The “Elegí Ayudar” (I Chose to Help) volunteer program started in 2008 and according to company data, an average of more than 4,750 workdays are dedicated to support these social and environmental causes every year.
Since 2008, Florida Ice and Farm Company (FIFCO) collaborators work in favor of environmental and social causes, through the company’s “Elegí Ayudar” volunteer program.
The program is the company’s executing arm for volunteer initiatives in the Social axis of its Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) strategy and is the mechanism through which employees “experience sustainability first hand“.
That is, FIFCO’s collaborators take at least 8 hours of their working day to support various causes.
This volunteer program is carried out within each employee’s work period, FIFCO facilitates the spaces so that employees can comply with at least one day of help per year. For this purpose, several options are offered from January to December, so that each person can choose the option and day that best suits him/her, with prior approval from his/her management.
Among the offer are the professional volunteer days, which consist of employees training customers on important topics for FIFCO, such as the promotion of smart alcohol consumption.
In addition to these, there are other days such as waste collection at massive events such as concerts. In turn, FIFCO’s suppliers and shareholders attend the volunteering events.
At FIFCO, the volunteer program materializes the corporate commitment with society and the environment; it is a physical demonstration of the shared interest in contributing to the development of the countries where it operates (for example: Costa Rica, Guatemala and the United States). The activities have as a background the promotion of the volunteering culture“, added Carlos Morales, FIFCO’s Corporate Communication Manager.
“More than 10 thousand people have been part of FIFCO’s volunteer programs”.
According to the organization, in the 15 years of operation, more than 10 thousand people have been part of FIFCO’s volunteer programs, among collaborators and external people.
Among the projects worked on are recycling initiatives, maintenance and protection of national parks, reforestation, nutrition and support to vulnerable populations such as children and the elderly.
Morales indicated that between August and October last year, more than 800 collaborators from FIFCO’s Distribution and Sales divisions developed projects throughout the country, reaching more than 5,000 customers.
The involvement of different audiences confirms that we are on the right track. We continue to strive for the participation of our entire value chain”, said Morales.
The most recent work day in this area took place last Thursday, February 16, when 36 volunteers joined together to maintain the trails of the Poás Volcano National Park. During this day, cleaning, replacement of pipes and creation of ditches were carried out.
In turn, and for 2023, we expect to collaborate with cleaning and conservation work in national parks such as Bosque del Niño, Carara National Park, Guayabo National Monument, Tapantí National Park, Los Quetzales National Park, as well as cleaning beaches such as Tárcoles, Azul and Guacalillo.
Between 2008 and the present, FIFCO considered a new way of doing business, and this corporate identity prioritizes decision making for sustainability and innovation. At that time, the company merged its business strategy with its social responsibility strategy, becoming a triple bottom line company. That is, it creates economic, social and environmental value simultaneously. With the evolution of our sustainability strategy towards the year 2025, and the update of the sustainability conceptual framework by adopting ESG factors, we demonstrate that at FIFCO sustainability is a priority; the evolution to ESG evidences our commitment to greater rigor and continuous improvement in this topic”, added the company.
FIFCO concluded its message by extending an invitation to other companies to promote the culture of volunteering, encouraging their people to be part of a proactive and comprehensive approach supporting various causes.
