The project started in 2006 when we sponsored a well in the village of Lamin Jawara Gambia. With their new water supply the villagers were able to establish a market garden. When the local wildlife started munching on the produce we donated money. The money had a direct and immediate use to buy protective fencing. ADM staff were invited to the village and saw where the money went. The well exists, the fence is still there, it has a direct and immediate impact on the lives of people in the village.

ADM have been able to support schools in Africa by supplying computers, stationary and solar panels.

As a tech company ADM Computing were able to access pre used technology that while not cutting edge by the standards of UK business was good enough to help people learn.

One of the main causes of poverty in developing countries is the large proportion of the population that is not fully involved in education. High poverty rates and inadequate infrastructure, especially in rural areas mean accessing education is difficult.

By improving the quality of school education and student access key resources like computers, the ideal conditions are created for the development of cognitive competence.

Through the following organisations, ADM has been able to provide additional support to those living in poverty around the world.

Practical Action – An innovative international development organisation putting ingenious ideas to work so people in poverty can change their world.

Oxfam – A global movement of millions of people who share the belief that, in a world rich in resources, poverty isn’t inevitable.

ODAFEM – A charity in Ivory Coast which supports women and children in rural areas

Tools With a Mission – A charity that collects unwanted usable tools, refurbishes them, sorts them into trade tool kits and sends them to the developing world for livelihood creation.

Although ADM have been donating devices and general equipment to worthy causes for years, we have never truly measured or targeted ourselves against these initiatives. In 2022, we aim to track our commitments and use this information to set realistic annual targets to support these causes. Using this information, we will be able to identify when we have been unable to donate devices and/or equipment, and drive change through alternative methods of contribution – such as monetary donations.

We partnered with Medway Council to deliver a webinar to local businesses, raising awareness of the importance of staff’s wellbeing, how to support employees, and ultimately improve wellbeing in the workplace.

ADM currently has 1 certified mental health first aider. MHFA is a point of contact for an employee who is experiencing a mental health issue or emotional distress. They are trained to spot the signs and symptoms of mental ill-health and provide help on a first aid basis.

ADM provide mental health promotion training programme for managers and directors. If we can assist in maintaining the health of our own staff and to some extent their wider connections we are hopefully reducing the burden on the wider community. We encourage staff and colleagues to work to take responsibility for their actions but not take the blame when things go wrong, which occasionally they inevitably will.

All ADM staff have free 24/7 access to a range of resources and support should they find themselves struggling with alcohol or substance abuse. This includes free help lines with trained professionals.

We participate in charity fundraising events for non-profit organisations that look to improve mental and physical wellbeing around the world, like: Mind, Macmillian Cancer Support, Teenage Cancer Trust, Sands(Stillbirth & Neonatal Death Society), Doctors Without Borders (MSF), Red Nose Day, etc.

ADM has achieved Kent & Medway Workplace Wellbeing Bronze, Silver and Gold Award and Kent mental health & wellbeing awards (presented by South Kent Mind) in 2021.

ADM’s internal wellbeing meetings and frequent social events help contribute to a healthy lifestyle amongst staff.

In 2021, ADM signed up for the Kent and Medway Healthy Workplace programme, and by the end of the year we were able to achieve the Bronze, Silver & Gold Awards. We aim to continue to focus our efforts on workplace wellbeing throughout 2022 and 2023, and ultimately achieve the highest grade award available, the Platinum Award. To earn the Platinum Award, businesses must maintain a healthy workplace and show proof of their wider influence on workplace wellbeing within their community.

As an IT company ADM have often have access to hundreds of laptops and PCs. Many of these are no longer required by our business or that of our clients. Once all of the necessary data cleansing and security steps have been taken these machines find a new home in the developing world where they are used to access education.

Charities we work with include; TWAM (Tools With a Mission) and Learning Link Ghana. ADM Projects Director Martin Tanner has been a trustee of Learning Link Ghana since 2016. Martin has regularly been invited to inspect, supervise and assist with the distribution of equipment in Ghana.

ADM have  access to an all-terrain vehicle which is used to distribute equipment and essential supplies to the projects we are involved in.

We’ve been supporting schools in Africa through the years by supplying computers, computing equipment and solar panels. We work together closely with Focus Project UK, who focus mainly on supporting Primary Education in The Gambia with learning resources like books, computers, school furniture, school meals and funding to improve the conditions of school facilities.

Although ADM have been donating devices and general equipment to worthy causes for years, we have never truly measured or targeted ourselves against these initiatives. In 2022, we aim to track our commitments and use this information to set realistic annual targets to support these causes. Using this information, we will be able to identify when we have been unable to donate devices and/or equipment, and drive change through alternative methods of contribution – such as monetary donations.

The Green School Awards is a program that’s open to primary and secondary schools across the South-East. It celebrates best practice in six categories: green travel and road safety; energy conservation; nature conservation; health and well-being; recycling; and air pollution. Click here to see more.

Inspired by what he had seen in China ADM’s MD Adrian invested in a business and we developed our own level 3 OCN certified training program in China, helps train kindergarten teachers in Forests schools to create better environmental awareness. Much has been written about pollution being an issue in China and ADM a medium sized IT company in Kent cannot impact geo politics. But what we can do was help those who were trying to make changes early on in that area. There is better environmental awareness and in part this is thanks to schemes like the Forest schools. It also serves as a way of encouraging creative thinking in young students whilst they learn important life skills.

We shifted to a more local waste & recycling provider in 2019, in an effort to reduce the amount of waste that doesn’t get recycled.

ADM have been ISO 14001 (Environmental Management) certified since 2014.

We hold charity football games annually with our vendor Altaro and raise funds for ‘Friends of the Earth’

It’s no surprise that as an IT support and services company, we often receive requests from our clients to collect old devices such as laptops, PCs and monitors. Wherever possible, we like to wipe these devices inhouse, clean them, and send them off to charities around the world for livelihood creation. When a device is not suitable for charity, we utilise ICT Reverse  – an asset management organisation with a zero landfill tolerance policy. ICT Reverse ensure that all devices are reused, remanufactured, remarketed or recycled in line with the waste hierachy.

In 2012 we decided to take things one step further than most businesses, and setup ADM Solar – a side project of Managing Director, Adrian Bryant, which aimed to raise awareness of the attractive government grants available to businesses looking to adopt solar panels. Over the 2 years ADM Solar was active, it saw the installation of solar panels throughout the South-East of England, starting with our very own offices. We were even able to send out some solar panels to The Gambia as part of our ongoing efforts there.

Although ADM Solar is no longer active – we are proud of the impact we had on businesses within our community, and the lasting effect the panels installed will have on the environment.

The term carbon footprint is one we are all familiar with – but do you know what your organisations carbon footprint actually is? In 2022, we intend to identify and measure ADMs carbon footprint, a necessity if looking to target ourselves with becoming an entirely carbon neutral organisation.

One of the best ways to reduce your carbon footprint is by helping support climate projects around the world. Ecologi are an organisation that help make this process easy for individuals and businesses looking to make a difference. Thanks to their public financial figures, in-depth reporting and evidence of project works, as well as their carbon reduction calculations – we feel we can be confident in Ecologi’s guarantee that 85% of all contributions will go directly towards supporting initiatives around the world that are helping combat climate change.

Each year, ADM aim to replace one of our existing petrol/diesel vehicles with an environmentally-friendly electric alternative.