ViMove scoops Company Environmental Initiative of the year at the National ACR & Heat Pump Awards
16. June 2022
Sometimes the simplest ideas make the most difference.
Launched in 2020, Viessmann’s initial 14-day campaign saw employees cycle, jog or walk 132,853 kilometres, resulting in a donation of more than 64,000 trees. Such has been the success of the scheme, the programme has been extended and continues to evolve. In 2021, the milestone of one million trees was reached, culminating in recognition at the National ACR & Heat Pump Awards.
Run or walk a kilometre, and we’ll donate a tree. Cycle three kilometres, and we’ll donate a tree. This forms the crux of Viessmann’s #ViMoveForClimate campaign.
Based around our own activity tracking app, ViMove enables our colleagues and the public to improve their health and wellbeing while making a contribution to environmental conservation.
Viessmann has always stood for climate conservation and responsible business – that’s why we enable our partners to reduce CO2 emissions by 500,000 tonnes per year simply by replacing old and inefficient boilers with modern solutions.
With ViMove, we are going several steps further, and it is not just walking, running and cycling that is rewarded either. Such has been the engagement of the campaigns since launching in 2020, we have added almost 30 types of activity for participants to choose from and moved to a permanent app-based model this year.
“It has been truly heart-warming to see this initiative develop in such a short space of time,” says Viessmann UK managing director, Graham Russell. “ We never set it up with the ambition of receiving awards or pats on the back in recognition, but to see us triumph at the National ACR & Heat Pump Awards is a marker of the impact ViMove is having. I am extremely proud of the achievements of our family members and our partners.”
Reaching a million trees in 2021
In carbon terms, ViMove’s achievements stand at more than one million trees, equating to 10,000 tons of CO2 captured per year (as well as a healthier cohort of Viessmann colleagues and partners).
We chose to focus on tree planting because deforestation is the second largest anthropogenic source of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, after fossil fuel combustion – this means that when they are cut down, vital means of trapping CO2 and preventing it from entering the atmosphere disappear.
The reach and evolution of the campaign was recognised at the National ACR & Heat Pump Awards, ViMove being shortlisted alongside four other inspiring environmental initiatives at the ceremony in Leeds, UK.
“The award simply spurs us on to go further and further, and we cannot wait to see how the next wave of the movement unfolds,” comments Emma-Louise Bennett, Customer Relationship Co-ordinator at Viessmann who picked up the award with colleague James Carter, Multi-Channel Manager. “With the likes of Garmin awarding us with its Most Innovative Solution in Engagement award in 2021, we knew we were onto a concept that has tremendous longevity and potential to bring communities together to not only do their bit in the fight against climate change, but also uplift their own health and wellbeing.”
The #ViMoveForClimate movement is open to everyone. Simply download the app to get started on your sustainable well-being journey.
Viessmann had plenty of other interests at the National ACR & Heat Pump Awards, also being shortlisted in Air Source Project, Domestic Ground Source Project and Non-Domestic Ground Source Project categories.