Final Word

THINKING MAKING things HAPPEN

In August of this year, Dacris was accepted as a signatory member of the United Nations Global Compact, a network of over 13,000 companies and approximately 3,000 non-business participants from about 130 countries. Currently, 14 other organisations in Romania from a wide range of industries are part of this initiative.

The ten principles of the Global Compact are derived from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Labour Organisation Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, and the United Nations Convention against Corruption.

HUMBLE BEGINNINGS

For Dacris, being socially responsible has never been just a marketing strategy. It’s been a vision for the past 27 years since our inception. The mindset has always been: what kind of world are we leaving behind for our children?

As pioneering American aviator Elinor Smith once said: “It had long since come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things.” Wise words.

Our corporate history towards recycling has followed the same trajectory. When we started, over ten years ago, care for the environment in our specific market of Romania was at best a ‘nice to have’, most definitely not a ‘must have’. It was difficult. But we wouldn’t be entrepreneurs if we didn’t like a challenge.

We started in our own backyard and made changes across our facilities in the country. It’s been a company-wide effort, with all staff on board: we recycle whatever we can, unplug our devices when they are fully charged and turn off the lights in rooms not being used.

These are all comparatively small activities and gestures, but when many people make them every day, they soon start to make a difference. And, importantly, it simply becomes a way of life – second nature that starts at work and gets taken home or vice versa.

We then began offering some services to our customers, in the hope of ultimately sharing the same set of values with them. We collect their recyclable paper and other materials, for free and on a monthly basis, for example, to make sure everything is recycled in proper centres.

With these initiatives, between 2012 and 2020, we saved thousands of trees (13,000) and hectares of forest (13.9 ha – 30 football fields). We stopped pollutants from getting into the atmosphere as well as tonnes of toner waste ending up in landfill (65 tonnes).

In all of our sales conversations, we urge partners to make smart investments: to use recyclable products or those that can be reused or recharged, and to consider eco-friendly solutions for a more sustainable office.

We have recently started working on another big project: to change all our vehicles – cars for the salesforce and our entire delivery fleet – to hybrid

and electric ones. We began with hybrid cars at the end of their four-year lifecycle this quarter. In 2022, we will replace our delivery vans with electric ones and salesforce cars at the end of their lifecycle with electric versions. Over the course of 2023, we aim to complete the project and only work with hybrid and electric vehicles.

THINK AHEAD AND WORK TOGETHER

Markets are rapidly reshaping due to megatrends such as climate problems, dwindling resources or global health risks. At the same time, customers and partners are now better informed than ever before about the challenges and want their suppliers to take responsibility and lay the foundations for a solid path into the future.

Being part of the UN Global Compact was a real ambition for Dacris because our industry needs more forward thinking in these difficult times. The network is driven by the Sustainable Development Goals set at the historic UN Summit on Sustainable Development in 2015. And while the scale of these goals is huge, everyone can make a difference.

The UN Global Compact specifically asks companies to first do business responsibly and then pursue opportunities to solve societal challenges through innovation and collaboration.

We need to adapt not only to a new world and a new way of working, but also to the demands of the next generations; this involves including sustainability in everything we do. Working together is a core part of it – if we can do that, the future looks bright. Lidia Fati, cofounder and Head of Strategy & New Markets, Dacris

Being part of the UN Global Compact was a real ambition for Dacris because our industry needs more forward thinking in these difficult times

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