The Diplomat-Bucharest wants to thank all the participants and leaders that joined us last evening at the Sustainability in Business Forum and Awards 2021. Congratulations to all winners for their inspiring leadership, passion, and commitment of Moving the Circular Economy Forward!
The first edition of the Sustainability in Business Forum and Awards took place at Intercontinental Hotel in Bucharest.
Institutional Partner: Department of Sustainable Development.
Gold Partners: Innova Project Consulting, Schneider Electric, Romgaz, BASF, Hidroelectrica.
With the support of: ACUE, AHK, CCIFER, BRCC, ARPEE, ARIR, EPG, ANIS.
Thank you for all the support and participation to the recently held Sustainability Forum & Awards Gala, 2021 Edition!
Congratulations to all the WINNERS & FINALISTS!
INNOVATION IN SUSTAINABILITY
3rd Place – ENEL
The award is given for the largest revolving credit facility related to sustainability for an amount of 10 billion euros and a maturity of five years. The facility is linked to the Key Performance Indicator of Direct Greenhouse Gas Emissions, contributing to the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal “Climate Action” and in line with the “Sustainability Financing Framework” of the group.
The award is given to Enel.
2nd Place – KAUFLAND ROMANIA
In 2018, the winner of this award began to equip its parking lots in stores with automatic recycling devices for three types of packaging. The network has gradually expanded, and today almost all parking spaces of this retail company have TOMRA recycling systems, the only hypermarket in Romania that has this infrastructure.
The award is given to Kaufland Romania.
Bogdana Cristiana Popa, Communication / CSR, Kaufland: “I am happy to receive this award on behalf of my colleagues. Our project is the network of recycling devices in the parking lots of our stores. We are expanding this network every day, and for 2021 we are preparing a major investment.”
1st Place – BUZAU MUNICIPALITY
The winner of this award is the first city in Romania to have a strategy and an articulated vision for the transition to a circular city. The strategy is the result of a collaboration project between the Research Institute in Circular Economics and Environment “Ernest Lupan” and the City Hall and conceptualizes the transition steps to the circular economy and the intention to act beyond the known paths of the linear economy.
The award goes to Buzau: A pioneer of circular cities in Romania
Constantin Toma, Mayor of Buzau: “Thank you for this award. Thanks to the organizers. This is a special moment. It is a small step towards what we want, namely achieving the vision of development of our city”
GAME CHANGER IN SUSTAINABILITY
3rd Place – ALRO
This award goes for a company and a project that represents an initiative aiming to reduce waste and CO2 emissions by transforming bauxite residue, the main by-product of the alumina sector, into an active material suitable for developing new cement products, with low CO2 footprint.
The project called ReActiv is operated within ALRO Group, the winner of this place.
2nd Place – ROMANIAN FEDERATION OF FOODBANKS
This award goes to an entity that mainly fights against food waste and making the most of food supply. It also acts like an awareness red flag among society and partners such as retailers in food waste combat, as part of a wider European network, European Federation of Food Banks (FEBA)
For this, we award The Romanian Federation of Food Banks.
Gabriel Sescu, President, Food Bank Romania: “Thank you for this award. It comes to strengthen our idea that what we started 5 years ago is materialized today in a network of banks that can collect increasing amounts of food. We collect thousands of tons of food every year.”
1st Place – TENARIS SILCOTUB
This company has managed to achieve a degree of 100% recovery of iron waste resulting from production processes in its factories. Its production in Calarasi city is 96% based on an infinitely recyclable material, namely scrap metal, collected, and processed by the company in a quantity of approximately 500,000 tons per year.
The award goes to TenarisSilcotub.
Anca Salajan, TenarisSilcotub: “Thank you for this award, which makes us even more ambitious to address even greater challenges for progress in the circular economy. We are eager to find new solutions to implement in the circular economy.”
SUSTAINABILITY FRONTRUNNER IN THE INDUSTRY
3rd Place – TENARIS SILCOTUB
The winner of this award managed, following complex projects that involved technological innovation and the implementation of a circular system in its factories, to reach a degree of recovery of 100% iron waste. It took a lot of teamwork to validate the solutions. techniques for improving waste quality and identifying the right partners to help them turn waste into new resources.
The award goes to TENARIS SILCOTUB
2nd Place – DIGI
The award is given to a company known in the field of telecommunications and media. They have launched the CoRRRner service through which customers and users can contribute to waste collection through their network of stores. In approximately 25% of their units, spaces specially designed for the collection of this type of waste have been arranged, under the name CoRRRner, and the project will be extended to the 450 regional shops and offices. The award goes to DIGI.
