Volunteers’ Week: supporting communities, protecting nature, inspiring future talent

From transforming community spaces in Coventry to supporting conservation at Chester Zoo, our colleagues are making a real difference this Volunteers’ Week.

Volunteers’ Week is a UK-wide initiative held each year in early June, recognising the contribution volunteers make across the country.

At wienerberger, it’s an opportunity to highlight how colleagues are giving their time to support both people and the natural environment, reflecting the priorities set out in our Social Impact Strategy and our ambition to build for what’s next.

Sarah Nurton, Social Impact Manager comments; “At wienerberger we encourage our employees to undertake volunteering in their local communities, as part of our Social Impact Programme. Colleagues have adopted causes close to their hearts from food banks to forest conservation showing the diversity of opportunities where we can make a difference”.

At the end of April, colleagues from our Sandown brick factory came together to spend a day volunteering at Emmaus Coventry.

The team helped transform outdoor community spaces through practical tasks including tidying and light gardening, preparing the site for spring. The work delivered an immediate improvement to the environment, creating a more welcoming space for the people supported by Emmaus.

It also builds on our ongoing partnership with Emmaus UK, which includes both volunteering activity and financial and product support aimed at tackling homelessness and helping people rebuild their lives. 

Colleagues also used their volunteering time to support biodiversity, working in partnership with Chester Zoo.

Teams took part in activities that directly contribute to habitat management and species monitoring:

• Preparing natural materials such as willow to feed animals during winter
• Recording wildlife data using mobile apps to support ecological monitoring

These activities support the practical work required to protect and enhance habitats, in line with the ambitions set out in our Biodiversity Strategy to improve outcomes for nature across our sites and partnerships.

Our partnership with Chester Zoo reflects a wider commitment to supporting conservation and improving biodiversity outcomes beyond our own operations. 

Alongside community and environmental initiatives, colleagues are also supporting the next generation through volunteering.

As part of our STEM Ambassador programme, employees are working with schools and colleges to give young people insight into careers in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths).

Recently, Bryan Hulse, Technical Assistant at our Denton site hosted a group of bricklaying students from Stockport College to show them how bricks are made. Sessions like this help build understanding of the industry, inspire future talent, and encourage more young people to consider careers in the sector.

Supporting skills development and widening access to opportunities is a key part of our approach to delivering long-term social impact.

Volunteering is one of the ways colleagues contribute to delivering our sustainability goals, from supporting communities and addressing social challenges to enhancing biodiversity and inspiring future talent.

By enabling employees to give their time and skills, we continue to build meaningful partnerships and create positive, lasting impact beyond our sites, helping us deliver on our ambition of building for what’s next.