At akkanto, we have decided to support the grand coalition unveiled on this Tuesday, February 5th, to call for an ambitious climate policy in Belgium.
Commitment to climate issues is part of everyday life at akkanto. At the end of 2016, we signed the Charter on Sustainable Development Goals promoted by The Shift in Belgium. This signing did not remain a dead letter: right after we signed, we held brainstorming sessions with all the staff to identify actions, both big and small, to give our commitment to the planet concrete shape. A few examples: capsule coffee machines have been replaced by coffee bean machines, glass bottles have been preferred for water and soft drinks, an individual counter for printers and photocopiers and a paperless campaign have helped reduce the number of printouts by 46 % between 2017 and 2018, the office space has been reduced and optimized thanks to a new internal coworking system, teleworking and videoconferencing have been encouraged to limit travel, social responsibility initiatives have been supported through a pro bono contribution of skills… and the list goes on!
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Sign for my Future is a new opportunity for us to reflect, discuss, launch new initiatives, and change our behaviour in a personal and collective manner. In the coming days, we will resume our brainstorming sessions and identify new initiatives to do our bit for a better planet. This type of initiatives must naturally be supported by a strong and coherent climate policy. Hence the call to the policymakers who, beyond costs and constraints, must see this whole climate movement as an opportunity to increase the prosperity and well-being of each and every one.
Social responsibility: a reputation booster
Let us be frank: our action for the climate is not totally altruistic. Nor undoubtedly is that of the very many signatory business leaders… The Reputation Institute, our international partner which measures the reputation of companies throughout the world, has in fact noted that the weight of societal dimensions in the reputation of companies has been increasingly gaining in importance in recent years. In other words, the more transparent, civic and active for the well-being of employees a company is, the more loyal its employees and the more confident investors will be. “Socially responsible” companies will receive more support up to a certain point, if they are faced with a crisis, and they will also be more “desirable” for potential employees. A CEO who makes a commitment on climate does so not only for the future of the planet, but also for the future of his company.
Thierry Bouckaert
thierry.bouckaert@akkanto.com