1st Place – ALRO
The winner of this category carries out sustainability projects in the industrial field and one of these projects aims to increase the amount of aluminium waste recycled and re-melted in the ecological recycling plant, which, in 2019, reached the level of 400,000 tons of waste aluminium used since 2013. According to the Group’s strategy, their plan is to further increase the activity of this facility.
This award goes to ALRO
EDUCATIONAL PROJECT IN SUSTAINABILITY
3rd Place – SUSTAINABLE DAY BY DAY
The awarded project was launched at the end of 2020, as a guide with practical tips for an eco-friendly lifestyle, which can be applied in home renovation, travelling, organizing a party, buying, and cooking food, educating the little ones and much more. The guide is rather a collection of information that aims to help readers understand some basic principles of a lifestyle with minimal impact on the environment.
The award goes to SUSTAINABLE DAY BY DAY, Powered by ENVIRON ASSOCIATION in partnership with ECO SYNERGY and STRATOS
Stefan Runcanu, marketing manager, Stratos: “Thank you The Diplomat and all those who participated in this event. We need to educate ourselves and then educate those in the industry. This project teaches us how to save, how to recycle, how to become sustainable in any activity we carry out.”
2nd Place – ATELIERE FARA FRONTIERE
The awarded NGO of this category asks SMEs and large companies from all over Romania to hand over to the association as soon as possible used IT equipment for scrapping to be reconditioned and donated to students without material possibilities who do not have computers and who thus do not have access to online lessons and resources while classes are suspended.
For this, we award ATELIERE FARA FRONTIERE
Damien Thierry, general director, Ateliere fara Frontiere: “Thank you very much for this award. In our workshop, we collect electrical waste, recondition it, and donate it to schools in rural areas. Thank you Kaufland and OMV Petrom for their support.”
1st Place – GREENPOINT MANAGEMENT
The awarded company of this category supported the City Hall of Sector 3 in the installation of 30 smart containers of Big Belly type in the central area of the Capital (Union Square – University Square), within a program to encourage selective waste collection. By this, more than 8.4 tons of recyclable materials were collected in the 15 containers dedicated to the collection of recyclable waste, this volume representing 64% of the total volume of waste collected in Big Belly containers.
The award goes to GREENPOINT MANAGEMENT
Adela Lazar, president, Greenpoint Management: “Thank you for this award, it honours us and motivates us to be even better. It is a project with remarkable results. I want to thank our partners.”
SMART SUSTAINABLE CONCEPT
3rd Place – HARTA RECICLARII
The Recycling Map is the first national, interactive platform that allows the identification and location of selective collection points for recyclable waste in Romania, but also offers users the opportunity to contribute to the map database by adding new selective collection points .It is a project included in the education campaign for selective collection After Us, we also gather.
The award goes to the RECYCLING MAP, developed by the ViitorPlus Association with the support of Coca Cola HBC Romania: “Thank you very much for the award. We have over 12,000 recycling points throughout the country. The circular economy begins with the avoidance of waste generation. We have invested a lot in educating young people through teachers. In the last year, over 40,000 students participated in the recycling lesson.”
2nd Place – ASIST
Small and medium-sized enterprises are responsible for about 60% of all carbon dioxide emissions and 70% of all global pollution. This is the reason why, starting with 2019, through this project, IRCEM facilitates the development of circular businesses in Transylvania by strengthening the capacity of social enterprises to operate in an autonomous manner, so that they can fulfil a social purpose by implementing the principles of the circular economy. various communities.
The award goes to the ASIST project – social responsibility for the circular economy in the Transylvania region.
Simina Lakatos, president of IRCEM: “When we started the project in 2017, we were thinking about how we can change the world, where and how to act. I noticed then that the circular economy was very difficult to implement. I want to thank my colleagues and the whole team because this award is also their merit.”
1st Place – KAUFLAND ROMANIA
This company has introduced for the first time in stores a new system for collecting empty bottles of hygiene or cleaning products, which will be recycled to protect the environment. To encourage environmentally friendly behaviour, customers who bring empty packaging for recycling receive 50% discount coupons for the purchase of new care products, in partnerships established by them with FMCG brands.
This award goes to Kaufland Romania. Bogdana Cristiana Popa, Communication & CSR, Kaufland: “We are honoured with this award. This project was an idea of our CEO. At the beginning of 2020 we already had a pilot project in 5 stores in Bucharest, and then we expanded into our network of stores.”
