“Not only did we feel like we were making a difference in the community, but each of us walked away with a sense of pride, knowing that we took action and contributed to ITW’s sustainability efforts." - Massimiliano Pappalardo, customer experience specialist at ITW Construction Products Italy
When chapter leaders from ITW’s Young Professionals Network (YPN) in Italy were brainstorming ways to contribute to our enterprise sustainability commitments while making a difference locally, they sought ideas from two places: their colleagues and ITW’s sustainability report.
Inspired by the community engagement activities featured in the report, YPN organized a cleanup event in Piacenza, a town about two hours outside of Bologna. They also collaborated with the Legambiente of Milan, an Italian environmental nonprofit that coordinates local clean-up events. Together, they chose Piacenza due to its central location to ITW’s divisions in Northern Italy.
Many of the event’s 15 participants (which included members of YPN and colleagues from other employee resource groups, or ERGs) traveled two to three hours and spent their Thursday giving back while strengthening bonds with new and familiar colleagues. Volunteers spent half a day picking up trash in Piacenza’s various piazzas and highly trafficked streets. In total, the dedicated team of volunteers collected nearly 410 pounds of trash, which consisted of cigarette butts, aluminum, glass and plastic bottles – and even a bicycle.
“Not only did we feel like we were making a difference in the community, but each of us walked away with a sense of pride, knowing that we took action and contributed to ITW’s sustainability efforts,” said Massimiliano Pappalardo, one of the Italian chapter leaders and customer experience specialist at ITW Construction Products Italy.
The cleanup effort was featured in the local newspaper, Libertá, after a reporter witnessed their hard work in action.
Carolina Martini, an export sales professional with Colged, a brand with the Eurotec division of the ITW Food Equipment Group, said she most enjoyed the opportunity to work alongside – and socialize with – colleagues from other divisions around the region. In addition, she was grateful that the participants formed a bond while beautifying the community.
“It’s definitely a day I’ll remember,” Martini said, noting that the day finished with participants enjoying pizza to celebrate a job well done. “We were part of something special – not only for the city, but also for ourselves in coming together as a group to serve the community.”
Based on the success of the 2023 outing, Pappalardo said the YPN chapter hopes to plan other environmental and team-building events this year to further the group’s goals of growing its membership and raising awareness about its activities.
