Last year, Rightmove kindly donated £50,000 to our Environment Fund. Now, we’re delighted to announce that our partnership, which has already proved hugely successful, will be renewed for another year.
Volunteers from Rightmove roll up their sleeves in London
Our partnership with Rightmove, the UK’s leading online property portal, has helped us support key environmental projects throughout England and Wales. Now, with their latest donation, we hope to build on the amazing work we’ve already accomplished together.
“It’s a new approach for us,” says Rachel Morton, our partnerships manager, “where partners can choose to fund the environment in a broader sense, rather than focusing on individual initiatives. It means we can put the funds in a pot and use them for some of our highest priority projects – putting the money where it’s needed most.”
As part of their commitment, Rightmove employees have been getting active in their communities, giving up their time to help improve their local canals and towpaths.
“So far, we’ve held four volunteering days in Camden, Islington, and Milton Keynes, with employees from various divisions in the company,” says Rachel. “They really got stuck in, picking litter, removing graffiti, painting locks, and clearing vegetation – it’s made a real difference.”
Volunteers from Rightmove help to clear vegetation on the Regent’s Canal in Islington
Carolyn Pollard, group company secretary for Rightmove, joined us for a volunteering day in Camden, where she and her colleagues got to work sprucing up the towpath.
“It was such a warm, sunny day,” Carolyn recalls, “and great to be down on that beautiful stretch of canalside in Camden – very quiet and peaceful. The people from the Trust were wonderful; they were so friendly, and they kept us busy all day with painting and gardening.”
Carolyn and the team were certainly not afraid to get their hands dirty, and after a health and safety briefing, they all got stuck in. “We did a lot of weeding,” says Carolyn. “We cleared away litter and painted the ironwork and the wood on the lock gates. It was an amazing experience.”
Rightmove colleagues making an impact in Camden
As well as a rare opportunity to see how much time and effort goes into maintaining our canals, it was also a chance for Carolyn and her colleagues to bond outside of the office. “There were a group of us from the legal compliance and company secretary departments,” she tells us. “It was lovely, as we all spent the day together, working side by side; and from a team-building perspective, it was absolutely brilliant.”
As an organisation, Rightmove is passionate about giving back and being a force for good in the community, and together, we have a shared purpose in improving the environment where we live and work. With nine million people living within a 15-minute walk of a canal, we can make a real impact for local communities.
“One of our core values is that ‘we care deeply’,” says Carolyn, “so it was great to be able to bring that value to life. At Rightmove, everybody is given two days’ annual leave to volunteer, to do something close to their hearts and to benefit their communities – so this was perfect.”
Our environmental work also aligns nicely with Rightmove’s own ‘Go Greener’ initiative, which aims to reduce the company’s carbon footprint, make the business more sustainable, and become net zero by 2030.
Our collaboration with Rightmove has had a hugely positive impact on our canals, helping us spearhead numerous environmental initiatives and make a tangible difference for people, communities, and nature. We’re thrilled that our partnership is set to be extended by at least another year, giving us the opportunity to continue our vital work together.
Keeping our canals open and accessible is relentless and costly and relies on an army of volunteers. Hopefully, in future, more businesses like Rightmove will offer their support and commitment by getting involved with our charity.
