Summer 2023 was the hottest summer on record. It’s clear from the heatwaves and hurricanes felt around the world that climate change impacts all of us. But for Gen Z, the desire to do something about causes that matter is changing not just how they live their lives, but how they search for jobs.
Seventy percent of all Gen Zers globally are involved in some type of social or political cause, and before they even consider working for a company, they evaluate its commitment to serving and giving back to those in need. Climate change is just one example of a cause that the future leaders of our workforce would be excited to see any company prioritize. (You can explore employers that have signed the Climate Pledge here.) And there are so many more.
Heading into the fall—and amid a sweltering week of 100-degree weather—our team wanted to find out how companies support their workforce, their communities, and the betterment of our world. We wanted to know what they do beyond work.
The answers we received from our employer partners are pretty cool. At Columbia Distributing, delivery drivers and merchandisers are trained to spot and report human trafficking, because their roles land them in non-public places where trafficking often takes place. At Sunbelt Rentals, the focus on supporting veterans and servicepeople provides specially adapted smart home builds for severely wounded veterans and funding of essential equipment and training for first responders, among other things. Procore Technologies, alongside their partner The B1M, is raising awareness of the mental health crisis in the construction industry through a new documentary series on the topic. Lastly, Taulia, because of a 135-person team of employees passionate about sustainability and the environment, has set the goal of being carbon neutral in their own facilities by the end of this year.
Such initiatives are heartening, and whether you’re a job seeker or already employed, their existence provides an interesting insight into values alignment. Any time a company ties money and metrics to something, it signals that that thing matters.
You might not be a Gen Zer. You might be a Millennial or a Gen Xer or a Boomer. But we can all agree that Gen Z is onto something—that it’s nice to know upfront what matters to employers and to see how your skills, time, and energy could be used for good. Even in the cases where companies turn social responsibility efforts inward with robust wellbeing programs and diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, it’s nice to have the reassurance that you’ll be valued and respected before you even consider an offer.
You can read more about companies doing amazing things in our Beyond Work roundup below, and by exploring our collection of companies with inclusive benefits. Happy job hunting.
13 companies that make an impact beyond work
Columbia Distributing: Protecting against human trafficking
In 2023, Columbia Distributing, the second largest distributor in the U.S. of total beverage alcohol, announced its commitment to increase awareness of a major threat to the safety of everyone living in Oregon and Washington: human trafficking. Human trafficking is defined as the recruitment, harboring, transporting, obtaining, or maintaining of a person by means of force, fraud, or coercion for purposes of servitude, debt bondage, slavery, organ sales, or participation in sex trade. It is a form of modern-day slavery, and it's most often happening in plain sight. “Distributor employees are in a unique position to spot human trafficking activity because we have access to non-public areas of venues, bars, hotels, convenience stores, event arenas and more where this activity is more likely to occur,” Columbia Distributing says. “Recognizing this, we implemented educational and training materials that help us know how to spot and report suspected trafficking.” The training is mandatory for all positions on the front lines, including the company’s delivery drivers and merchandisers, as well as all new employees. Columbia Distributing has also publicly declared this commitment to their communities through signage on their fleet of 600+ trucks and vans. To help jumpstart the initiative, they held a fundraising event for Seattle-based organization StolenYouth. Its mission is to prevent child sex and human trafficking, connect victims with resources, and empower survivors. The event raised over $8,000.
Infosys: Championing education, healthcare, and support for all
Infosys’ community programming differs depending on location! In India, Infosys Foundation has focused efforts on themes such as health care, education, sustainability, and supporting marginalized communities. This includes partnerships to make health care more affordable and accessible to less privileged communities and providing nutritious food for underprivileged children, medical equipment for hospitals, digital education in government schools, skill training for women from rural and tribal communities, and more. In the U.S., Infosys Foundation USA has invested in programs that help bridge the digital skills gap. Through partnerships with nonprofits, the foundation pushes the frontier of computer science for all—from training K-12 educators to bringing dynamic after school coding programs to children in marginalized communities.
