Manchester-based pharmaceutical company, Chiesi Ltd, tackles food waste and poverty on annual We ACT Day

Chiesi Ltd, the Manchester-based pharmaceutical company, held its annual employee volunteering event, We ACT (Actively Care for Tomorrow) Day on 7^th June 2023. This year’s theme was tackling food waste and food poverty, with employees hearing talks from Tessa Clarke, Co-Founder and CEO of food waste reduction app, Olio, Jenni Willows, Head of Fundraising at the Booth Centre and children from Barrowford Primary School. Employees and guests began the day by taking part in Chiesi’s own ‘Tea for Trussell’, an event to raise money for food poverty charity, the Trussell Trust, while the local school children presented their ideas for projects that aim to reduce food waste.

“This year’s We ACT Day was, as ever, a meaningful and inspiring day for employees and some special external guests to come together and make a difference to our local community,” said Tom Delahoyde, Managing Director, Chiesi UK. “At Chiesi, we live and breathe our mission to act as a force for good. With food waste and poverty a pressing issue facing not only the Greater Manchester community, but societies across the world, we are proud to be leading by example and inspiring change.”

Up to 30 percent of food produced globally is lost or wasted, with food waste estimated to contribute eight to ten percent of total man-made greenhouse gas emissions.[i] Compounding this issue is food poverty: a recent survey revealed 3.2 million UK adults have reported not eating for a whole day because they could not afford or access food.[ii] Meanwhile, in Manchester specifically, over 11 percent of households are struggling with food insecurity, which is defined as “limited access to food… due to lack of money or other resources”.[iii]^,[iv] By educating employees about these issues and providing the opportunity to donate items to local food banks, Chiesi Ltd’s We ACT Day empowered employees to continue making a difference to their community by taking simple yet meaningful actions to reduce food waste and help address food poverty.

Tessa Clarke, Co-Founder and CEO of Olio, said: “It has been absolutely brilliant being surrounded by so many people who are really passionate about tackling the problem of food waste, like I am. I think we all are very clear that it is one of the largest environmental problems facing humanity today and what is most exciting is it is something we can all play a part in solving.”  A number of challenging questions were put to Tessa following her presentation from the pupils of Barrowford School and St. Anthony’s. She continued: “The question I loved the most was the question on what other ideas I had for solving the climate crisis. I could tell that buzzing around in their brains were lots of ideas that they had as well and they were really looking for that steer about how they can get going with some of their ideas.”

Jenni Willows, Head of Fundraising, Booth Centre, said that to be part of Chiesi’s We ACT Day was “fantastic”. “It is always lovely to have the chance to talk to people about the work the Booth Centre does and to be able to do so here with Chiesi staff who have been long term supporters of the Centre,” she said. “It’s great to see people in person and thank them face to face”. When asked about the Q&A following her presentation, Jenni said that the best comment “was from one of the school children saying they wanted to help people giving food to those affected by homelessness, and it made you realise they had been listening and taking it on board; there is an honesty about it coming from the children.”

We ACT Day is part of Chiesi’s wider ambition to promote a conscious and different way of doing business, with a positive impact on society and the environment. The Chiesi Group has committed to become net-zero by 2035 and is a proud holder of the B Corp^® certification, a hard-won accolade given to companies that meet the highest standards of social and environmental performance.

To find out more about We ACT Day and Chiesi’s commitment to society and the environment, please visit: https://www.chiesi.uk.com/we-act.

References

[i] Waste and Resources Action Programme. Action on food waste. Available at: https://wrap.org.uk/taking-action/food-drink/actions/action-on-food-waste. Last accessed June 2023.

[ii] The Food Foundation. Food Insecurity Tracking: Round 12. Available at: https://www.foodfoundation.org.uk/initiatives/food-insecurity-tracking#tabs/Round-12/All-households. Last accessed June 2023.

[iii] Greater Manchester Poverty Action. Poverty Monitor 2022: Fuel, utilities and food. Available at: https://www.gmpovertyaction.org/pm2022-fuel-utilities-food. Last accessed June 2023.

[iv] Environmental Audit Committee. Sustainable Development Goals in the UK follow up: Hunger, malnutrition and food insecurity in the UK. Available at: https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cmselect/cmenvaud/1491/149105.htm#:~:text=Food%20insecurity%20is%20a%20%E2%80%9Climited,and%20Experience%20Scale%20(FEIS). Last accessed June 2023.