Nielsen associates recently came together to dedicate almost 2,000 hours of volunteering in 28 countries and across 59 events to mark our second annual World Cleanup Day (WCD) event. WCD is part of a global movement to address the growing waste footprint in our communities.  

Responsible management of our waste continues to be one of Nielsen’s environmental focus areas, with a goal of zero electronic waste to landfill by 2020. Grassroots events such as WCD are an extension of this promise, ensuring a top-down approach towards our waste footprint.

Our first WCD in 2018 laid the foundation that we continue to build on, moving us from driving awareness to taking action and having a greater impact in 2019. This year, we broadened our scope of work to include waste avoidance in addition to waste reduction. By helping to avoid the creation of waste completely, we’re able to move beyond intervention and into a wide spectrum of opportunities that fall in the prevention space. 

“We recognize the enormous power that our data can have in helping to shape smarter markets around the world,” said Yamini Dixit, Director, Global Responsibility and Sustainability, Nielsen. “We’re committed to using that data for good to surface new growth and innovation opportunities that tap into the imperative of sustainability, including the need for responsible resource management, and we’re proud to harness the energy of our employees around the world to make a positive impact on their local communities.”

Passionate regional and local leads from Nielsen offices around the world planned our 2019 WCD events, which included cleaning beaches, streets, local creeks, offices, and arboretums. One team engaged with a local forest organization to clean branches infested with dark beetles that destroy spruce trees; another participated in an eco-brick project to reduce plastic waste; and yet another picked up trash around the city despite heavy rains. Nielsen employees collected more than 8,000 pounds of trash and connected with local experts and non-profits to hold awareness drives around waste prevention, reduction, and proper disposal. 

Our work to find new waste solutions continues to be part of Nielsen’s ongoing sustainability commitment and strategy. We understand that environment-based issues are vast and urgent, but opportunities to address these issues are also abundant. By engaging our associates at the grassroots level and collaborating across communities, we advance Nielsen’s responsible and sustainable practices across all aspects of our business, including how our environmental, social, and governance (ESG) approach continues to track with the broader effect our insights have on the markets we serve. Nielsen can be a force for good, and by staying vigilant in our civic engagement, we hope to spark greater action into our future.