From M&S to Guides, they’re queueing to join Spring Clean
From Girl Guides and the Women’s Institute to dog walkers and check-out staff, thousands of volunteers have signed up to the Great British Spring Clean run by the charity Keep Britain Tidy. Now these firms and organisations are throwing their weight behind the Mail-backed campaign. Together they represent millions of employees and members. Here, they tell TESSA CUNNINGHAM why they think it’s so important:
MARKS & SPENCER
Chief executive Steve Rowe: ‘We’re proud of our local communities and we know our customers and colleagues care too. We’ve been helping ‘Keep Britain Tidy’ for many years, supporting campaigns to spread the word among our customers and taking part in nationwide litter picks and beach cleans.
‘Alongside removing plastic waste from our streets, we’re tackling it at the source by taking bold action to reduce our use of plastic packaging as part of our plan to be a zerowaste business by 2025.
‘At M&S, we believe collaboration is key to creating real impact and with the Great British Spring Clean set to reach half a million people this year, we’re excited to see the difference we can all make together.’
NATIONAL TRUST
Director general Hilary McGrady: ‘As a conservation charity, we work hard to keep our properties, countryside and coastline litter-free, but it’s an ongoing struggle for our people. Our regular beach cleans with visitors and volunteers do help significantly, but we need everyone to take responsibility and take their litter home. Anything we can do to encourage people to act responsibly and take their litter home is a very positive thing.’
MARS WRIGLEY
A spokesman says: ‘Mars Wrigley is hugely proud to once again support the Great British Spring Clean and we are also encouraging our own employees to take part. We have a long-standing commitment to tackling litter and a number of projects dedicated to it, including a great schools programme that will have been seen by 300,000 young people by the end of 2020.’
THE RSPCA
Chief executive Chris Sherwood: ‘Litter is wreaking a terrible legacy on animals. I’ve seen seals with deep wounds from old beach toys, swans with fishing hooks in their gullets and hedgehogs almost decapitated by elastic bands. The RSPCA is proud to be once again supporting Keep Britain Tidy and the Great British Spring Clean. We are encouraging our supporters, staff, centres and branches to join in to help make a real difference.’
GREGGS BAKERY
Chief executive Roger Whiteside: ‘We love that our customers care about the environment, and so do we – that’s why we’re committed to doing all we can to protect it and tackle the growing issue of litter. Social responsibility forms the bedrock of our business. We’re proud of our longstanding partnership with Keep Britain Tidy and look forward to really bolstering all of our efforts in this area through this year’s Great British Spring Clean.’
WILKO HOME STORES
Commercial chief Andrew Moore: ‘Supporting hard-working families is really important to us, and part of that is helping make sure that they have communities they can enjoy and thrive in. We know that the environment on their doorstep matters to people, which is why we chose to support Keep Britain Tidy through our carrier bag charge donations. In 2019 Wilko will be bringing the Great British Spring Clean to the
high street. Every Wilko store will be offering all the things needed to join in with this year’s campaign. From litter-pickers to bags, high-vis vests to hand sanitiser, volunteers will be able to grab affordable equipment for their clean-up from stores across the country or online at wilko.com.
‘We want to pitch in on a practical level, too, which is why we’ve made sure team members from all of our stores can take part in a clean-up through our funded volunteering programme.’
INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS ASSOCIATION
Chief executive Neil Roskilly: ‘I know our children will grab this opportunity and be nagging their parents and teachers to get involved too. I know from my own 12-year-old son, James, just how passionate children are about preserving the environment. They are right – it’s their future we are talking about.’
WOMEN’S INSTITUTE
Chairman Lynne Stubbings: ‘Our members can’t wait to don their rubber gloves, and attack every nook and cranny of Britain. We are excited and hugely proud to be involved in the Great British Spring Clean. It’s sad to think that all these years later litter is still such a problem. But it’s truly wonderful that the whole country is coming together to do something serious about tackling it. I expect all our 6,300 branches will be organising litter picks and clean ups.’
ASSOCIATION OF SCHOOL AND COLLEGE LEADERS
General secretary Geoff Barton: ‘The headteachers will be galvanising their pupils into action. But it will be the pupils who come up with the ideas. That’s up to four million children out in force the length and breadth of Britain, picking up litter wherever they see it, sprucing up their schools and neighbourhoods. It’s a great community based project and it sets an example to us all.’
GIRLS’ SCHOOLS ASSOCIATION
President Sue Hincks: ‘I am 100 per cent behind the Campaign. Children can often feel like small cogs in a big wheel. They worry that nothing they do can make a difference. And sadly we know that feeling powerless and out of control can lead to mental health issues. But getting involved in the Great British Spring Clean – doing something on a small scale which feeds into a nation wide project – demonstrates that we really can change things.’
GIRL GUIDES
Chief Guide Amanda Medler: ‘I am enormously proud to see Guides taking the initiative and doing their bit for their communities and the environment. We encourage girls to feel empowered. We teach them they can make a positive difference in their communities and change the world. We tell them “think global, act local”. The Great British Spring Clean fits in absolutely with those values.’
The charity Keep Britain Tidy and the Great British Spring Clean are supported by M&S, Greggs, Wilko, McDonald’s, Walkers, Mars Wrigley, Coca-Cola, Costa Coffee and Karcher. The campaign is also made possible thanks to support from players of People’s Postcode Lottery.