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Green is a trend, Sustainability is a mindset!

There is much debate about the ways in which the COVID-19 crisis might trigger a faster adoption of sustainable practices. While many companies and organizations put any commitment to sustainability and green initiatives in the back seat as they strive to recover, this is not the right path to follow under the fast-changing environment. With a recession looming, it’s time to come up with a good recovery plan, a “green recovery” that could benefit not just the climate but also human health and prosperity.

Here in Vermantia, for all of us Green is more than just a color: is a future reflection of our planet. Think Global, Act Local mindset stands across all aspects of our company, from our solutions to sustainable initiatives.  We have fully engaged with the evolving needs of our eco-community with small daily actions, but still with significant impact, thanks to our team’s commitment that carry out these initiatives.

What our team has been up to?  We have implemented a Green Plan which is constantly enriched. By incorporating into our everyday life sustainable and easy business practices, we accelerate the environment’s reprieve. Even before lockdown, Virtual  Meetings were on a rise for us, succeeding in cutting down our carbon footprint generated by transportations. Alongside, carpooling proved to be another helpful measure, going in the same direction.

While teleworking was established among Vermantia’s best business practices, a few years ago, the implementation of water and energy waste-management systems turned out to be the most efficient and wise measure we could ever have taken.

Limiting heating and cooling and turning the thermostat off overnight is a habit we use to apply while being at home, so why not do the same in our office? Performing energy audits to find opportunities to cut consumption and setting an automatic turn off and turn on of the office lighting, promoting the use of natural lighting not only because it cuts down on electricity usage, but because it helps create a more healthy workplace that integrates a sustainable office all day long. By investing also in energy-efficient office equipment and practices, unplugging all electronic devices during non-working hours, we managed to create an eco-friendly workplace.

A broader approach focused on the Reduce-Reuse-Recycle mindset has developed through a robust contribution model. Simply, nothing is going to waste! As a tech company, going digital was a sure bet for us that significantly increases our environmental initiatives by going paperless and utilizing cloud-based systems.

And while we green our office by recycling and reusing supplies and through eco-friendly products, we make it also literally green with plants, improving the air quality and reducing that “sterile” look, making it more comfortable for everybody to work and relax. It turns out most sustainable business practices are easy and fun to do while contributing to the environment’s wealth and cutting down on costs. With that in mind, we frankly believe that running a green business and adopting such a strategy in the long term is both an innovation booster and wealth enhancement through which businesses are setting the right benchmark and becoming attractive employers.

This is our step by step journey to becoming a sustainable business. But, a more aggressive approach to achieve and support strategic sustainable projects will find its niche. Feeling responsible to ensure a long-term Green plan,  we understand that initiatives require coordination and cooperation among all team members. This is the reason that our Green Committee, members of our #VermantiaTeam, leads and creates ways to make sustainability a little bit more.

Remaining regularly engaged in environmental protection is part of our work-life, thus we consciously choose to strive for a better – and greener – future.

 

The blog post has been written by Vasiliki Lentziou, our HR Associate.