ServiceNow invests US$1.1 million in employee-chosen community projects
Gina Mastantuono, chief financial officer at ServiceNow, and Jacqui Canney, chief people officer at ServiceNow, co-authored this blog post.
At ServiceNow, we're driven by our collective desire to fulfil our purpose to make the world work better for everyone. As part of that, we're dedicated to cultivating an inclusive and resilient culture while investing in the health of our communities and the planet.
We encourage our people to embrace a growth mindset and employ their creative thinking to help solve a variety of challenges to create a more sustainable and equitable world.
In support of these efforts, we're thrilled to share that ServiceNow is expanding our partnership with global nonprofit organisation ChangeX. We're investing an additional $1.1 million into sustainability-focused community projects across nine countries in 2024.
These grants are grassroots in nature. We're putting the power of impact directly into the hands of our people, enabling them to help choose local projects that receive funding and help drive positive transformation for their communities.
Helping local communities thrive
In 2023, in partnership with ChangeX, we funded pilot projects in Ireland and Germany. ServiceNow employee committees in each region selected the eco-focused community-led initiatives that they felt aligned best with the company's goals and had the most potential for impact and engagement.
This partnership exceeded our expectations, allowing us to channel our environmental, social and governance (ESG) investments directly into the community. This resulted in bike libraries, environmental education, tiny forests and more.
Given the momentum of the pilot projects, employees in Germany opted to put the grant money toward the implementation of robust solar energy education programmes in schools. The programmes combine the use of solar energy with practical teaching materials to give children the tools that they need to learn about sustainability and climate.
Philippa H., a manager of field marketing at ServiceNow, participated in building one of the solar-power projects. "When we finished putting together a solar panel, a young boy plugged in an electric piano and began to play it", she says. "It was a beautiful moment and such a good reminder that we must care for the planet for future generations".
Increasing our investment
Inspired by the success of these projects, our additional investment will provide employee communities in Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Japan, the UK and the U.S.—in addition to Ireland and Germany—with US$75,000 to US$100,000 each. These grant funds are for sustainability projects, such as ecosystem restoration, food waste and redistribution programmes, and environmental education initiatives.
"ServiceNow lives its purpose, where sustaining change is more than a donation alone—it's about partnership and demonstrating an unflagging commitment to a better world", says Mark Cockerill, senior vice president of legal at ServiceNow and executive sponsor for ChangeX in Ireland.
"Partnering with local communities allows our employees to dream big and do good, and it ladders up to ServiceNow's overarching global impact strategy to positively reach 20 million people by 2030", he adds.
Empowering employee-centred local impact
Among ServiceNow's 70-plus offices around the globe, we recognise that each community has distinct characteristics with unique needs. Our employees know their communities best, and ChangeX provides us with the platform so our people can help make local decisions around our investment.
People want to work for organisations where they feel supported to learn, grow and develop in their careers while continuing to make an impact both at and beyond work. We see firsthand how investing in our people is key to fulfilling our purpose. We put our people at the centre of everything we do.
We work hard to cultivate a culture in which people can do their best work, live their best lives and fulfil our purpose together—what we call our People Pact.
By giving employees opportunities to invest in their communities, everyone wins. Our people get to play a role in accelerating positive change where they work and live. We get to focus our impact on communities around the world and make meaningful progress toward our long-term sustainability goals.
We believe change is about more than giving a donation—it's committing to be a partner for the change that we want to see.
Know of a great environmental project in your community? Have the organisation apply for a ServiceNow ChangeX grant:
Japan (coming soon)