Driving Internal Engagement: Setting Up A Sustainability Academy

This week, we sat down with David van der Lei, Global Sustainability Commercial Director at Perfetti Van Melle (PVM). David’s mission? To get commercial teams excited and engaged with the topic of sustainability. That means embedding sustainability as a key pillar of PVM’s commercial strategy, collecting proof points, communicating about sustainability progress to major customers and crucially - driving awareness and building capabilities internally. His ultimate goal? To help PVM brands become frontrunners in sustainability.

Perfetti Van Melle is a global candy company, with an exceptionally delicious portfolio of world renowned brands like Chupa Chups, Mentos and Fruitella. While PVM has an established sustainability strategy and has recently had its carbon emissions reduction targets evaluated and approved by the SBTi, integrating these goals into its commercial work presented a significant challenge. David acknowledges that “sustainability has only recently become high on the agenda at PVM.”

So… how is David framing sustainability to be just that bit sweeter at PVM? We sat down with him to find out his strategies for success in driving internal engagement.

David's engagement strategy hinges on reframing the sustainability conversation to resonate with the commercial team. To do this, he emphasises the aspects that relate the most: 

• Brand value boost: How sustainability enhances Perfetti Van Melle’s reputation and relationships with key accounts.
• Cost savings and efficiency gains: The financial benefits of initiatives e.g., the cost savings made from reduced packaging.‍
• License to operate: The growing sustainability requirements from retail customers and regulations (e.g. CSRD in the European Union) make embracing sustainability “a vital part of safeguarding our future license to operate as a business and leave behind a positive legacy”.

Workforce Upskilling: The Perfetti Van Melle Sustainability Academy

To bridge the knowledge gap and encourage team alignment, David launched the Sustainability Academy. This monthly program features one-hour webinars led by internal experts. Topics are catered to meet evolving needs, addressing customer inquiries, progress updates, strategy priorities and regulatory requirements. Themes have included  “How Sustainable Sourcing Works at Perfetti”, “Carbon Analysis”, and “Our Sustainable Packaging Vision”. 

Uptake has been unprecedented, with regular participation of 200-300 colleagues. Interest has even extended beyond the commercial team, with requests from other business functions e.g., finance and procurement to participate.

David’s Engagement Recipe:

• Tailor communication: Translate targets, progress and data points into stories and facts that the team can use to be more successful at their job. Each business vertical will talk a different talk. Translate your message in a format that is simple and easy to remember. Accompanying “cheat sheets” with the key points to remember also helps.
• Tap into the power of purpose: Don’t shy away from “why” conversations. Help colleagues connect sustainability with purpose within their role.
• Don’t forget to make the content fun: PVM is a candy company so fun is inherently woven into their communications. But they don’t take this for granted. If you make the sessions interactive and exciting people will keep coming back for more. 
• Incentivise: Put money (of a kind) on the table and offer meaningful incentives. PVM rewards the most engaged attendees with five coveted spots for the Cambridge University Business Sustainability Management.
  

Get in touch with David if you’re looking to launch an internal sustainability engagement program and want to pick his brains further. 

Learn more about Sustainability at Perfetti Van Melle.