Commitment to Sustainability is a Team Effort at Unismack!

As Unismack prepares to demonstrate its support again for World Earth Day this year, we are reminded how vital it is for businesses like ours to ensure that a thriving and engaging culture around sustainability is embedded into the heart of our day-to-day operations. This means connecting our every-day actions at work with positive impacts that contribute to a more sustainable future.

This is about creating a shared sense of responsibility and ownership within our people so that it becomes ingrained in their own personal values as well as those that are company-wide. After all, commitment to sustainability is a team effort.

In line with this, we recently launched our Sustainability Development Committee, which is designed to provide a unique workforce engagement experience around all aspects of social responsibility and environmental consciousness. The Committee’s key objectives are to:

• engage the entire Unismack workforce in sustainability efforts
• champion actions which require the committee’s involvement and/or the involvement of different members of the organisation
• focus on sustainability efforts/actions which are simple, fast and engaging for all people in the company
• drive a sustainability mindset across all departments and teams within the company
• serve as a coordinating mechanism for the company-wide sustainability journey

In essence, we wanted to bring sustainability to the forefront of our communications on a more regular basis. This encourages our people to actively engage, connect with and discuss their every-day actions not only within the context of the business, but also personally. As part of this strategy, we have also appointed several Sustainability Ambassadors to represent each department who are already members of the Committee.  Their role is to bring new ideas around sustainability from within their own teams as well as to engage them in initiatives driven by the Committee.

We spoke to some of our ambassadors about their experience of being part of the Committee:

George Sklivanos – Shift Packaging Supervisor, representing the Production Team

“It has been a great opportunity for me to start understanding more about sustainability and getting into the habit of thinking about it in my day-to-day activities. I was shocked to learn that transport is responsible for about a quarter of the EU’s total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, which could have a catastrophic impact on the environment and our future. I am now in the habit of encouraging my colleagues to share the same car for journeys to work if they can – small steps like these mean we are contributing to the wider objective of minimising the greenhouse gas emissions.”

Petros Tsafrakides – Logistics Supervisor, representing the Supply Chain and Logistics Team

“The more we discuss sustainability, the more excited I get. But it also makes me feel very concerned about our future and my contribution in creating value for the next generations. Nowadays, whenever I drink water, I remember that fresh water withdrawals have increased six-fold since the beginning of the 20th century, raising the question of whether we are using the water that we have, sustainably. At home, I’ve also started giving some simple tips to my children about water, namely, to turn off the tap when it’s not in use and to reduce time in the shower.”

George Pantikides – Accounting Support, representing the Finance Team

“The Committee is a great way of learning, acting and changing our mindset around sustainability. Throughout this journey, we need to track and report on our progress, to help us identify what’s working and what needs improvement. I’ve started looking at my numbers, electricity use, water use and wastage in a very different way. My numbers now have a ‘weight and form’, an indicator about our future. I got into the process of encouraging my colleagues to not forget to switch off lights, reduce their waste and refrain from using plastic as much as possible. I know I am not going to change the future alone, but we are all a crew on a journey to a better future; if we try to be persistent and consistent in our efforts, we will keep moving forward."