Lendlease: Sparking change from within

How the passion of two individuals turned into a movement

Lucy Sharman and Tarah Spencer, two Lendlease employees, are a perfect example of how individuals can impact and influence change on a grand scale.

Lendlease is a multinational construction and development company. And Barangaroo South, a precinct in Sydney’s Darling Harbour, is one the nation’s biggest urban redevelopment projects. Lucy and Tarah’s vision was to share the ‘reduce’ message of Plastic Free July with both their colleagues at Lendlease, and the tenants of Barangaroo South.

The uptake was overwhelming and has introduced lasting changes that have continued beyond the Plastic Free July challenge.

Quick, easy fixes

Many Plastic Free July participants are surprised when they understand how much single-use plastic is actually in their everyday lives. One of the first things Lendlease did was take stock and find easy fixes they could implement right away.

This included no longer buying pens and tea bags that were individually wrapped in plastic, introducing Keep Cups to their offices in Western Sydney, Barangaroo and Melbourne, and eliminating disposable cups from their internal café.

Considering the thousands of workers across Lendlease’s offices, these small changes have a huge impact.

Using Plastic Free July’s resources

When you join in the Plastic Free July challenge, you’re not in it alone. In fact, you’re alongside more than 250 million other participants.

We want to make it as easy as possible for people to get on board, which is why we have great resources available on our website. They include educational videos, helpful products we recommend, and posters and other assets you can use to inspire others.

Lendlease used these resources during their Plastic Free July challenge. They did this by making sure there was signage and other collateral throughout their offices and tenant buildings around Australia.

Equipping participants with education

One of the great ways that Lendlease empowered employees and tenants was by running workshops. These included sessions on:

Plastic-free beauty and skincare
Using essential oils for cleaning
Beginners guide to living plastic-free
DIY bees wax wraps

Helping people to make their own products and learn about sustainable alternatives is a great way of showing how easy it can be to reduce plastic waste.

Quick summary

Lucy Sharman, a sustainability manager for Lendlease, had a vision to help reduce plastic pollution throughout the company.
The uptake amongst tenants and employees was huge and helped drive even further change.
Lendlease empowered participants by using the Plastic Free July resources, running workshops, and making simple and easy changes that eliminated excessive plastic waste.

Inspired? You can do this too

Take stock of how plastic is being used in your company, and how you too can make small but impactful changes.
You don’t have to wait for your company to lead the charge. If you want to get involved with Plastic Free July, there are plenty of great resources on our website to help you get your co-workers involved.