21 May

Mental Health Awareness Week & the Green Ribbon Campaign

As part of our This is Me initiative The Green Ribbon campaign was run again this year to coincide with Mental Health Awareness Week. Recent figures have indicated that a staggering one in five of us will have experienced some form of depression during the latest lockdown, with the pandemic having taken a huge toll on our mental health.

In a time when we must all look to support each other as much as possible, at home and at work, the Green Ribbon Campaign continues to work towards ending the stigma around mental health in the workplace.  Each year we encourage businesses to get involved by sharing green ribbons with their employees to create a visible movement of support. The Green Ribbon also demonstrates to those who are struggling that they are not alone and that their workplaces are an inclusive, safe environment for them, away from judgement.

This year with the continuation of the pandemic most of our Green Ribbon activities have remained online with businesses and employees alike taking to their social media to ‘go green’. The Green Ribbon was added to both business and personal profiles across LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

We were thrilled to see over 250 organisations around the country get involved with our campaign, whether this was through downloading the variety of resources we have on our website, with over 1200 downloaded, or by purchasing Green Ribbons for their staff to wear in support.

The Green Ribbon travelled to over 100 cities in the UK, including Bath, Crewe, Edinburgh, Liverpool and Taunton, making it a truly widespread showing of support.

The theme for this year’s Mental Health Awareness Week was nature and as a team this meant we were able to take some time out ourselves and reflect on how nature has helped us, especially over the last year. Team members shared personal experiences and stories across social, and we also created a blog around 5 ways that nature can help improve your mental health.

We kicked off our campaign with our own Green Ribbon video where team members filmed themselves passing on a green ribbon in nature, a theme which was then taken on by past Lord Mayor Sir Charles Bowman who created a heart-warming video featuring his own animals.

The Rt Hon The Lord Mayor of the City of London Alderman William Russell helped to share the campaign across social, highlighting the importance of the Green Ribbon by turning his social media green and also by giving a Green Ribbon to our charity partners.

It is always great to see the ripple effect the campaign can have, and this year didn’t disappoint with companies like Aegon creating their own Green Ribbon video and the Civil Service supported by our This Is Me Storytelling initiative launching their own storytelling video, which focused on employee’s experience of mental health during lockdown.

Once again, the Green Ribbon campaign showcased a great level of support and awareness for mental health in the workplace. We look forward to continuing our fight to end the stigma around mental health, with our ongoing This is Me campaign. You can find out how you can get involved by heading here