It all started in January 2016 with a single Apple Mac, a coffee machine and a burning desire to build a truly great place to work.
As our business grows in numbers and distance across the UK and North America, at Distinct, we want to remain conscientious and self-reflective by giving back to our local community in a multitude of ways, as well as offsetting our impact on the environment in changes both big and small.
All our employees have the option to carry out volunteer or charity work of their choice, for up to three days each and every year. From taking part in a CEO sleepout to running a charity football tournament, our teams have been involved in a variety of fantastic projects for organisations such as the Teenage Cancer Trust, Maggie’s Centres, Tracy’s Street Kitchen, Hound Lodge, and more.
Bex and Michelle visited Stonebridge City Farm for their charity day in July 2017, where they built a clay oven from scratch.
Stonebridge are a fantastic charity, who help people in St Ann’s district who have money, rehabilitation and learning difficulties.
The ladies at Distinct visited Hound Lodge to donate items such as food hampers, clothes, and Christmas presents for children of all ages. Hound Lodge provides accommodation for families across the country, who due to personal circumstances have unfortunately become homeless.
For the fourth year in a row, Distinct ran a 5-a-side charity Football Tournament, in memory of Dan ‘The Legend’ Fletcher, who sadly passed away in 2016. The event was organised by Ryan, along with Dan’s former colleagues at Vision Express. Over the last four years, the tournament has managed to raise over £3,500 for The Teenage Cancer Trust.
We were honoured to partner up with Maggie’s Charity at the East Midlands Finance Awards and hear first-hand on the night about the amazing work they do. So much so, that we decided to get in touch with them afterwards and helped out for a few days painting & decorating at their centre.
Maggie’s Nottingham provides free practical, emotional and social support for people with cancer and their families and friends.
Our CEO James and Director Arran joined another 80 directors of local companies to sleep rough and raise money for the homeless charity ‘CEO Sleepout UK’. It definitely wasn’t an easy night, but worth it for the cause.
In December 2021, our Notts office became a drop-off point for The Christmas Toy Bank. The toys were given to local children, alongside food parcels provided by Guru Nanak’s Mission.
In the Easter season, we donated around 50 chocolate eggs to Operation Orphan for their Forget-Me-Notts project. Operation Orphan gives chocolate gifts to vulnerable children across the East Midlands who are in care or known to the care system locally. We’re proud to be supporting their work.
In 2022, as part of our Distinct Sustainability Pledge, we arranged volunteer dates at local gardens. Helping with mulching, watering plants, painting benches and more. At Bulwell Forest Garden, Seb even made a new friend…
In 2022, through our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), we launched our Distinct Sustainability Pledge with the overall aim of becoming completely carbon neutral. From making small everyday changes to taking on bigger projects, our Sustainability journey so far has been a learning curve. We’re not experts just yet, but we’re confident in saying we’ve made many changes for the better.
We formed our office Sustainability Team, who meet every month to discuss new ideas and research, report progress on their projects, and arrange volunteer dates.
We now receive fresh cow’s milk in glass bottles rather than plastic, provide alternative milks, and source our weekly fruit shop from local and organic Nottingham and Milton Keynes suppliers.
Around the office, we have waste-free bamboo toilet and kitchen rolls, and glass soap dispensers for both handwash and dishes - with refills from local business Shop Zero.
Our coffee machine is stocked with beans from 200 Degrees - a Rainforest Alliance and Fairtrade-certified business who use ethical, transparent, and direct trade routes with farmers.
We collect our coffee grounds to repurpose as compost material for a local Nottingham Garden community: Wilford Roots. Are you involved with a community garden project? There’s enough to go around!
We collaborated with FOSH to create custom Distinct steel bottles, so that we could all stay hydrated whilst reducing plastic in our offices.
Most recently, we announced our biggest sustainability change yet, in the shape of our candidate gifts.
We recognise that environmental responsibility is quickly becoming an important factor for both clients and candidates alike. That’s why every candidate we place on a permanent basis now receives a custom Distinct steel bottle (plastic-free, shipped in biodegradable and recyclable packaging) and we also plant a tree in their name, to reduce carbon in our atmosphere.
For the latest updates from the Distinct Sustainability Team, follow and connect with us on social media!
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