UL Enterprise Drives Environmental Action During Earth Week

From restoring natural spaces and collecting litter to supporting local sustainability efforts, UL enterprise employees took collective action during the Together for a Safer Planet campaign in celebration of Earth Week 2026.

Returning for a second year, the campaign brought together colleagues from UL Research Institutes, UL Standards & Engagement, and UL Solutions to volunteer in support of environmental causes and organizations around the globe. The collaborative efforts demonstrated the enterprise’s shared mission and purpose of working for a safer world. 

“Earth Week continues to be a powerful example of how our employees come together with a shared commitment to environmental stewardship,” said Tina Vaughn, senior manager of community affairs and engagement for ULRI and ULSE. “These actions demonstrate our mission at work—driving meaningful progress toward safer, more sustainable communities.”

A global campaign with local impact

The 2026 Together for a Safer Planet campaign included over 50 volunteer events across the enterprise, with ten events bringing together colleagues from all three UL organizations. More than 900 employees participated worldwide, including over 130 volunteers from ULRI and ULSE.

Highlights of joint volunteer activities across multiple regions included:

• Garden restoration with Evanston Grows and litter cleanup with Climate Action Evanston. Both organizations are based in Evanston, IL and recipients of ULRI-ULSE’s and Northwestern University’s Office of Neighborhood and Community Relations’ Sustainable Communities Grant Program.
• Waste cleanup along busy roadways in Durham, NC with the state’s Adopt a Highway program.
• Urban gardening and waste-sorting projects with Pacto con la Tierra in Mexico City.
• ULSE employees in Ottawa created recycled bottle planters from take-home kits, which they used to plant seeds from various flowers and herbs.

Connecting environmental stewardship and community safety

Earth Week activities reinforced the close connection between environmental health, community safety, and quality of life – an idea that resonates deeply across the UL enterprise. Whether restoring habitats, supporting sustainable food systems, or assisting community organizations, volunteers saw firsthand how collective action can create lasting benefits.

“Earth Week is a great opportunity for communities to invest time together building up and healing their environment. It’s also a chance for us to slow down and really see what surrounds us,” said Grace Kho, standards project manager at ULSE. She noted that while cleaning up trash in Evanston, she realized that she had become desensitized to all the litter she sees during her daily commute. “Taking a few hours to clean the streets served as a helpful reminder that there is always more we can do to make the world a safer and healthier place.”

Powered by collaboration and a shared commitment to a safer planet

The strong participation in combined enterprise events underscored how collaboration across ULRI, ULSE, and UL Solutions strengthens both employee engagement and community outcomes. By volunteering side by side, employees translated the enterprise’s purpose into meaningful, visible impact beyond their daily work.

“Earth Week brought our mission to life in the best way – bringing people together across organizations to care for our environment and our community,” said Sara Williams, director of engineering at ULRI’s Material Discovery Research Institute. “Volunteering side by side to clean up the MDRI neighborhood strengthened teamwork, sparked new connections, and made a positive local impact we can all be proud of.”

From North America to Asia Pacific, Together for a Safer Planet demonstrated the UL enterprise’s ongoing commitment to environmental responsibility and community partnership. Through hands-on volunteerism and cross‑organizational collaboration, employees brought the mission of working for a safer world to life – one community, one project, and one shared effort at a time.

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