Diageo

Community Consultancy Challenge

Diageo is the world's leading premium drinks business, employing over 22,000 people worldwide with offices in around 80 countries. Their headquarters are in London.

Objective

Each year Diageo’s Global Travel Middle East team take part in a practical one-day community project. This activity demonstrates their commitment to Diageo’s strategic objectives regarding ’enriching communities‘. This year they wanted a project that would utilise the expertise and skills of their people to help a community organisation. Diageo wanted their people to be inspired by the community through a facilitated learning process.

Solution

Impact proposed an innovative Community Action Learning (CAL) project for the group. The Community Consultancy project required the team to articulate and apply their skills and experience to benefit three real-world inspirational social enterprises.

Green Works www.green-works.co.uk
Green Works’ aim is to redirect office furniture away from landfill. They facilitate donations of second hand furniture and redirect them to schools, charities and small businesses. Green Works have saved 60,000 tonnes of furniture from landfill, benefiting over 5,000 organisations and saving them £2.5m on the cost of new furniture. They have also created over 80 jobs for marginalized people.

Diageo were tasked with increasing Green Works’ corporate partnerships and furniture sales. Diageo designed a marketing pitch for Green Works, suitable for the corporate sector and gave their sales team tips to assist with business development calls and meetings.

"I took a huge learning out of the day, not only what we can do for the environment, but also that we have huge talents. I felt energised, inspired, exhausted and very happy. I’m so pleased that the Global Travel Middle East team has this power of making a difference in the community in our strategy and I can’t wait to do more."
Geraldine Dolan

FareShare www.fareshare.org.uk
FareShare is a national organisation working with 100 food businesses to minimise food waste. They provide practical solutions to ensure that 'fit for purpose' food is saved and redistributed to a community food network of 300 organisations. In 2005, FareShare provided 3.3 million meals to disadvantaged people in 34 towns across the UK.

Diageo were asked to create a three-year marketing plan for the FareShare brand and design a business plan and launch event for FareShare1st, their resource management social enterprise for the food industry.

"We were all truly inspired by the professionalism, dedication and passion of those we met from the charity. Our conversations were full of energy and new ideas as we saw the possibility and scale that the successful growth and implementation of these plans could bring for the future of the charity."
Jon Roberts

"The opportunity to tune into Diageo’s intellectual capital for the day was fantastic - we got a lot out of it and I’m looking forward to following up on some of the ideas…"
Paul Clarke
FareShare

SMart
SMart uses art as a medium to rehabilitate and develop homeless and socially-marginalised people. The founder of SMart has dedicated his life to helping people transform their lives through art. Through his teaching and belief he has inspired and motivated these people to break boundaries – some have even had their artwork exhibited in the National Gallery.

The challenge for Diageo was to find a way to convert SMart into a profitable business, thus guaranteeing it’s future by becoming a sustainable enterprise.

"The day was very, very inspiring. We were able to make a real difference to SMart, by delivering some really tangible benefits - including sourcing and mentoring admin support, developing a business plan to attract the right calibre of trustees, helping them to source office and gallery/storage space... It was a day of truly appreciating and celebrating life."
Nikki Cartwright

Further Information

Read more about Impact's appraoch to Community Action Learning