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Sustainability The path to a climate-neutral Europe
Ready for the future
Europe aims to be the world’s first climate-neutral continent by 2050. The European Green Deal is leading the way for this.
The path to a climate-neutral Europe
Floods in Wallonia, forest fires in southern Europe, and record temperatures in Sicily. Although we have known for a long time that our planet is approaching its limits, the problem is still often underestimated. Nele Pieters, Chief Strategy Officer at Encon, helps companies transition to a sustainable approach. “We strongly believe in intrinsic motivation.”
Encon supports companies in their sustainability transition by assisting them from strategy to implementation. “Intrinsic motivation means that every company should make the right choices of its own accord. The authorities may impose rules, but we need to delve deeper if we want to provide long-term solutions. It should be a case of wanting to and not just having to. Handing out rewards and penalties on their own won’t get us there. With the right mentality, the rest will follow naturally.”
Does that mean the European Green Deal is just the opposite of that mindset? “I am all for the principle of the Green Deal. It’s just that I think the approach should be different. Something indeed has to be done; carbon emissions need to come down. However, our approach is too one-sided with just the ecological aspect being addressed while we need to take into account so many different things.”
We first need to balance economics, ecology, and social aspects. After that, we can look at solutions. “Giving concrete examples is difficult because every company is different. By making it an individual exercise, we can make positive progress. Organizations need to understand that structural change is a winwin situation. What is good for the world is also good for companies,” says Ms. Pieters.
What is ION doing?
ION certainly has the right mentality. In collaboration with Encon, we defined three sustainability pillars that will benefit both our company and our planet:
The European Commission’s Green Deal is an ambitious plan of action. It has to ensure that the European Union will have net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and will grow economically without depleting resources.
The measures will improve the citizen’s wellbeing and health, now and in the future, by providing such things like:
— Clean air and water, healthy soil and biodiversity — Energy-efficient (renovated) buildings — Cleaner energy and cutting-edge technological innovations — More sustainable products that can be repaired, recycled, and reused — Sustainable jobs and skills training for the transition — A globally competitive and resilient industry
(source: https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/european-green-deal_en)
01. CREATING
AN IMPACT:
By building according to the environment’s needs and not the other way around, we create an impact with our buildings. Thanks to our investment in heating networks, we will soon be able to heat the homes in Suikerpark with residual heat from the PepsiCo factory in Veurne. We are also actively working on efficient water reuse, such as graywater recovery. This means that we will filter and reuse shower water in the toilets of an entire apartment building. Urban mining is another focus within the technical development of our projects. During demolition works, we carefully look at what can be reused and recycle concrete rubble for foundations.
02. AFFORDABILITY:
We are actively seeking solutions to solve the current problems in the rental and buyers markets. We are looking at ways to help ensure that people can buy or rent a quality home. Our ION Residential Platform (IRP) is a step in the right direction!
03. COMMUNICATION:
Everyone in our company must speak the same language. Our mission is to inform and motivate all our colleagues. Of course, this doesn’t mean that we will only communicate internally. We intend to motivate stakeholders and other market players to do the same. It’s pointless to wait for solutions within the legislative framework. We want to lead by example and dare to be different from others. “Develop differently” is our baseline for a good reason.
