• 46 LP@W companies participated in WWF’s “Spring Things” campaign
• 40+ employees (including over 10 senior executives) “polar-plunged” into icy cold lakes

 

The WWF “Spring Things” CEO committee: 

The long term potential:

An important new stream of funding with the exciting potential to grow – changing the face of philanthropic giving in Canada and bringing environmental giving  habits to reflect Canadian’s passion and strong connection with our natural environment.

In their own words:

“This campaign marks the first time that businesses united to lead environmental and philanthropic action in Canada. Together, we harnessed the power of employees; generated new funding for the environment and drove transformational change.” ~ David Miller, President and CEO, WWF-Canada

“What is gratifying is that our belief in a new way of mobilization is working—giving business two things it needs: engaged employees and footprint reduction, and also a source of a new fundraising stream for WWF and the environment.” ~Lloyd Bryant, Managing Director, HP Canada

To learn more:

• Read on about the innovative, creative and inspirational stories of these CEOs, their employees and how they brought “Spring Things” to life at their companies.

Learn more about how your company can get involved with the Living Planet @ Work program and the many ways you can bring sustainability to your office and support WWF’s critical conservation work.