How to organize a company cleanup event

Decide what the event is meant to achieve. Is the main purpose team engagement, a useful local contribution, or documented results for sustainability communication? One primary goal is enough.

Choose simple success measures such as participant numbers, team numbers, and bags or kilograms collected. Avoid impact claims that the collected data cannot support.

Choose an area that is accessible and manageable for the group. Check who owns it and whether permission, registration, or coordination is required. Local requirements can vary.

Arrange disposal before inviting participants. Decide where full bags will be collected, who will take responsibility for them, and how different waste types will be handled. The cleanup is not complete until the collected waste has been handed over safely.

For a first event, 60 to 120 minutes of collection time, one meeting point, and a small number of teams are usually enough. Divide the area clearly so teams do not become lost or record the same result twice.

Choose bags or kilograms as the main measurement before the event. Bags are simple but less precise. Kilograms are more precise but require a suitable scale and a consistent weighing process. Explain the chosen method in the report.

Give a short briefing that fits the location. Participants should know where they may go, when they must return, and whom to contact. Gloves, litter pickers, suitable clothing, and visible collection points belong in the basic plan.

Hazardous, sharp, medical, chemical, or unknown items should not be touched. Decide how these finds will be marked and reported to the appropriate service. Consider traffic, water, weather, and participant needs.

Explain what data will be collected, why photos are used, who can see the results, and how long original files are kept. Photos should document the collected waste rather than focus on individual people.

Ask participants to avoid faces, name badges, licence plates, and private documents. Permission to publish company results is not automatically permission to use participant photos for marketing.

A useful invitation answers practical questions: Why is the cleanup taking place? When and where will everyone meet? How long will it last? What should people bring? What clothing is suitable? What happens in bad weather?

Send a short reminder a few days before. On the event day, make the QR code available both on a screen and in print. Test it beforehand on an ordinary mobile phone, not only on an office computer.

Begin with a short welcome and safety briefing. Then show the QR code, explain the teams, and demonstrate one test submission. Keep the introduction short so the group can start promptly.

Check the submissions after the event. Remove tests, obvious errors, duplicates, and photos that should not be published. Record whether values were measured or estimated and which submissions were excluded.

A useful final report states the result, teams, participant number, measurement method, and limitations. Photos and timestamps improve traceability but do not provide independent verification. Share a reviewed version internally first.