Articles

Giving back to society has been a key part of our business culture since it was founded in Japan in 1899. We want to contribute to positive change in society with local programmes and initiatives where our employees can become more involved and support their communities.

We’re always encouraging employees to spend time supporting causes close to their heart and give employees one day of paid volunteering time every year. We are also proud of the numerous colleagues who decide to take on new fundraising challenges outside of work. Here is a story from Andrew Pheasant and Elliot Sleath in the SBF GB&I team who did just that.

“Let’s just say that when you’re at an awards ceremony, watch out for rogue promises you might make about agreeing to big physical charity challenges! Following a late-night discussion just over two years ago, I had agreed to do a bike ride across Croatia and Bosnia as part of a trip that I initially knew nothing about, but I couldn’t be more grateful to my former self for taking the plunge and saying yes.

Bike Bosnia is part of an annual grocery, wholesale and convenince retail charity bike ride set up in 2015 to raise money for the Manchester-based landmine clearance charity, Mines Advisory Group (MAG). Starting in Dubrovnik, southern Croatia and finishing in Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the challenge involved cycling across 300km of hilly terrain in a country which is still heavily contaminated with landmines.

Being part of Bike Bosnia has been an absolute privilege, and a genuinely life changing experience. I pushed my body as far as its been pushed in the last 10 years, battling heat, hills, a lost voice and cramp but it was 100% worth it. It was also invaluable time spent getting to know fellow riders across the industry. I had previously met a number of the team over my 20 years in wholesale and convenience, but rarely did I have the time and opportunity to talk to these people so candidly about work, life and the journey we were sharing. I can genuinely, and proudly, say that I feel like I have made friends for life.

Physical challenge aside, it was incredible to understand more about the incredible work that MAG does. We saw first-hand the work that they do to clear villages that still bear the horrific scars of the Yugoslavian conflict, and learnt how devastating these hidden land mines still are today, which is something none of us will forget. To be part of a group that has to date raised over £100k to enable MAG to carry out their work is truly humbling.

Myself and my colleague, Elliot Sleath, will forever be grateful for this opportunity and for the support of SBF GB&I for allowing us the time to participate and for a sizeable contribution towards our fundraising efforts. I would encourage any of my industry connections to be part of this. It will 100% change your life in more ways than one.”