Veganuary – the global organisation encouraging people to try vegan for January and beyond – is thrilled to be working with leading businesses, health bodies and sports associations to help them be greener, healthier and more inclusive by encouraging their employees to sign up for Veganuary.
Software giants Salesforce and Docusign; sports bodies BASIS, Scottish FA and Lewes FC; five NHS Trusts and NHS Supply Chain; retailers Claire’s, Lush and Hastings Direct; Suffolk, North Herts and Tameside Councils; and the Civil Service Veg Network are among the 100+ organisations joining Veganuary’s Workplace Challenge this month - encouraging and supporting their staff (collectively totally nearly five million) and affiliates to try vegan for January.
In their own words, here are some of the reasons these forward-thinking companies and organisations are embracing vegan eating this January:
Salesforce - Hélène Mattei - Earthforce UK Co-President
"It's encouraging that so many of our Salesforce UK employees are excited to support and participate in the Veganuary challenge. Driven by Earthforce, one of our employee resource groups dedicated to environmental sustainability, Veganuary is a great opportunity for our employees to think about the levers within their own control to contribute towards addressing the climate crisis.
Claire's Accessories - Robert Frank - Early Leaders Employee Resource Group Community Lead
"We are excited to get involved this year and run our first ever Veganuary Workplace Challenge. Led by our Early Leaders Employee Resource Group, this initiative further strengthens our commitment to becoming a more sustainable organisation. We look forward to putting on weekly sessions at our UK head office throughout the month of January and explore how we can make real change through our dietary choices.”
Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust - Rosie Martin – NHS Employee Health & Wellness Dietitian
‘’We are thrilled that Veganuary 2024 will be celebrated across the Royal Devon University Hospital (RDUH) NHS Foundation Trust. Our planned events include a cooking session and a local veg stall, but our most exciting project is providing 1300 free vegan meals for NHS staff throughout the month. Veganuary is a wonderful opportunity for our staff to give plant-based nutrition a go, not only to improve their health but also to reduce our impact on the planet. The Veganuary campaign is the perfect event to help meet our staff wellbeing and RDUH Trust Green Plan targets.’’
University of Exeter - Prof Richard Smith - Deputy Pro Vice Chancellor, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of Exeter
“The University of Exeter is committed to building a greener, healthier and fairer future. Encouraging our 37,000 staff and students to participate in Veganuary and eat a more plant-based diet is a great step towards achieving our vision and net zero goals. Our catering teams provide many delicious, nutritious and affordable vegan options across our Devon and Cornwall campuses, and over 60% of meals sold are now vegetarian or vegan! The Veganuary workplace challenge is a fantastic opportunity to promote plant-based diets in a fun and inclusive way. In addition to offering more vegan options, free tasters, special offers, and prizes for the largest teams who take part, we’re running several events to showcase the exciting research we’re doing on plant-based diets, to feed people’s minds and bodies!”
Suffolk County Council - Andrew St Ledger - Assistant Director - Communications, Consultation and Media
“Suffolk County Council is supporting Veganuary's Workplace Challenge for the third year running, and we think it's a great way to encourage staff to try something new that can benefit their health, animals and the planet. We're proud to be the first county council in the UK to have a Vegan Staff Network, which is run by staff, for staff. Suffolk is an inclusive place to live and work, and supporting Veganuary and recognising ethical veganism as a protected characteristic is something we do year-round. Throughout Veganuary, we'll have drop-in's, a dedicated virtual Teams space and participants blogging about their experiences - including myself as part of our Corporate Leadership Team.”
DocuSign
"At DocuSign, we are committed to being more agreeable towards the environment—from enabling customers with paperless processes to investing directly in organizations that are making a sustainable impact. It is also up to each of us, as individuals, to make small changes in our daily behaviors to slow the effects of climate change and preserve our environment. As part of our ongoing efforts, DocuSign has recently made the commitment to being carbon neutral by the calendar year 2022"
Others signed up for Veganuary’s Workplace Challenge 2024 include:
Food: Kikkoman, Just Eat, Dr Oetker, Brakes, Higgidy, Clive’s Pies, Suma
Business: PwC, EY, Aviva, Thoughtworks, Fully Charged Live, WSP, Legal Island
Hospitality: London Northeastern Railway, Adept Carehomes, Amadeus Food Service, Unipol
Healthcare: Royal Devon University Healthcare Trust, The Queen Elizabeth Hospital King’s Lynn NHS Foundation Trust, Croydon Health Service NHS Trust, NHS North Devon District Hospital, Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, South Molton Medical Centre, Sterling Pharma Solutions
Education: Keele University, Exeter University, Glasgow University, Birmingham University