On Tuesday 28 February, Slade Group were proud to join organisations across the country who are conscious of their social responsibility and take part in Business Clean Up Day as part of the Clean Up Australia Day program.
With a number of our staff living in and around the bayside community, we hit the beaches of St Kilda in an effort to promote the importance of environmental sustainability, get out in the fresh air and have a bit of fun.
‘Clean Up’ is a national event held annually. It aims to inspire and motivate individuals and communities to take action to clean up their local environment as well as generally raise awareness about the amount of litter and waste we have on our planet. Founded in 1989, it is now a national movement, with millions of volunteers participating each year. To date over 350,000 tonnes of rubbish have been removed from our environment.
Unfortunately, on the day we chose to Clean Up, our dream of a couple of hours on the beach enjoying the last of the summer days were dashed on our arrival at St Kilda beach. The wind was howling and the rain was drizzling – not the most ideal working conditions!
However, Melbourne’s notoriously unpredictable weather did not stop us!! A few extra jumpers and jackets were layered on with the shorts. We put on our special Clean Up gloves, took firm hold of our hessian sacks in the breeze, and were soon off pounding the beaches and green parks around the foreshore.
Sad to say, the majority of the rubbish we picked up was the dreaded plastic, with a few shoes and an in-tact pizza box (no pizza) thrown in.
Clean Up is not just an opportunity to get out of the office or away from your home desk. Bringing teams back together in person helps motivate and inspire individuals to work with their colleagues, regardless of the activity. It’s also a great excuse to detach from the mobile, laptop and your other devices for a few hours and connect through a shared experience.
Even though we got a bit wet and no one likes windswept hair, I think I can safely say we all enjoyed ourselves because we could see the big picture benefits beyond a little personal discomfort. The sense of achievement from seeing those bags filled and knowing we were leaving such a large area clean and tidy for people’s enjoyment – what more could put a smile on your face than that? Wait a minute… now the sun has come back out!!!
Whether you are an individual, family or a business, we are all responsible for the health and wellbeing of our environment and community, so let’s get out there and be part of making a difference. For more information on ways you can help, please go to: cleanup.org.au
Susannah has over 18 years of experience in the industry and ten years overall within Slade Group. She has worked as a recruiter both in-agency within our divisions and in-house on the client side. Having worked with final5, nexthire and Slade Executive over the years, the majority of assignments and project work Susannah has undertaken have been in the permanent space. She has broad knowledge across our sector specialisations including Business Support, Law, Government and Education, as well as sound understanding of a range of roles at various levels. Susannah currently focuses on professional placements, from mid-tier to management.
