ECJ EUROPEAN Cleaning Journal

Sustainability, inclusivity, diversity and world peace – these just a few of the values that shape Momentum Support, joint winner of this year’s ECJ Sustainability – Best Practice award.

When Momentum Support’s award win was announced in Brussels, corporate social responsibility and quality manager Verona Pentony took to the stage and made the universal hand gesture for peace.
This was because spreading the peace message is a topic that is particularly close to the company’s heart, she explains. “In September we organised the White Rose of Peace Walk 2022 around Ireland in which all our employees were welcome to participate,” said Pentony.

Staff members were invited to walk a route around their local area to highlight the issue of world peace, with a shared goal of walking 3,171 kilometres in total.

This is just one of a number of sustainability moves that helped to earn Momentum a European Cleaning & Hygiene Award for Sustainability – Best Practice this year. The company’s other key sustainability policies relate to the environment, occupational health and safety, wellbeing, corporate social responsibility, diversity, equality, sustainable procurement, supplier ethical trading, anti-slavery human trafficking, stakeholder engagement, responsible promotion, employee volunteering, communication and flexible working.

“These policies govern our overall ethos across the three key areas of social, economic and environment that adhere to the values of sustainability and responsibility,” said Pentony.

The company has made pledges through accredited third parties such as the Business in the Community Ireland Low Carbon Pledge and The Elevate Pledge. “We are also one of 14 founding member companies of the Open Doors initiative, a cross-sector move to promote greater inclusion and diversity in the workplace,” said Pentony. “It also promotes training and employment opportunities for marginalised groups in Irish society.

“As such we have pledged to be inclusive as an employer and to create pathways to employment for marginalised people.”

The company is also committed to setting science-based carbon emission reduction targets by 2024, she adds. “This will be in line with the Paris Agreement and the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change findings.”

She says the key to achieving high standards in sustainability as far as Momentum Support is concerned is to ensure the company is always building on its achievements. “All our teams throughout the business are focused on making a difference together,” said Pentony.  “We are always looking to the future and exploring how we can further elevate the positive impact we have on our stakeholders.”

Sustainability is ingrained into Momentum Support’s everyday operations, she says, but the company decided to formally embed responsible practices in April 2017. “Following a strategic business review, we established a CSR division to develop and implement our Mission Right Let’s Make the Right Choice strategy,” she said. “Our objective was to achieve Business in the Community Ireland’s Business Working Responsibly Mark.”

The BWR mark is the audited standard for CSR and sustainability in Ireland. Certification is via independent third-party assessment and the company’s sustainability management system is scrutinised across five pillars: governance, workplace, marketplace, environment and community.
“I believe that achieving the BWR mark has set us apart from other companies since it shows we have implemented real policies and practices in the area of sustainability,” said Pentony.

Established in 1982, Momentum Support now has more than 2,500 employees across Ireland and the UK and delivers upwards of three million hours of service per annum. “We operate a daily external audit quality management system that has enabled us to expand at a fast pace while also delivering a consistently high standard of service to all our customers,” said Pentony.

She believes it is always important to take a holistic approach to sustainability. “This is what we have strived to achieve,” she said. “Acting sustainably does not mean simply working to improve your environmental impact, it means striving to ensure that you operate in a responsible way for the company, its employees, partners, customers, and for the wider public and the social and natural environment in which it operates.”

On winning the European Cleaning & Hygiene Award Pentony said: “We are very proud to be recognised for our sustainability performance by our industry peers, particularly given the high standards demonstrated by our fellow nominees.”

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