Building Connections and Belonging through CARE

At Ramboll, CARE brings colleagues across Asia Pacific together through people-led initiatives that promote wellbeing, connection and inclusion. As CARE enters its next chapter with CARE 2.0, the programme is becoming more connected, strategic and visible across the region, with a focus on strengthening collaboration and the One Ramboll culture.

For Katrina Montes, a structural engineer in Ramboll’s Japan office and the new Chairperson of CARE, the programme has been a powerful way to build community beyond day-to-day project work. Introduced to CARE by her Country Director, Shin, Katrina was inspired by how its activities brought colleagues together across countries, cultures and disciplines.

Stepping into a bigger role

Katrina first served as an APAC CARE Ambassador in Tokyo, where she saw how simple, people-led initiatives could create meaningful connections across the organisation. This experience motivated her to take on the Chairperson role and help strengthen the sense of community across APAC.

For Katrina, CARE is about turning Ramboll’s values into action through initiatives that encourage colleagues to connect, support one another and take part in experiences beyond their everyday roles.

A challenge that brought colleagues together

One of Katrina’s most memorable CARE experiences was the STEPS Challenge, which united colleagues across APAC around a shared goal to move more and support one another. In just one month, employees achieved 10 million steps, with the Tokyo office contributing more than 2 million.

The challenge went beyond physical activity, creating opportunities for colleagues to interact and encourage one another. For colleagues who joined Ramboll through the SCC acquisition, it also provided a way to connect with the wider Ramboll community.

“Seeing everyone contribute their steps towards one common goal showed me how small individual efforts can create something truly meaningful and much bigger,” Katrina shares. “For me, that is what CARE is truly about, not just creating activities, but creating opportunities for people to come together, support one another and celebrate what we can achieve as one APAC community.”

The initiative also had a positive impact in Japan. Colleagues found that the challenge made staying active more enjoyable while creating an extra opportunity to connect with teammates and become more aware of their wellbeing.

Wellbeing, connection and shared momentum

The impact was felt by colleagues across the Japan office. For Yuto Ito, Senior Engineer, the STEPS Challenge made staying active fun and encouraged more connection with colleagues. “Competing on daily steps made staying active genuinely fun and really boosted my awareness of my own health,” he says. “Since my step count always went up on office days, it gave me an extra nudge to come in and connect with the team.”

Yoshimori Sato, Senior Managing Consultant, also found that the programme encouraged greater awareness of daily movement, while Ahmed Arafat, Senior Engineer, appreciated how Ramboll supported colleagues’ wellbeing in a way that was both simple and engaging. For Ahmed, the challenge showed that Ramboll cares not only about work performance, but also about health, wellbeing and the connections that make work more enjoyable.

Growing through CARE

Being part of CARE has also supported Katrina’s own development at Ramboll, giving her opportunities to take initiative, build leadership skills and collaborate with colleagues across teams and countries.

As CARE 2.0 takes shape, Katrina is looking forward to building on this momentum across APAC and creating more opportunities for colleagues to connect, collaborate and feel part of the wider Ramboll community.