ESG at Protiviti: Beach Clean-Up

This blog post was written by Junior Consultant Hannah Meijer.

Last month, our office had the opportunity to travel to Terschelling for an off-site retreat. In a previous blog, I discussed one of the two ESG (environment, social, and governance) aspects we had at the retreat: the diversity and inclusion workshop. However, while enjoying the beautiful nature of the Dutch Island, we also found it important to do our part in cleaning up the beaches.

Our team chose Terschelling as the location because one of our Managing Directors, Owen Strijland, is a regular visitor to the island, and he really wanted to share with us all how wonderful Terschelling really is. His passion for the island is what inspired our team for this cleanup.

“Terschelling is a little gem in the Waddenzee. After just two hours on the ferry, you arrive at an island that is unique in its nature,” said Owen Strijland. “Walking though the cranberry fields, finding birds making nests that are globally very rare and so on, I experience how different this island is in relation to the Dutch mainland. Just one weekend on this Island could change the way you look at things if you allow yourself the experience beyond the usual touristy activities.”

Arriving to the beach on the first afternoon of the trip, we received some instruction from a local cleanup group on the island. According to our group lead that afternoon, a majority of the trash on the island comes from trash dumped into the ocean. It is a combined mix of trash from the Dutch mainland, the United Kingdom, and other European locations nearby. Most of this trash is primarily from plastics.

On the beach we were split into two large groups, given trash bags, and sent in opposite directions of each other. From there, the groups spread out across the beach to find the most trash they could find.

“It was an amazing way to get to know our colleagues more,” said one of our senior managers. “On top of that, we were doing something good for the environment!”

After walking the beach for about an hour, we gathered back at the meeting point, collected trash, and came together around a beach bonfire.

Beyond this effort, our team also tries to do their part in many other ways. With our ESG team, we are constantly looking for new ways to reduce waste. For example, we have recently installed a sparkling water tap in the office so people do not have to buy it bottled anymore. We CO2 compensate for the laptops and technology used in the office, and we are rolling out a new plan for bicycle rental/ownership among staff so less people need to take their car to the office.

In 2023, we are aiming to receive a high sustainability score from a global ESG rating agency.