Cadent has revealed details of its newly launched community initiatives.
The new initiatives focus on engagement and volunteering with the local communities which Cadent, Britain’s largest gas distribution network, serves.
To assist it with its new strategy Cadent has signed contracts with CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) specialists Neighbourly and volunteering experts, Volunteering Matters.
The first phase of the strategy for 2018/19 involves Cadent relaunching the Matched Giving and Volunteering programmes, which were previously used by the company when it was part of National Grid.
The first big volunteering event involved a team led by Ryan Martinez a HR Project Specialist based at Cadent’s Coventry hub in Ashbrook Court, working to renovate the nearby 43-acre Rough Close Scout Campsite & Activity Centre recently..
Cadent Corporate Social Responsibility Advisor Laura Barnes explained: “We’re aiming to create a sense of community between Cadent and its customers and we want to make a positive contribution to society.
“We’re Britain’s biggest gas distribution network – keeping the gas flowing from Barrow to Barnet and this also represents an incredible opportunity in terms of Corporate Social Responsibility.”
She added: “Our staff are out and about working 24-7 to keep people connected to safe and reliable gas supplies and we’ll be encouraging them to also volunteer in the areas where we work.
“We’re really pleased with how our first big volunteering event went at the Rough Close Scout Campsite & Activity Centre and moving forward we’re planning similar initiatives to benefit the communities which we serve.”
If you would like to see how the volunteers got on visit: https://vimeo.com/291652012/86fd5d8e6e
Cadent employees are being supported and encouraged to raise money for charities, including the Alzheimer’s Society, which is Cadent’s official charity.
Earlier this year employees marked Cupcake Day 2018 with four weeks of bake-off activities. The event raised £2350 adding to the impressive £58.8K haul that was raised during the first year of the Alzheimer’s Society being Cadent’s official charity.
The partnership with the Alzheimer’s Society forms a key element of Cadent’s community initiatives and it is ensuring there will be leadership by example by providing dementia awareness training for all its Executive Team.
This will help Cadent toward its goal of becoming a Dementia Friendly Utility, a key objective for the second year of its partnership with the Alzheimer’s Society. The executives will apply their training across departments to help ensure Cadent becomes fully dementia friendly in the three key tiers of people, processes and places.
Cadent’s Director of Safety and Network Strategy Simon Fairman, who also serves as Cadent’s Alzheimer's Society Executive Sponsor, explained: “Dementia is one of the greatest challenges society faces and as Britain’s largest gas distribution network we need to make sure all aspects of our operations support both those with dementia and those of our staff caring for someone with dementia.
“The training our Executive Team received will help inform our decision making as we work to becoming an increasingly dementia-friendly utility company.”
He added: “We want to empower those with dementia to keep on doing the things they want to do for as long as possible while also ensuring that we adapt the way we do things to help them.
“Cadent is proud to be participating in this very worthy cause and we look forward to doing all we can to help.”
Things Cadent is doing to assist those with dementia include providing free lockable cooker valves – these enables carers to isolate the gas supply to cookers when they are not there.
For more information on Cadent’s work with the Alzheimer’s Society visit
https://cadentgas.com/about-us/responsibility/corporate-social-responsibility
For more on lockable cooker valves and how to apply for one visit
https://cadentgas.com/help-advice/supporting-our-customers/locking-cooker-valves
For more on Cadent’s CRS programme visit
https://cadentgas.com/about-us/responsibility/corporate-social-responsibility
For more on the Alzheimer’s Society visit
https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/
ENDS