Initiatives and projects
Brunel Foundation
Planet - It’s all about building new habits
With our partners and projects, the Brunel Foundation strives to be a catalyst for change, inspiring and encouraging Brunel employees to make sustainable choices whenever and wherever they can.
Femke Dijkstra,
Founder Brunel Foundation
We take action for clean oceans by initiating local impact initiatives (e.g. cleanups on land or at sea) to reduce plastic waste before it even gets into the water. As a company, team or individual, we have to believe that every change we make, every piece of plastic we don't use or clean up, will make a difference.
Trash ‘n Trace with Litterati
Since Brunel Global Trash 'n Trace was introduced with the Litterati app in June 2020, thousands of pieces of litter have been picked up and registered in our challenge. Brunellers, friends, family and many others have rolled up their sleeves and joined us on our journey to clean up the Earth and eradicate litter.
The Litterati app empowers people to make a significant, measurable impact on the environment as individuals or teams. Users of the app take pictures of pieces of litter they clean up and tag them. The app itself then applies a geo-tag and timestamps the picture. Together, all these pictures create an open source database of litter maps all around the world. The collected data are used to create awareness, cultivate a new mindset and convince governments to introduce deposit programs, for instance, or to challenge organizations to find sustainable solutions for a litter-free world. This initiative ties in with the Foundation’s focus on actions to reduce (plastic) waste before it gets into the water.
One of the main initiatives around Litterati is the 24-hour Global Trash ‘n’ Trace challenge on World Cleanup Day every September. On this day, we encourage people from all around the globe to compete for a special prize (as well as our eternal gratitude). The country where most items are picked up and uploaded to the app within 24 hours is our winner!
Building New Habits
The Brunel Foundation creates awareness among Brunellers, clients and many others about making sustainable choices in their professional and private lives. Making these choices is all about building new habits: What can we change on a daily basis which will impact the environment on a global scale? In the shape of the ‘Building New Habits’ campaign, we aim to inspire our colleagues and others to take action to reduce their personal carbon and plastic footprint, one habit at a time.
To this end, we also introduce sustainable gifts with a clear message. These gifts – such as Correctbook (an erasable notebook), KeepCup, our reusable canvas bag, a beeswax wrap and a reusable water bottle – inspire people to take action to reduce their own environmental footprint, as well as motivating others to do the same.
New Habits
Plastic Free July
Plastic Free July® is a global movement that helps millions of people be part of the solution to plastic pollution. It's about learning to make small changes and choosing to refuse the single-use plastics we use every day. Plastic Free July® is a personal challenge that's part of a global effort: for the ocean, for cleaner streets, for our planet. By making one small change, you can make a real difference. And there are so many changes you can try.
Plastic Free July® aligns with the Brunel Foundation's mission to inspire and encourage Brunellers to make sustainable choices whenever and wherever they can. Getting started is easy:. Start taking notice of the single-use plastic products in your life right now, and look for more sustainable alternatives.
Brunel Foundation Forest
The Brunel Foundation Forest is all about contributing to a better climate and greater biodiversity. We welcome everyone working at Brunel to accompany us on our mission: to fight climate change together, one tree at a time. What started in July 2021, when the Brunel Foundation partnered with EcoMatcher to plant 1,000 trees in Thailand, has grown within a year to a huge forest of 16,000 trees across the world. In line with Brunel’s ESG strategy and the Brunel Foundation’s threefold commitment to People, Planet and Community, we partnered with EcoMatcher, a certified B corporation and UN partner, to support the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by contributing to reforestation and land restoration.
OffshoreWind4Kids
OffshoreWind4Kids is a non-profit organization focused on building offshore wind turbines to help kids learn more about engineering, technology and renewable energy. Together with different partners in the industry, it organizes demo days around the world where children can install their first offshore wind turbine.
Brunel Foundation and Taylor Hopkinson | Powered by Brunel are partnering with OffshoreWind4Kids to organize demo days in different regions. Involving kids in fun activities related to offshore wind at an early age is a great way to influence their potential career choices, inspire them to join the industry and create awareness for the environment in general.
Upcycling
The Brunel Foundation embraces upcycling. Working together with Vanhulley and NAAICE, we turn unused Brunel-branded items into something new and unique: Old roller banners are transformed into toiletry bags or glasses cases, while flags are given a new life as reusable stand bags or shoppers.
Upcycling occurs when old, worn or otherwise 'unusable' materials are transformed into something that is valuable and functional again – and often even more beautiful than before. In this way, 'waste' that would normally add to our existing mountains of trash is now given a new function. That saves money and helps protect the environment.
Vanhulley
Vanhulley is a social enterprise that reuses materials (particularly textiles) to make products that are useful and unique. Vanhulley’s mission is to improve the employment position of people on the periphery of the labor market – mostly women with a migration background. This can make them more financially and socially independent while making society more sustainable. The Foundation works together with Vanhulley to give old and “unusable” Brunel branded items a new life.
NAAICE
Naaice is a startup launched by Tessa Arnold. During her studies of industrial design in Delft, Tessa discovered that many materials from events are thrown away after a single use. What a waste! Since 2020, she has focused on developing sustainable products and upcycling event banners, for example, into bags or other useful items. The Brunel Foundation partners with NAAICE.
