Corporate social responsibility at OAL
OAL is a family business proudly established on the foundations of innovation and change. Throughout our 26-year history, however, one thing has remained constant; our unwavering commitment to reducing the impact of our industry on the global climate. We’re also passionate about supporting local causes, and take great pride in fundraising in our local area. For us, social responsibility is about the whole picture and doing what we can both on our doorstep and beyond, incorporating action into everyday life at OAL.
Climate
The food industry accounts for over a quarter (26%) of global greenhouse emissions. In 2008 we decided to strategically run one of the most socially responsible green car fleets in the UK. When first launched, we had the largest fleet of Toyota Prius company cars, which were then updated to emission-friendly Volvos in 2013, resulting in an estimated 30% improvement in real world economy. Our employees need to drive around the UK to provide effective service to our customers, and we aim to do what we can to mitigate our impact on the environment one journey at a time.
Our dedication to reducing the impact of emissions on the environment is also seen with our promotion of the ‘Cycle to Work’ scheme encouraging pedalling over petrol. We have had a very strong uptake, with 25% of employees using the scheme, achieving a significant environmental saving from the reduced use of cars and achieving clear health benefits for our team.
Cycling is a passion shared by many employees at OAL, including our MD Harry Norman. Over the years we’ve been proud to support events such as the ‘Coast to Coast in a day’, where we also entered a 10-person team into the event to raise money for the British Heart Foundation while simultaneously promoting sustainability and healthy lifestyles among our staff.
For us, we believe that it’s often the small changes that can make the biggest difference. As a company single-use plastic bottles have been removed, and we actively encourage recycling around the business. The coffee grounds that are left over by our coffee machine are even taken home by one of our employees and used for compost in his garden!
Community
As well as global issues, we believe our social responsibility is also about doing what we can closer to home to support our local area. From our offices in Peterborough we have a real sense of community, and work closely with nearby schools and colleges to provide opportunities for work experience and apprenticeships. Our partnership with the University of Lincoln means we can offer access to state-of-the-art facilities, alongside our in-house experts, so whether you’re a student joining us on a week of work experience, or an employee celebrating over 20 years at OAL (of which we have a few!) we are fortunate to be able to offer our facilities to aid learning and share our wealth of knowledge.
What’s more, a few of our employees frequently take time out of their schedules to go into local schools and work in group mentoring sessions with students who may need additional help in realising their full potential. Feedback from the staff at the school have reported changes and improvements within the students, which makes the commitment extremely rewarding.
For the past four years we have also partnered with the organisation Kidsafe, ensuring children are aware of the dangers they face on a day-to-day basis while maintaining their sense of adventure. Kidsafe provides safety books, leaflets, posters and games to almost every primary school in the country, and we’re delighted to contribute to such an important cause.
Charity
Supporting charities is a priority at OAL. In the past we have undertaken events such as bake sales, raffles and sweepstakes to raise funds for charities including Macmillan and Deafblind UK, and we’re always on the look-out for new and exciting ways to raise money and awareness for worthwhile causes. In the last year focus has shifted to supporting local charities in and around Peterborough, put forward by members of the business. Why not take a look back at the charities we supported in 2019?
Culture
Creating a welcoming and inclusive place to work is of paramount importance to us. We aim to bring the family values we were founded upon into our everyday working environment to ensure our employees feel valued and supported. We have employees from around the globe, and our diversity is something we couldn’t be prouder of. We try to celebrate this as often as we can, usually via everyone’s favourite medium: food!
Our staff really are at the heart of what we do, which is why we prioritise supporting and developing our teams. At any one time we will have an average of 15% of the workforce completing further studies or an apprenticeship, with over 40% of the workforce receiving some form of workplace training throughout the course of each fiscal year. And with awards such as SME Apprenticeship Employer of the Year under our belt, don’t just take our word for it!
Coming up…
It’s an exciting time here at OAL. We have big plans for growth and development, while always looking to do this in the most sustainable way possible. With so many innovations and changes in the industry, it’s going to be an interesting journey to see where we are at in ten or twenty years, and how the small changes we are making now could make a huge difference in the long run.