Through our Community Relations Department, Ecolab associates, past and present, are encouraged to become involved in programs that focus on:
Employees can volunteer in a number of ways such as packing and sorting items at food shelves, team onsite kit builds assembling supplies for individuals in need, mentoring youth on STEM-related topics and volunteering with global partners such as Project WET and Habitat for Humanity.
Ecolab employees and retirees understand they are part of a community that is much larger than their local facilities. Their efforts as volunteers make our communities stronger and more vibrant places to live.
In 2018, Ecolab employees volunteered more than 66,000 hours. Additionally employees volunteered 13,200 hours on their own time in their communities that qualified for matching funds through our Dollars for Doers and Board Leadership volunteer grant programs.
Volunteering Around the Globe
Launched initially in the U.S. in 2012, teams of employees across the globe can now participate in the Ecolab Foundation's Global Team Volunteer Programme. This programme encourages employees to contribute their time and talent with select partners, encouraging volunteerism in the community in addition to financial support to non-profit organizations.
Science Education Leadership Team (SELT) volunteers increase science, technology, engineering and math awareness for more than 2,000 students annually in Minnesota through the “Kids & Chemistry” programme, Bring Your Child to Work Day, city and state level science fairs, Science Fusion outreach at the Science Museum of Minnesota and STARBASE Minnesota. Ecolab also hosts an annual Bring Your Child to Work Day, a signature internal event that is hosted at 6 locations around the world including our headquarters in St. Paul, MN, a facility in Sugar Land, TX and an office in Shanghai, China.
Over 200 employees in Minnesota volunteer to be E-mentors with 10th, 11th and 12th grade students at Ecolab's partner school in St. Paul, Humboldt High School. Employees and students exchange weekly emails and discuss topics related to school and the workplace. Ecolab has facilitated this programme with community partner BestPrep since 2004.
One of Ecolab’s key initiatives is the Solutions for Life programme whose mission is to conserve water and improve hygiene around the world through nonprofit organizations. Our Ecolab employees are able to support this initiative through volunteering with two leading global nonprofits: the Project WET Foundation and The Nature Conservancy (TNC). Project WET volunteering allowed employees to give back to their communities through teaching youth about water conservation and healthy hygiene practices in over 70 countries. The partnership with The Nature Conservancy helped facilitate hundreds of our employees in helping to protect critical land and water resources through various volunteer preservation and restoration projects.
Community Champions reaches out to communities where we operate in western Canada, helping to make them vibrant, interesting, healthy and safe places where children have opportunities to learn about science and sustainability through innovative and imaginative programs. Since the start of the Community Champions programme in May 2012, employees participating have logged more than 5,185 volunteer hours, and submitted matching grant requests that resulted in grants totaling more than $514,000 in more than 95 communities.
Through the Ecolab Foundation’s Dollars for Doers and Board Leadership programs, employees and retirees can apply for a grant in support of their volunteer hours with qualifying U.S. non-profits as well as their board leadership positions. To date, 4,740 grants, totaling $1.6 million have been awarded through these programs supporting employees and retirees as they give of their time and talent in their own communities on their own time.
Ecolab is proud that our volunteer programs stretch from our headquarters in St. Paul, MN to Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, Mexico, Philippines, Poland, Singapore and South Africa.