Contract Manager, Chris Hand, covers the regions of Wales, Devon and Cornwall. As part of Abbott’s commitment to corporate social responsibility (CSR), Chris arranged a “beach clean” for the first of his team’s two CSR days in 2025.

Chris and the team in South Wales travelled West of Swansea to the picturesque beaches of Rhossili Bay and Llangennith Burrows, a little further along the coastline.

What prompted your decision to have a beach clean as your CSR activity?

We wanted to do something that made a positive impact on the community and the beautiful natural spaces in our area. We’ve been doing a great deal of sustainability work with our contract customers, particularly around plastic - reducing the use of giving sets and ancillaries, such as plastic syringes, with dietetics teams wherever possible. Plastic washing up on the beach is unfortunately still very much a reality – so it made a lot of sense to focus our attention there.

I spoke with Keep Wales Tidy, a charity dedicated to protecting the environment in Wales. They put me in touch with the recently established Litter Picking Hub, which kindly provided the refuse bags and litter pickers for our CSR day. We were advised to separate everything we picked up, with red bags for general waste and green bags for plastics and fishing nets – of which there were an astounding amount washed up all along the beach.

How many people were involved?

There were seven of us in total – including myself and five members of the regional team. We were also joined by Abbott’s National Nurse Manager, Jackie Swannick. She covers the entire country, so it was great for her to have the opportunity to visit us and get involved.

Tell us about the day itself. How did it go?

First of all, the weather was glorious, so we were very lucky in that regard. It made for a surprisingly uplifting experience as we rolled up our sleeves to pick up litter. Claire Watt, one of our Account Managers, lives quite locally to Rhossili Bay. It’s very close to her heart, so she was on a mission to clean up!

Throughout the day, we passed members of the local community who expressed their appreciation for what we were doing. One older lady was sitting on a bench and told us how she comes down to the beach most days, and that it was wonderful to see people taking action. It was rewarding in itself to hear these sorts of things from the local people. All in all, it was a really positive experience. We felt like we’d made an impact.

At the end of the day, we handed in 10 bags in total. We even made use of a plastic drum we picked up as a make-shift sledge for transporting them back along the beach.

Do you feel that beach clean was a good bonding experience for the team?

Definitely. We’re a close team anyway, but it was a great opportunity to get everyone physically together in the same place. Particularly for a newer member of the team who hadn’t yet met everyone in person.

What are your plans for your next CSR day?

Later in the year, we’ll be working with the local team in Devon and Cornwall to do another beach clean down there. I’m very much looking forward to it!

Do you have any words of inspiration or encouragement for other people looking to take part in CSR activities?

It felt great to get the team together and do something meaningful outside of our usual routine. I’d encourage anyone to take some time and do whatever they can to make a positive impact in their community. We came away feeling like we’d made a difference, which was really rewarding on a personal level - especially if you’re as lucky as we were with the weather!