Making the Difference Fund

Building on these existing local and regional charitable partnerships, our Making the Difference Fund aims to scale up our support to causes which cut across borders and generate new long-term, collaborative opportunities. As the fund continues to grow so will the size of our impact.

Aligning with our purpose

Our purpose of transforming performance for a green, inclusive and productive world applies to the communities in which we operate as much as it does to our work for our clients and charitable partners.

Through our Making the Difference Fund, we are committed to putting our purpose into action by targeting three key objectives:

• Support social mobility - unlocking opportunities for underrepresented groups in our industry.
• Disaster relief and recovery - helping relief efforts during and after man-made or natural disasters, as well as providing funds to support the long-term resilience of communities.
• Industry innovation - supporting research and technical advancements that will enable our industry to meet the challenges of tomorrow.

Supporting global communities

Our Making the Difference Fund is financed by our business. The provision of grants through the fund is complemented by actively engaging our people, and their expertise, in opportunities to provide more direct assistance to the fund’s charity partners.

In addition to our ongoing local and regional charity partnerships, our Making the Difference Fund enables our business to support causes that are important to communities and the environment at a local level across all the global regions we operate in.

Partnership with Barefoot College International

In 2023 we signed a three-year agreement to support Barefoot College International through the provision of a substantial grant and on a pro-bono basis with our project management, procurement and digital expertise.

Barefoot College International’s goal is to create sustainable communities and empower women in rural areas by training them as solar engineers, entrepreneurs and educators with a variety of localised education and skill development programmes.

The initiative

Women and solar power are central to Barefoot College International’s strategy of community-driven development.

Its ‘Solar Mama’ ENRICHE programme is a transformative initiative that teaches rural women how to install and maintain solar technology, such as home lighting systems and lanterns. After completing their technical training, these ‘Solar Mamas’ bring light and clean energy security to their communities, as well as the confidence to share their knowledge. During the ENRICHE programme, women are also trained in several other key skills, including:

• digital and financial literacy
• health and reproductive health
• civil and human rights
• sustainability practices
• microenterprise creation.

Operating in 93 countries, Barefoot College International’s locally-led model fosters rural resilience by providing these women with the tools they need to rebalance power and return it to their communities, all while combating climate change, breaking down gender barriers and closing gaps, and preserving traditional ways of life.