Serco Europe Goes Green: embedding ‘everyday green thinking and behaviour’ across the business

Our world 2019

In Europe we have launched our ‘Serco Europe Goes Green’ network, a growing community of Serco Europe employees at all levels who are helping to promote and embed ‘everyday green thinking and behaviour’ across the business. Their mission is to lead by example in order to educate their colleagues about how we can improve and reduce our environmental impact, simply by implementing small changes locally.

The network formally launched in November 2019 and there are already 40 Green Ambassadors across Serco Europe, which includes 57 contracts across eight countries. Each country has appointed a management sponsor to support their Green Ambassadors, and Serco Europe Managing Director, Gaetan Desclée, is Executive Sponsor for the whole network.

Green Ambassadors are empowered to drive local initiatives – all of which receive equal recognition, regardless of scale. The ambition is to changing mindset and habits by encouraging our people to ‘think big and act local’. Each country holds local ‘Green Meetings’ where Green Ambassadors from across difference contracts can meet to share experience and ideas. As well as leading on internal ‘green improvement’ projects, Green Ambassadors also collaborate with our customers when appropriate initiatives already exist within contracts.

Success stories so far include:

• Serco Belgium and Serco Italy are making changes to reduce employee dependence on cars for travel;
• Serco Germany and Serco Belgium have switched to a green electricity provider;
• Serco France has changed its coffee facilities and banned plastic cups to reduce waste; and
• in our CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) contract in Switzerland, fluorescent tubes will be replaced by with LED lights.

Gaetan Desclée, Managing Director for Serco Europe, said: “In Europe, part of our strategy is to be a more sustainable and responsible business. When a small group start to change, that can generate a big change in society. We want to be part of that group. We want to create a community of people who recognise that we need to act now. This community will share best practices, measure all the small actions and act as ambassadors at the local level.”

“This is a long-term project. It’s not about implementing a few impressive actions and feeling good about it – it’s about changing minds and habits and understanding what it means to become a more sustainable and responsible business. I want to see ideas translating into action. I am confident Serco Europe will be part of the change.”