CSR

Briggs STEAM Engine Initiative Fuels Student Success at Goodwood

As a key outcome of the Briggs STEAM Engine initiative, Briggs of Burton proudly supported students’ bid to race at the iconic Goodwood track. This effort is part of a broader community project aimed at inspiring more young people to explore the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Maths (STEAM).

Our contribution of £1,000 to the Hilton Formula 24 (HF24) project has significantly contributed to its success. This financial support has empowered local students to design, build, and race an electric car as part of a nationwide competition organised by the Greenpower Educational Trust.

What is Hilton Formula 24 (HF24)?

HF24 is an innovative project led by local science and technology company STEM Venturi, which empowers students aged 9 to 16 to design, build, and race an electric car. This project is part of a nationwide competition organised by the Greenpower Educational Trust. While primarily run through schools, Hilton Formula 24 stands out as the first community team of its kind in the Midlands and one of only a few across the UK.

Who is STEM Venturi?

STEM Venturi is dedicated to preparing students for their digital future and facilitates hands-on projects in coding and technology, including 3D design and printing, game design and coding, and robotics programming. The not-for-profit organisation offers after-school technology clubs, holiday clubs, online coding courses, and a 3D printer loan scheme for schools across the Midlands.

Bridging the Skills Gap

Recently, we launched the Briggs STEAM Engine initiative to bolster local communities through various outreach activities. This programme emphasises community engagement, environmental awareness, and engineering outreach to schools and universities, underscoring our commitment to inspiring future engineers. The Greenpower Educational Trust’s event aims to spark interest in engineering among young people. This aligns with research by The Royal Academy of Engineering, which highlights a skills gap of approximately 104,000 STEM graduates and 56,000 technicians annually.

Holly Davies, Founder of STEM Venturi, expressed her gratitude: 

“Briggs has supported Hilton Formula 24 since our inception in 2021. They provided the financial support to purchase our first electric race car kit and their engineers volunteered on Sunday mornings to help our young engineers build the car. Our team has progressed from not finishing races in the first year to consistently being podium contenders. This success is thanks to Briggs’ ongoing support. The link between industry and students is crucial, ensuring the next generation of engineers are equipped with the skills to make a positive impact on the world.”

For more information on our ongoing partnership with HF24 visit Driving Passion for STEM.

Posted in CSR, Engineering

Introducing the Briggs STEAM Engine

An initiative to support local communities with our engineering spirit

A powerhouse of engineering experience and expertise, we’ve always liked to do things differently here at Briggs. From environmental and sustainability measures to mental health support and community outreach, we foster the belief that we’re not just engineers, but innovators within our industry.

Launching this week, we’re proud to finally announce our new community sponsorship and support initiative, Briggs STEAM Engine. This initiative will breathe new life into our existing community sponsorship and support programme, further enhancing our global impact and inspiring the next generation of engineers.

About Briggs STEAM Engine

Essentially, Briggs STEAM Engine is a sponsorship and support programme designed to involve the ever-growing Briggs team in our community outreach activities.

In offering financial support and time to help people get involved, we will provide opportunities for our staff to launch initiatives within their communities that align with Briggs’ culture of sustainability, innovation and creativity.

Standing for Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics, STEAM encompasses everything that we are passionate about at Briggs. An ‘engine’ to guide us in our community outreach, Briggs STEAM Engine is a visionary approach that harnesses our engineering spirit to support and uplift local communities.

Briggs STEAM Engine centres around three core themes:

  1. Local Community Engagement
  2. Environmental Awareness
  3. Engineering Outreach to Schools and Universities

We welcome our staff to submit requests for either time away from work to organise STEAM events or financial support, for example for sponsoring a STEAM-related activity.

Some examples could include:

1. Environmental Awareness – Launching a community initiative to clean up litter in your neighbourhood

This type of event truly resonates with Briggs’ passion for sustainability and climate action. In setting up an event that reflects this, Briggs would happily offer financial support, for example, to buy the litter-picking materials. 

2. Local Community Engagement – Supporting local construction organisations for those less privileged

A meaningful contribution to the families in need, Briggs would be delighted to be able to offer a helping hand to an initiative such as this. As demonstrated by the Briggs of Burton, Inc. team who supported the Greater Rochester ‘Habitat for Humanity‘ project by completing the pre-fabrication phase of a new home.

