Bloomberg employees make a real impact — on Earth Day and every day

At Bloomberg, sustainability considerations are integrated into everything we do – from the way we operate our business and develop our products to giving back to our communities.

In fact, many of our sustainable projects begin with an employee’s idea. No idea is too small or too big to rally for support. Whether it’s drinking from a re-usable water bottle or installing solar panels, our company is a place where smart sustainable ideas can be put into action.

We spoke with four employees from offices around the world about new and exciting programs they initiated to help our business, employees, and the environment become more sustainable.

Lisa James-Holmes (Sydney) and RecycleMe Paper Cups

Lisa discovered RecycleMe while doing some research online and knew she wanted to be involved. RecycleMe is an award-winning program that provides an environmental solution for takeaway coffee cups and lids that aims to keep as many of them out of landfills as possible.

Thanks to Lisa’s efforts, Bloomberg became one of the first businesses to test the program’s new recyclable cups when they were still in development. These cups, thanks to their calcium nitrate lining and new extraction technology, are 100% recyclable, and are in turn made into printer paper, which the company buys back.

“RecycleMe is the only program that guarantees that every cup collected gets counted and recycled,” Lisa says. Since starting in November 2018, 327,985 cups have been successfully recycled in Australia and New Zealand (that’s in total, not just from Bloomberg).

Now, there are plans in place to introduce the program to Bloomberg’s Melbourne office, along with offices across other cities in Australia, New Zealand, Vietnam, and eventually throughout all of APAC.

Fun Fact: If just half of the paper cups in Australia and New Zealand were recycled, we would save 496 trees per day.

Jacqueline Cheuk (Hong Kong) and Urban Farming

Employees at the urban farm in Hong Kong

As part of the Hong Kong office’s 25th year anniversary celebration, employees from the Office Committee, Marketing, Sustainable Business & Finance, and Philanthropy & Engagement teams made good use of an empty plot outside the Hong Kong Champion Tower office building. By digging up the old dirt, replenishing it with new, richer soil, planting seeds, and rotating weekly maintenance (organic pesticides, watering), the collective group has created a small, vibrant urban farm.

The harvested food, which includes romaine lettuce, beetroots, and a variety of different vegetables, is given to a local organization that supports underprivileged families.

So far the team has harvested about 64kg of vegetables, all of which went to homes for the elderly. Around 80 elderly people have benefited from the garden.

“The urban farm is a wonderful example how Bloomberg gives back to society and has a meaningful effect in people’s lives,” says Jacqueline. “There are knock-on environmental benefits too, such as reducing the distance food needs to travel to kitchens, reduced food waste, and increased biodiversity.”

Fun Fact: In honor of the Hong Kong office’s 25th year anniversary, this project was suggested as a way for the local team to collaborate and to give back to their local communities.

Anthony Tedesco (Princeton), Ari Sherr (London) and Beekeeping

Beekeepers in London

Bees are critical for pollination and ensuring biodiversity; it is estimated that one-third of the food that we consume each day relies on pollination, mainly by bees. Even if a plant is not pollinated by a honey bee, the crop still benefits from being in an environment in which honey bees are working, due to the increased biodiversity in the area.

Beekeeping facilities in Princeton and London have been up and running for a few years, requiring one or two volunteers per office for minimal maintenance: bi-weekly inspection of the hives during the summer, and monthly inspection during the winter time when they’re in hibernation.

Employees in the Princeton office are able to reap the benefits from our beekeeping directly: the bees are pollinators of a vegetable garden, which supplies the office’s lunch salad bar.

Fun Fact: The beehives in London are colored respectively: black, white, and yellow. The colors help the bees find their home hive.

Supply Chain Team (Sydney) and Bicycle Deliveries

In September 2018, the Supply Chain department in Bloomberg’s Sydney office began searching for a new vendor to support warehouse distribution for hardware to and from our clients. Along the way, they found a sustainable solution to reduce carbon emissions. Effective April 1, the team now uses a bike messenger service to deliver our goods to 90% of our customers within Sydney.

“This is just the beginning! There are already other markets, such as London and Zurich, where the team operates using the bike messenger service,” says Jin Young Kim from Supply Chain in Hong Kong. “We’re hoping to expand the number of offices that use this kind of solution.”

Several consolidation efforts are underway to ensure Bloomberg is shipping goods in the most sustainable and cost-effective way. By planning ahead and working together, we will continue to work towards reducing the company’s carbon footprint.

To learn more about Sustainability at Bloomberg, check out our 2018 Impact Report.