25th of September 2015 was a historic day. At the UN summit in New York, 17 world goals and 169 sub-goals were adopted by world leaders from the 193 UN member states. The goals became effective on 1 January 2016 and as a member of the UN, you commit to the agreed goals.
The goals are intended to ensure that by 2030, all of us - both the public sector, as private person and as businesses - make a sustained effort to:
• Eliminate poverty and hunger in the world
• Promote peace and security
• Ensure sustainable energy
• Ensure quality education
• Reduce and recycle waste
And what does that mean for you and me - your workplace and my workplace? With the new agenda, it is clear that social, economic and environmental development, peace, security and international cooperation are closely linked. Achieving sustainable development results does not just happen but requires integrated efforts. And not just cooperation between governments, international organisations, and world leaders.
The 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals - and below them there are a total of 169 sub-goals. You can read much more about this at www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment
What can YOU do?
It's not just the individual company, but also the individual person who is an important piece in the big game! But what can you as an individual contribute in particular?
• Things you can do from the sofa
- save power by switching off your electrical devices and appliances when not in use - including TV and computer
- say no thanks to bank statements and invoices in paper format - and pay your bills online
- buy sustainable products from sustainable companies
• Things you can do at home
- save water: shorter baths, don't rinse your dishes before putting them in the dishwasher
- let your hair air dry, let your clothes air dry - avoid using hair dryers and tumble dryers
- sort paper, glass, plastic, and aluminium - so that it is recycled as much as possible
• Things you can do outside the home
- shop locally - thereby keeping the local environment going and perhaps avoiding long-distance transport of goods
- buy goods that are minimally wrapped - thereby reducing unnecessary use of packaging
- cycle, walk or take public transport - or travel with colleagues
- bring your own bag when shopping - this reduces the use of plastic bags
- use a refillable water bottle or coffee cup - this reduces the amount of waste
• Things you can do at work
- Ensure your business uses energy-efficient heating and cooling technology
- Help eliminate discrimination in your workplace. Everyone is equal regardless of gender, race, sexual orientation, social background, and physical ability
- Support equal pay and equal access to benefits like health care
These examples are just a few of the many things you can do quickly and easily. Maybe you can think of more? It is proven that even small personal adjustments and initiatives on a daily basis have a very big impact on society.
Partslife was just one of the first steps...
And what can you as a company do to meet the UN Sustainable Development Goals? At Triscan, we try to contribute where we can! In 2012, we became the first Danish company to become co-owner the German environmental and waste management company Partslife, which deals with environmentally sound disposal and recycling in the European automotive industry.
We hope that over time Partslife will spread to a larger part of the EU and that more industry players will join the good cause. With our co-ownership, we want to contribute to this development and thus be a responsible and environmentally conscious company. It is important for us to follow the environmental guidelines set by the EU and national parliaments in the markets where we sell our products.
Optimization, optimization, optimization
On the smaller scale, we have also done a lot. In recent years, we have implemented several in-house initiatives that not only benefit the environment, but also have a financial impact. Building operations and maintenance have been reviewed to identify where we could make savings: reducing electricity consumption by switching to energy-saving LED lighting, reducing heat consumption by replacing skylights, replacing servers (which has meant less energy consumption = less heat generation and therefore reduced need for cooling) and replacing an old circulation heat pump.
But also in the daily work a lot is done for the environment: all plastic is sorted in 3 categories as well as cardboard, iron, wood and small combustibles are sorted in 4 different containers. As far as possible, we recycle packaging for further shipment.
Social responsibility - yes please!
There is much more than the environment on our agenda. At Triscan, we try in every way to live up to our social responsibility. For almost 17 years, we have had a good and close cooperation with Aarhus Municipality and Aarhus Job Centre concerning our company center - a company center where unemployed citizens are clarified in a working procedure and where, during the programme, work is also done with the person's other challenges (this can be of both mental and physical character). Citizens are included on equal terms with the company's other employees. They are given real tasks and experience what it is like to be part of a team: what expectations, opportunities, and requirements we have as a workplace.
As you can see, there are many ways in which individuals and companies can contribute to the 17 SDGs set by the UN. At Triscan, we have initiated a process with the aim of identifying the areas where we have the greatest opportunity to launch initiatives that can help make a difference. We will continuously inform about how the work is progressing and the results achieved.