3. Engineering Outreach – Organising a community outreach programme aimed at local schools 

Perhaps including interactive workshops and presentations designed to ignite students’ interest in STEM fields, particularly engineering, this type of event aligns with Briggs’ strong belief in inspiring tomorrow’s generation of engineers, as demonstrated during National Manufacturing Day.

For any queries, please feel free to e-mail community@briggsplc.com

Posted in CSR, Engineering

Seasons Greetings from Briggs of Burton

With awards, multiple successful project including our first malt whiskey distillery in China and the brand new Pharmaceutical Systems Assembly opening, 2023 has been a great success for Briggs of Burton.

In this season of giving, we’re delighted to announce that Briggs of Burton, is giving back to the communities and charities that matter to us and the people we work with. Our commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) underscores the importance of making a positive impact on communities near and far.

In actively engaging in CSR initiatives, we contribute to the well-being of society and set a precedent for the positive role businesses can play in addressing critical issues. Briggs of Burton remains steadfast in its dedication to making a meaningful difference in the communities we serve.

To find out more about the charities we’ve donated to this year please see below:

Community Sponsorship Days

In addition to these festive season donations, we continued to support and encourage our team members to take community sponsorship days, a Briggs initiative which allows our colleagues to use up to three days a year to help the community.

We’re excited to share Yuri and Ed’s stories:

Edward Gould, Global Technical Centre, Burton-Upon-Trent

Edward Gould opted to use his community sponsorship days for the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal in order to help facilitate collection box distribution across the area. He is a member of the British Legion and provides support to drop off and collect the poppy appeal boxes to enable collection of any donations.

I am one of hundreds of volunteer Poppy Appeal Organisers around the country organising the Poppy Appeal on the ground. All to continue to raise vital funds for the work of the Royal British Legion in providing a lifeline for serving and ex-serving personnel and their families. -Edward

We’re happy to share that Yuri’s community sponsorship day was a success.

The people and the children there were so happy for the donation! -Yuri

Yuri Belen applied to the community sponsorship for support of a local not for profit organisation that helps to support families in times of need. The program allowed for $500 USD to be donated in September in order to purchase food for their food bank. Find out more about what Nariz Roja do here.

Posted in CSR

Briggs give back to the YMCA food bank

During the month of April, we gave back to the YMCA Food Bank charity in Burton on Trent. Following a Briggs Community Sponsorship & Support Fund application, our team collected much needed monetary and food donations from across the business.

  • Members of our team brought in food donations from local supermarkets containing many long life food and drink items.
  • We raised £150 from our Easter Raffle which went towards a food shop from Tesco.
  • We presented a cheque of £300 towards the YMCA’s ongoing food purchase costs.

The YMCA advised in October 2021 they were giving out 5 food parcels a day, at present they are now giving out 20. All of our kind donations and support will go towards ensuring families across Burton have access to food and drinks throughout the week. Paula Senior, Fundraising & Partnerships Manager at the YMCA said;

I would like to say a massive thank you for your kind recent food donations as well as £300 to support our food bank. We truly cannot do what we do without the support of others and this donation will have an impact on the individuals and families that we support as well as the services that we provide to the local community. On behalf of everyone at YMCA Burton, thank you very much for your generosity and thoughtfulness.

About Briggs of Burton

If you have eaten or drunk it there is a chance that Briggs of Burton has helped to produce it.

Briggs are the engineers behind supplying the equipment, engineering and automation to the world’s largest food, alcoholic beverage, and pharmaceutical manufacturers

Today Briggs employs over 300 colleagues across six sites in the UK, Scotland, USA, Mexico, China, and Australia. The team deliver turnkey engineering projects for leading household brands covering North America, Europe, Central America, Africa, Australia, and Asia. Briggs’ benefits from a global network of stainless-steel manufacturing facilities, including their own located in Burton on Trent and Prestonpans, Scotland.

Briggs are actively developing sustainable engineering solutions, focusing on their customer’s requirements towards carbon neutrality. 

Posted in CSR