Blind golf and the power of veteran support

It was seven years ago that SUEZ recycling and recovery UK set up our network for veterans. We had employees who were ex-services in various roles and appreciated the skillset they brought to the company. We also recognised that veterans faced specific challenges when leaving the military.

Peer support

Finding your feet on ‘civvy street’ isn’t easy after a career and life lived within the armed forces community. Our idea was to facilitate a peer-to-peer network in which veterans support each other through shared lived experiences. It has brought members together from across the country to make connections, share advice and progress their careers. The network has helped create a safe space for its members to talk to someone who has been in similar situations to themselves. Colleagues who can relate to what they’ve been through and their way of working, concerns and values. We facilitate those interactions through, for example, closed Facebook and Yammer groups, and a ‘who’s who’ directory of network members.

Now with over 300 members, our network includes reservists, adult volunteers in the Cadet Force, and the spouses and relatives of serving personnel as well as veterans. Today, it is just one of a series of employee networks. For example, employees with disabilities, LGBTQIA+, parents and those impacted by cancer – the latter being the latest network created in 2025.

In 2018, when the veterans network formed, we had begun to develop our people policies to ease the challenges around the transition from military to civilian life. We also wanted to make SUEZ a more attractive employer for people leaving the services. We value their transferable skills, experience and commitment as employees – drivers, engineers, maintenance technicians, project managers and leaders.

Growing network

We actively recruit veterans and reserves at Career Transition Partnership (CTP) job fairs and the National Transition Event, and post vacancies on forces-friendly job boards. All veterans and reservists that apply and meet the minimum requirements for the job are guaranteed an interview. These and other initiatives (including better internal reporting) have facilitated a steady growth in recruitment and the network. Over the last 18 months alone membership has grown by 50%.

Our onboarding system allows individuals to notify the network and its regional representatives when a veteran, reservist, cadet force volunteer or a spouse or partner of someone serving in the armed forces joins the company. Every member is welcomed, invited to share details, and offered a veteran’s badge to identify themselves as a network member. The regional representative is there as a contact should they need additional support settling into SUEZ and their new life.

Each of our networks contributes to our people-centred philosophy and the priorities of our Wellness for All charter. Members of the veterans’ network devote much of their energy to fundraising, volunteering, raising awareness and supporting our armed forces.

This includes activities to mark Armed Forces Day and Remembrance Day. Members have taken part in fundraising events such as a charity skydive and the Help for Heroes Big Battlefield Bike Ride. This year we celebrated the 80th anniversary of VE Day. We shared an interview recorded with a WWII veteran on his 100th birthday. SUEZ supported Mission Motorsport, a charity that aids recovery and rehabilitation through opportunities in the automotive industry and motorsports.

Golfing blind

This summer we hosted another sporting event, but with a difference – a golf day with Blind Veterans UK. Both network members and non-members who are keen golfers took part in a fun competition that was also enlightening and moving. Players experienced what it is like to have limited vision by wearing tunnel vision and/or sight-impairment glasses. And they saw at first hand the incredible resilience and love of life demonstrated by the blind veterans, which was reflected in colleagues’ comments on the day.

Sarah Naden and Jacqui Ross are golfers but not members of the veterans’ network. ”What an amazing day! I met some amazing people, who I would now call friends,” said Sarah.

“My fantastic partner for the day talked about how the charity had taught him to focus on what he can do, rather than what he can’t, which was really inspiring,” Jacqui added.

The day made a big impression on our veterans too. ”The team from Blind Veterans UK showed us what is possible with a determination to succeed – a truly humbling experience,“ said Dave Shaw, one of our network’s founding members. Another veteran, Paul Strickleton, a Health & Safety Advisor, summed up: “It was a fabulous day to connect, recharge and take time out for others. I’m proud to be a member of the SUEZ veteran community and I look forward to many more events to come.”

We hold an annual conference for our veterans, which has been hosted at the National Arboretum in the past, to bring the veterans’ network members together, foster camaraderie, discuss plans for the network, and engage with external speakers. They have included representatives from Help for Heroes and the Royal British Legion’s Battle Back Centre, the Lilleshall home for its recovery services for injured and ill veterans. As Joint Chair of our Veterans Network I attend, as does our CEO, John Scanlon, and often other senior leaders.

Our dedicated policies for reservists, cadet force adult volunteers, and partners of active military personnel includes additional unpaid leave on top of their paid leave entitlement. The company’s growing commitment is reflected by the Defence’s Employer Recognition Scheme. In 2019, we were awarded Bronze status, followed by Silver in 2020 and Gold in 2022. In 2024, I re-signed our commitment to the Employer Recognition Scheme.

This recognition makes us proud, but it is just a reflection of the massive contribution veterans, reservists and volunteers are making to the company at all levels as well as to the nation’s defence. In this 80th anniversary year of Victory in Europe (VE), we thank all those who have served as well as those who are currently in the forces and those who are looking to in the future.