Environment
RetuRO hopes to change Romania's culture of recycling
Together with the RetuRO center in Bontida, RetuRO will process approximately one billion beverage packages annually.
Together with the RetuRO center in Bontida, RetuRO will process approximately one billion beverage packages annually.
Alexandra Floricică, Head of Sustainable Development at Procredit, talked about ProCredit's goals, strategies and initiatives aimed at reducing its environmental footprint while supporting the transition to a low-carbon economy.
Reducing carbon emissions and increasing the share of renewable energy and the development are the objectives of Roca's sustainability strategy for 2024.
JTI Romania follows the group's strategy to improve its environmental footprint, says Gilda Lazăr, Director of Corporate Affairs & Communications at JTI Romania, Moldova & Bulgaria.
Diageo has set a complex 10-year ESG action plan called “Society 2030: Spirit of Progress” which outlines its commitments and actions for a more sustainable future, says Gergely Abraham, Corporate Relations Director Eastern Europe at Diageo.
Sustainability in office design should be considered as an integral and systemic approach, rather than a series of isolated actions, says Horatiu Didea, Managing Partner of Workspace Studio.
UPS cares about sustainability and aims to become carbon neutral by 2050 globally, says Daniela Constantinescu, UPS Country Manager for Hungary, Greece, Romania, and Slovenia.
Egger Romania applies a zero-tolerance policy towards illegal logging and implements the strictest controls on all its wood suppliers, says Commercial Director Alina Chifan. She talked to Green Forum about the company's initiatives regarding sustainability and the biggest difficulties in implementing sustainability actions.
The total amount of sustainable loans granted by Raiffeisen Bank last year exceeded €500 million and the entire portfolio of green products for corporate customers reached €435 million, says Laura Mihăilă, Director of Marketing, Communication & CX at Raiffeisen Bank Romania. She talked to Green Forum about Raiffeisen Bank Romania's ESG strategy and the measures the bank is implementing to reduce the negative environmental impact.
Lidl Romania proposes to use more and more renewable energy sources, says Maria Mihai, Head of Corporate Communication and CSR. She talked to Green Forum about what ESG means for Lidl Romania, the company's current sustainability targets, and the measures that the company has taken regarding care for the environment, and reduced water and energy consumption.
The future of thermal heating relies on heat pumps and boilers running on hydrogen mixed with gas, says Cătălin Drăguleanu, Senior Director at Ariston Romania. He talked to Green Forum about the consumer expectations in Romania compared to those in other parts of Europe and the priorities of Ariston in terms of sustainability investments.
BRD has strengthened its involvement in financing the transition to sustainability with the total volume of new sustainable financing reaching over RON 1.2 billion (€240 million) in the first half of 2023, says Flavia Popa, Secretary General, BRD Groupe Société Générale. She talked to the Green Forum about the target regarding the reduction of water and energy consumption in the BRD offices and also about the social projects that the bank supports.
At Romania's Ministry of Environment, Water and Forests, priorities and challenges change from day to day, depending on events and issues, says Mircea Fechet, Minister of the Environment, Waters and Forests. He talked to Green Forum about the environmental infringements that Romania currently has about the plastic pollution in rivers and about the plans for accessing PNRR funds.
A sustainable building, whatever its destination, can be 15-20% more expensive than an ordinary one, says Marian Ciupitu, General Manager of Terano Construct. He talked to Green Forum about the company's ESG strategy and about the advantages of a sustainable building. He also says that Romania is continually improving its position regarding environmentally friendly constructions, but compared to Western European countries, Romania is still far from being a role model in this aspect. Marian Ciupitu specifies that the company strives to develop sustainable buildings that reduce the impact on the environment, improve the lives of communities, and promote high standards of ethics and transparency in all operational aspects.
BAT aims to be carbon neutral across its own operations by 2030, says Ileana Dumitru, Legal, and External Affairs Director for the South Eastern Europe Area at BAT. She talked to Green Forum about the role of ESG in BAT`s global strategy and about the company`s most ambitious sustainability targets.
People are no longer throwing away their phones when they break and prefer to repair them, says Irina Mincinopschi, General Manager of Depanero. She talked to Green Forum about the company's strategy in the area of sustainability, the types of CSR projects that the company supports, and the advantages of using solar energy. Many electronic products nearing the end of their life, like computers, TVs, printers, refrigerators, etc., can be reused, refurbished, or recycled. Irina Mincinopschi also says that, in 2022, the company reached a volume of 5 million repairs carried out.
By 2030, Auchan aims to reduce CO2 emissions by 46% compared to 2019, says Corina Dospinoiu, Sustainability Director Auchan Retail Romania. She talked to Green Forum about the 2030 Climate Plan and about the company's main sustainability targets.
ING Bank Romania has invested €11 million in the past 11 years in environmental actions in Romania and €1.2 million were donated in 2022 alone for vulnerable groups' support, says Alexandra Maier, Sustainability Manager at ING Bank Romania.
Lack of education in terms of ESG (environmental, social, and governance) and a poor number of good practice solutions are two of the challenges in the field, says Matius Ichim, Architect at Matius Studio and owner of the retail platform www.prioretail.ro. He talked to Green Forum about the advantages of a sustainably built commercial space. He says that 15-20% of the operating networks in Romania have started implementing ESG key principles in their fit-out design and close to 5% in full sustainable standards.
At the end of 2022, 81.9 % of Nestlé's plastic packaging was designed for recycling, says Irina Siminenco, Corporate Affairs Manager at Nestlé România. She talked to Green Forum about the company's overall ESG strategy and about the investment plans in sustainability.
Lidl Romania aims to contribute to the development of sustainable local agriculture by promoting organic farming and regenerative farming practices, which contribute to soil health and biodiversity conservation.
The EU has emerged as a global leader in green finance, having issued over €65 billion in NextGenerationEU (NGEU) Green Bonds since 2020.
Roeslein & Associates, a leading engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) services company, announced the opening of its new European Design Center in Krakow, Poland.
The global energy transition, projected to cost €190 trillion by 2050, could see cost reductions of nearly 25% through the use of de-risking instruments.
The Romanian Ministry of Energy launched a grant program funded by the Modernization Fund.
