Tree planting ceremony in collaboration with IFUA and FŐKERT

As the old Chinese wisdom says: “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second-best time is now.” With this outlook in mind, we went all the way green by participating in a tree-planting ceremony at the end of October 2021. The event – organized by the expert staff of FŐKERT – was an additional, most welcome chapter after winning the prize at the IFUA Green Controlling Award back in the spring for our outstanding strategic solution on applied corporate sustainability.

IFUA is the Hungarian member of the international Horváth Management Consulting Group; and FŐKERT is a non-profit that is responsible for the development and maintenance of about 6,000,000 m2 of green space and recreational areas in Budapest, devoted to contributing to more sustainable urban living in the Hungarian capital. Through the sponsorship and a substantial donation by IFUA to FŐKERT, PalletBiz was literally gifted life, as our achievement at the Green Controlling Award was commemorated by having a tall ash tree planted in our name in a beautiful spot along the Danube. To our further delight, the planting ceremony has even brought together some of the members of our otherwise spread-out, international organization. Group COO, Mr. Thomas Gents has traveled in from Denmark to participate in the event, advocating for this important milestone at PalletBiz. Our Head of Sustainability & Franchising, Ms. Lilla Zombori was also present, having led the application project for the Award, with the objective to demonstrate our strategic approach towards sustainability. We hereby thank the organizers again for the event and our gift, and we hope to see a lot more of such initiatives!

 

PB Tree plantingThe FŐKERT gardening team shovels the remaining pile of ground to secure the (yet still fragile) plant.

 

We at PalletBiz welcome and recognize any attempt that puts sustainable development in focus. As part of our commitment to green our operations to our best abilities, we are continuously exploring and participating in as many sustainability initiatives as possible. We still have a long journey ahead, but we do appreciate the wins along the way – and they are even more fulfilling when they materialize as something with an absolute positive impact, keeping in mind the three pillars of sustainability. We do hope that this story will motivate more and more companies to start thinking about their sustainability agendas in a strategic way, as that should be the first step towards a meaningful transition. The industrial packaging sector – just as many industries – is in serious need of innovation, and the reform must come under the umbrella of sustainable development. Individual initiatives matter very much, but what is even more desired is (trans)-industrial collaboration where we all work towards the same goals that simultaneously consider economic prosperity, environmental preservation, and social welfare.

 

Tree-planting ceremony Mr.Thomas Gents (Group COO of PalletBiz) and Mrs.Viktória Bodnár (Managing Partner of IFUA) ceremonially water the tall ash tree.

 

There are countless ways our industry and the embedded companies can contribute to a more sustainable world – all backed up by a proven business case nonetheless! We are continuously fine-tuning the PalletBiz Sustainability Agenda, expecting to be one step closer towards greener operations by building on the attributes of our industry, with the consideration of the principles of the 3Rs (reduce-reuse-recycle) and circular economies. We as a cross-regional company have the responsibility and simultaneously opportunity to educate our international clients and partners on the importance of fundamentally integrating sustainability into the DNA of their organization. A spill-over into all (sub-)processes then becomes inevitable, and the concept of sustainable development transforms into the core driver of any activity within a company, may it concern purchasing and sourcing, supply chain and logistics, production, sales, or human resources. By opening informative discussions with our stakeholders on these matters via a consultative approach, we also get to shape the market demand by introducing proven materials handling solutions, such as offering the service of packaging pooling or buyback, or the product of used pallets.

These are just some of the considerations we have delineated in our award-winning case study. In the submitted strategic solution we have applied the conceptual framework of the Sustainability Performance Measurement System (SPMS) to structure our respective management processes, which – as the IFUA evaluation has also recognized – enables the incorporation of green and sustainability aspects into the operations, in addition to “traditional/conventional” financial goals and performance indicators.

 

IFUA, Fokeret, and PalletBiz in a group photoA group photo for all participating members at the ceremony. From left to right: Mr. Gábor Sebestyén (Managing Director, PalletBiz Hungary), Mrs. Viktória Bodnár, Mr. Zsolt Majer (Business Development Manager, PalletBiz), Ms. Lilla Zombori (Head of Sustainability & Franchising, PalletBiz), Thomas Gents, Ms. Walaa Abudeyak (Digital Marketing Specialist, PalletBiz), Mrs. Ágnes Mészáros (Head of Training, IFUA), Ms. Nóra Stancsis (Head of the Energy, Environment & Telecommunication, IFUA).

 

Preparing a case study for the IFUA Green Controlling Award was certainly a notable milestone for PalletBiz, and the tree planting event was a very unique way to celebrate. It is however far from the last milestone that PalletBiz is trying to pursue, as we still have a lot to achieve and prove to support our strategic approach towards sustainability. Procuring relevant industrial licenses and getting certified in various quality standards network-wide is among our top priorities, and we are also actively looking into how our operations related to production, supply chain and transport can become more eco-efficient. We are also highly alert on responsible raw material consumption, sustainable waste management, and product development which are to be further elevated through holistic investments and digitalization projects that are to take a more concrete shape in 2022.

 

 

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