Lazer Logistics: Supporting employee safety and wellness
Lazer Logistics’ lives by their value “We keep each other safe," first, through unique health and wellness offerings and, second, through the Lazer Foundation, a 501(c)(3) that supports Lazer Logistics’ employees and their families in times of adversity. Through the former, this year, the company kicked off Know Your Numbers, an internal campaign encouraging employees to prioritize wellness. They teamed up with Quest to provide free biometric readings to all of their U.S. employees, and they started an all-company wellness resource group to be able to support employees’ health and wellness goals. More expansively, the Lazer Foundation acts as a safety net when times get tough, offering employees in crisis grants of up to $5,000. Foundation grants have been distributed for employees who had house fires, unexpected medical or funeral costs, missed work and incurred expenses due to COVID, and more. Since its inception, the Lazer Foundation has disbursed over $200,000 in grants, with $43,000 distributed thus far in 2023.
Mill Creek Residential Trust: A legacy of community involvement
Mill Creek strongly believes in giving back to their local communities! Through the years, Mill Creek communities across the country have held numerous annual toy, clothing, and food bank drives, and Mill Creek has sponsored various charitable fundraisers and made other financial contributions in support of a wide range of causes related to housing, hunger, education, job creation, veterans, police, cancer, autism, and environmental protection. Their founding and chairing of the Habitat for Humanity Metro Maryland’s Golf Classic has raised over $1 million, and Mill Creek has directly donated over $150,000. Plus, their 15-year support of the event enabled the completion of a 19-townhome subdivision that provides high-quality, affordable housing to more than 75 men, women, and children. Internally, full-time Mill Creek associates receive one paid day of volunteer time off (VTO) per calendar year, and June’s Month of Service celebrates giving back company-wide.
OnLogic: Programming that uplifts the community
OnLogic’s social responsibility initiatives are divided into three main categories and teams: Opportunity, Sustainability, and Inclusivity. Made up of employees from across departments and locations, teams champion programming such as STEM outreach with organizations that support underrepresented groups in tech, environmental betterment, and providing rich diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programming and recruitment. Initiatives across teams include: sponsoring a competitive youth robotics teams, collaborating with local makerspaces to upgrade industrial tools, refurbishing computers for underserved communities, volunteering at tree nurseries, organizing community clean ups, reducing plastic waste from production and fulfillment, facilitating intercultural and inclusivity trainings, attending university-led symposiums, and much more!
Pittsburgh Regional Transit: Fostering positive relationships between the community and the police
Pittsburgh Regional Transit partners with the Port Authority Police to engage in community-oriented police programming with the purpose of building trust and cooperation between law enforcement and the community. Through the weeklong Camp Cadet, they work to bring a better understanding of law enforcement to the youth who live in Allegheny County, and by supporting National Night Out, they create an opportunity for officers and community members to interact in a relaxed and friendly setting, promoting goodwill and reinforcing the idea that officers are approachable and supportive allies. Finally, they support the Special Olympics through a Law Enforcement Torch Run and a brisk Polar Plunge.
Procore Technologies: Raising awareness about mental health in the construction industry
Procore Technologies’ vision is to improve the lives of everyone in construction. “What has become increasingly clear is that in order to further that vision, we must address the mental health crisis in the construction industry, reduce stigma, and provide resources to workers and organizations in need,” the company says. In both the U.S. and the U.K., construction has the highest suicide rate among occupational groups. In response, Procore has partnered with The B1M, construction’s leading video channel, to produce a global campaign: Get Construction Talking. The campaign aims to address the complex issue of mental health in the construction industry by promoting open discussions, providing resources, and fundraising for construction mental health nonprofits. The B1M has produced a new two-part YouTube series to further raise awareness, get people talking, and provide viewers with basic mental health first aid skills. The new documentary series is now available, alongside a new portal, podcast, and events.
Reward Gateway: Wellbeing support on every front
At Reward Gateway, wellbeing is at the heart of everything they do. Their mission is to help employees achieve their health and wellbeing goals with Healthy Everyday Actions Reached Together. “We understand that wellbeing is unique to everyone, so we provide a diverse, inclusive, and holistic offering across six core pillars of wellbeing (Family, Financial, Physical, Social, Career, and Mental),” the company says. Reward Gateway provides 60-plus wellbeing benefits, each chosen to ensure their employees have preventative, daily, and crisis-focused initiatives to meet them where they are on their journey. Leaders serve as program champions and provide their teams with attention, feedback, and encouragement, and the company’s EPIC Networks and People Experience Communities collaborate on introducing new benefits and reviewing their wellbeing strategy to ensure its inclusivity.
