Dentsu Africa Employees Unite to Create Meaningful Change
For the first time ever, dentsu launched One Day for Change – a global volunteering event to bring all dentsu employees together around the first annual theme, zero waste in a sustainable world.
One Day for Change provides a unique opportunity to come together, volunteer with our local communities and causes, and make a difference where it matters most. Guided by the 2030 Social Impact strategy, we are focusing on zero waste in a more sustainable world.
Roxanne Boyes, Strategy Director and Regional Sustainability Lead at dentsu SSA commented:
“After two years apart, we have the wonderful opportunity to dedicate some of our valuable time to volunteering, contribute to the Social Impact goals and give back to our communities. Our Social Impact strategy belongs to every one of us, and by taking part in One Day for Change you can put it into action!”
Ghana
More than 8 million tons of plastic end up in our oceans each year and make up 80% of all marine debris. In 2020, it was estimated that plastic trash flowing into the seas will nearly triple by 2040 without drastic action.
In Ghana, fishermen have complained about finding plastic instead of fish which sparked the idea for the Ghanaian teams’ volunteer initiative. The team collaborated with Zoomlion Ghana Limited Waste Management and Allied Services for a Beach Clean Up. Over 70 staff came together in an unprecedented move and cleaned the coastline and lagoon areas of the Laboma Beach.
Zoomlion brought in their compactor and other tools including rakes, standing brooms, pickers, shovels, wheelbarrows and bin liners for the exercise. At the end, over 90 bags (including wheelbarrow trips) of waste made up of mostly plastic material, wood, clothes, artificial hair, etc were collected.
Kenya
Dentsu Kenya created a ‘Circular Economy Office Swap’, bringing their pre-loved clothes, electronic devices and books to be swapped and reused. The items that were remaining where then donated to Africa Collect Textiles and E-WIK to promote upcycling.
By diverting used textiles and footwear from the landfills, Africa Collect Textiles support the environment and create jobs. Did you know wearing a garment 50 times rather than 5 reduces carbon emissions for it by 400% annually. On the other hand E-WIK’s core business is electronic waste management specifically in the informal sector as they provide a safe disposal option. E-WIK’s mission is focused on raising awareness on the impact of e-waste in public health and environment, creating green jobs to the youth/women and retirees, through safe and smart disposal and recycling solutions that charge the circular economy.
Lastly, to contribute towards the increasing air pollution, dentsu Kenya’s employees bought 12 000 seedballs from SEEDBALLS Kenya to plant at their homes, with each and every tree making a difference by each absorbing approximately 10 - 40kg per CO2 per year!
Tanzania
Globally, we produce about 400 million tonnes of plastic waste each year and if we continue in this manner, the global production of primary plastic is forecasted to reach 1 100 million tonnes by 2050. Only 10% of the seven billion tonnes of plastic waste generated globally so far has been recycled. For One Day for Change, dentsu Tanzania came together to clean up the local community around Masaki and recycle the multitude of plastic bottles they collected. The team partnered with The Recycler who recycled all the plastic.
South Africa
In South Africa (SA), dentsu partnered with Rise Against Hunger (RAH) and hosted a meal-packing event at both their Johannesburg and Cape Town offices. RAH is a global movement aimed to end hunger by empowering communities, nourishing lives and responding to emergencies. Their meal packing programme is a volunteer-based programme that utilises volunteers to package highly nutritious dehydrated meals comprised of rice, soya, vegetables and 23 essential vitamins and minerals. Once packed, the meals are distributed through their outcomes-based food support programme.
Over 80 dentsu SA employees supported the global initiative and volunteered their time resulting in 25 920 meals being packed in approximately 3 hours which works out to 112 children being fed 5 meals a week for an entire year.
The launch of One Day for Change is a key milestone in our journey towards achieving our target of 25% participation in volunteering across dentsu, and our global target of supporting 1 billion people to make more sustainable choices by 2030.
Our vision is to inspire people everywhere to a new way of living. Social impact sits at the heart of our business culture and strategy. As a digital communications and marketing network, the biggest impact we have is in our ability to change mindsets and influence behaviours. We can raise awareness and inspire people to take action to combat the climate crisis and to live more sustainable lifestyles.