"Business vs. smog - We support the climate": volunteers conducted workshops for 52,000 children
The fifth edition of the educational programme 'Business vs. smog - We support the climate', in which volunteers from dozens of affiliated companies prepare and conduct classes for children and young people on combating air pollution and climate change, has come to an end. To date, 52,000 children have been trained and more than 2,300 workshops have been held. More than 8,000 children and young people took part in the fifth edition. The programme "Business vs smog - We support the climate" was established 5 years ago on the initiative of PwC Polska and is carried out in cooperation with 30 companies as well as the Krakow Smog Alarm (Krakowski Alarm Smogowy) and the ASPIRE Association. This year, for the first time, the programme was also carried out in cooperation with UNICEF.
154 volunteers - employees of companies - conducted more than 360 environmental workshops for children and young people this school year. Two thematic tracks - on air quality and climate change - are run in parallel as part of the programme. All classes were held free of charge in 111 educational facilities across Poland.
Over the 5 years of the programme, volunteers have trained 52,000 children in schools and kindergartens from 165 towns and cities across Poland. As many as 30 organisations joined the 5th edition of "Business vs. smog - We support the climate": ABB BS, Airly, Akamai Technologies, Amer Sports, Amway GBS, Aon, ASPIRE Association, Bolarus, CANPACK Group, Cisco Systems, Credit Suisse, Dyson, Ecolab, EPAM Systems, Euroclear, Herbalife, Hitachi Vantara, HSBC, IAG GBS, Jacobs, Krakowski Alarm Smogowy, Knowable, Maxima Consulting, Motorola, Ocado Polska, PwC Polska and PwC Service Delivery Center, SIG, State Street Bank Polska, UBS, UNICEF Polska.
"This is the fifth edition of the programme 'Business versus smog - we support the climate', which contributes to raising awareness in the area of climate risks not only among children and young people, but also in the business community. The responsibility to get involved in the fight for our climate lies not only with society, but also with the business world - especially as we are operating in an era in which ESG - environmental, social and corporate governance regulations are not only becoming increasingly important, but are also increasingly finding their way into companies' operating strategies. The results of the five years of the programme are impressive, with more than 52,000 participants, 2,300 workshops held and more than 1,000 volunteers. And we haven't said the last word yet"
Over the five editions of “Business vs. smog - We support the climate”:
52,000 children from more than 165 towns and cities learned why smog is formed, how it affects our health and how to prevent it, as well as why the climate is changing, its effects and what everyone can do to influence the process.
Volunteers conducted more than 2,300 educational workshops, both onsite, online and hybrid (one volunteer at the facility and another remotely).
More than 1,000 staff volunteers have been involved in the programme.
According to WHO data, 88% of the victims of diseases resulting from climate change are children under the age of five. It is children next to seniors who, as a social group, are most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Already today ⅓ of humanity lives in areas of extreme heat. In 2050, this will be over half of humanity and in 2100 over ¾ of the world's population.
“We see the climate crisis as a children's rights crisis. In many places around the world, it is the youngest who suffer the most from the consequences of environmental degradation, insufficient access to water and food shortages. In order to change this difficult situation, a number of educational activities should be undertaken to increase awareness of the existence of such threats and encourage an active and conscious approach to climate protection. This is where our commitment to the 'Business vs Smog - We support the climate' program stems from”
Thanks to the involvement of UNICEF Polska, it was possible to highlight and integrate information on children's rights to live in a clean environment into the programme. As part of the programme, a competition was organised in which schools and educational establishments taking part in the workshops of the programme "Business versus smog - We support the climate" conducted in the school year 2022/2023 could participate. The competition task was to prepare a banner about children's right to live in a healthy environment. The prize of the competition is a meeting with Agnieszka Radwanska, Ambassador of UNICEF Polska.
The call for new companies wishing to participate in the Business vs. smog - Supporting the climate programme is about to start.
Information about the programme
The aim of "Business vs Smog" is to implement an employee volunteer programme in the area of education of children and young people on air quality and combating climate change. Volunteers, prepared by the Krakow Smog Alarm, conduct free workshops in schools and kindergartens throughout Poland. The programme is tailored to different age groups, and the participants learn in an interactive way what smog is, why it arises, what risks it poses to human health and life, and what they can and should do to breathe cleaner air. More information on the website and FB.
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