Seven Seas Water Group: Promoting education, youth development, and sustainability
Seven Seas Water Group is committed to giving back and helping people thrive, especially in the communities they serve. From donating school supplies to providing financial aid, they are helping to strengthen their communities by supporting students, athletes, and nonprofit organizations that promote education, youth development, and sustainability. Most recently, the Seven Seas office in Houston volunteered at Houston Food Bank and prepared boxes for seniors in the community. They were able to assemble 945 boxes, creating 24,570 meals! At the Tampa headquarters, employees participated in a shore clean-up initiative, collecting over 200 pounds of trash! Internationally, Seven Seas donates time and resources to many charitable organizations across their operating locations, and, most notably, established the Desalination Resource Development scholarship program in Sint Maarten for young engineers interested in water.
Sunbelt Rentals: Integral support for veterans and their families
Sunbelt Rentals is one of the nation’s top Military Friendly® Employers. Since 2016, they’ve had a national partnership with the Gary Sinise Foundation (GSF), a charity and public service organization that supports programming and initiatives in support of active and veteran military personnel, first responders, and fallen heroes. Through their partnership, Sunbelt Rentals provides aid to GSF’s programming by way of monetary and in-kind equipment donations, including specially adapted smart home builds for severely wounded veterans, funding of essential equipment and training for first responders, healing retreats for families of the fallen, and mental wellness resources for the nation’s defenders. Sunbelt Rentals also implements various fundraising campaigns and events across local communities and donates a portion of their rental proceeds from co-branded GSF equipment to bring heightened awareness to GSF’s work. Over the partnership’s lifetime, Sunbelt Rentals has contributed more than $8.5 million in monetary and in-kind donations to help support the GSF’s mission.
Taulia LLC: Environmental warriors for the greater good
Taulians for the Greater Good is a community of like-minded Taulians interested in creating positive change for Earth and humanity. “We understand that to change the world, we have to change ourselves first. We have to change our mentality, our habits, and our actions!” they say. The group was launched at the end of 2022 and currently has 135 employee members participating in education, community service, and monthly activities. Those activities have included a guest speaker on environmental, social, and corporate governance investing; an organized event to gather used items and donate to local organizations; a week of community service activities organized by local offices, or online for remote employees; monthly educational sessions on sustainability; monthly challenges to earn badges to become a Taulia Eco Warrior; a tree-planting campaign; and more. Taulia’s sustainability focus this year is on the environment, with a goal of being carbon neutral in their own facilities by the end of 2023.
Veeam: Volunteering for transformative change
Veeam has two main initiatives that, in their words, “embody their commitment to empowerment, community, and transformative change”: Veeam Cares and the Veeam It Forward Marathon. Through Veeam Cares, the company encourages employees to volunteer in their communities, allotting each person 24 paid hours to participate in diverse causes such as blood drives, orphanage transformations, and animal welfare programs. About 10 percent of Veeam’s workforce actively participates in Veeam Cares, which takes place throughout the year. The Veeam It Forward Marathon, on the other hand, is an annual event—a volunteering sprint, if you will. Over the course of three months, employees participate in simultaneous Veeam Cares events. Last year, 541 employees participated in 17 locations, hosting over 43 Veeam Cares events in various communities, totaling 2,000 hours—a 64 percent rise from 2021.
VTS: Values-led community efforts to bring employees together
For the past three years, VTS has hosted Community Week, an event that showcases the contributions of their employee resource groups (ERGs) and working groups (WGs). During the week, each ERG/WG is given a 30-minute slot to highlight their distinctive identities, ongoing projects, and avenues for engagement. While new employees are introduced to the ERGs during their first week at VTS and the ERGs/WGs host many events throughout the year, this gives their team an opportunity to learn more about the core values of the ERG and boosts ERG membership. In addition to these informative sessions, Community Week also features virtual Coffee Roulettes, which allows remote team members to meet their peers across the globe, and an in-office luncheon in VTS’s Hub offices for employees to get together face-to-face. VTS says that, “Community Week stands as a testament to VTS's commitment to our value ‘Appreciate the Difference’ by cultivating an inclusive and engaged workforce. It exemplifies our belief that each individual, in and outside of their role, adds unique attributes that better VTS everyday.”