SUSTAINABILITY PARTNERSHIP OF THE YEAR
3rd Place – ENEL X FINANCIAL SERVICES & HUBJECT
The award-winning partnership is based on a solution called “Intercharge SETTLEMENT”, which allows automated B2B payments and invoicing, designed to reduce B2B processing costs and help improve the profitability of all participating partner companies. In addition, this partnership enables eRoaming to facilitate the widespread adoption of electric vehicles. The service will be available throughout the EU
The award goes to ENEL X FINANCIAL SERVICES & HUBJECT
2nd Place – BRD & VALORI IN EDUCATIE ASSOCIATION
The 2020 program aims to close literacy gaps among children by creating and implementing, for the first time in Romania, a methodologically validated tool (similar to Pisa) that analyses the writing and reading skills of children in their 70s. schools, from 8 counties in the country, with an intervention and a significant impact at the level of 16,800 preschool and primary children. The program proposes the recovery of children with reading and writing difficulties, in the context in which 42% of 15-year-old children in Romania are functionally illiterate.
The award goes to the BRD SOCIETE GENERALE & VALORI IN EDUCATIE PARTNERSHIP: “We are happy with this award. We are glad to see that education plays an important role in society. We thank BRD for the support offered in this project.”
Flavia Popa, BRD: “We will continue to support this program until we really see a difference. Please access alfabetar.ro and find there the useful things and do good things together.”
1st Place – LIDL ROMANIA & MAI MULT VERDE ASSOCIATION
The winning partnership announces the continuation and expansion of the Clean Water program, launched in May 2019 as a call for involvement in combating and preventing plastic pollution of Danube waters, addressed to members of communities and public authorities in riparian localities. with a series of community arrangements, activities, and events in 10 Danube cities to prevent waste discharges into the river and later into the Black Sea.
This award goes to the partnership LIDL ROMANIA & MAI MULT VERDE Association
Cristina Hanganu, communication & CSR director, LIDL Romania: “We thank the “Mai Mult Verde” team for their involvement in this project. We will support this project as long as it is needed.”
Doru Mitrana, president, “Mai Mult Verde”: “I hope that the producers will find the solutions through which the plastic consumption will be reduced. I hope that the local authorities will find the solutions through which the waste collection system will be a functional one and that the central authorities will find the public policies through which Romania will become a country of long use, not a country of single use.”
SOCIAL VALUE INITIATIVE IN SUSTAINABILITY
3rd Place – AZOMURES
This company has provided its industrial platform for the location of an office of the Inspectorate for Emergency Situations in Targu Mures. The emergency unit will serve west of Tg. Mures, respectively the Mureseni neighbourhood with the commercial area and the neighbouring localities. The intervention point is located on the platform, next to the entrance gate and is equipped with a SMURD intervention ambulance and a fire and release ambulance.
The award goes to Azomures.
Ovidiu Maier, spokesperson, Azomures: “Thank you to the organizers for the opportunity to be here. We come from Targu-Mures, where we produce fertilizers for agriculture. 50% of Romanian farmers use our fertilizers. We proposed to ISU SMURD a partnership to open a working point on our platform. After opening this office, the intervention time was halved and it saved lives.”
2nd Place – FOOD WASTE COMBAT
The winner of this award is an initiative that was first launched as a pilot program, through which, in seven months, seven tons of food were collected, the vast majority from stores and hypermarkets. All were donated to those in need. It is an initiative and a platform for lobbying and concrete implementation of anti-waste measures and food resources launched in Cluj.
The award goes to FOOD WASTE COMBAT, launched by JCI Cluj with the support of LIDL Romania.
1st Place – KAUFLAND & SANSA TA ASSOCIATION
The award of this category is addressed to a project materialized in a social canteen launched in Bucharest inside the Griro Tower in Calea Griviței. Every day, from Monday to Friday, about 500 servings of hot food are prepared by specialized personnel and distributed to vulnerable people and partner NGOs that consider the support of disadvantaged and needy people. This award goes to the partnership of Kaufland Romania & Sansa Ta Association.
Bogdana Cristiana Popa, Communication & CSR, Kaufland Romania: “The social canteen is our most important project in 2021 and has been our dream for many years. We thank our partners for this unique project.”
Gabriel Ciobotaru, Sansa Ta: “Thank you Kaufland and the organizers. We want to continue this project. We hope to have other beautiful projects in the future.”
SUSTAINABILITY AMBASSADOR
3rd Place – MARIAN NASTASE, Chairman of Board of Directors, ALRO
Given the important role of aluminium as a decarbonization vector, given that it can be recycled indefinitely without losing its characteristics, which ensures its sustainable use and extensive applications, this company is a major player in achieving a more global industry. ecological. The group has implemented important projects to increase efficiency and reduce its impact on the environment.
The award goes to Marian Nastase, Chairman of the ALRO Board of Directors: “We need to focus on the sustainability of the projects we carry out. Thanks to those who voted for us and helped us get this award. All the initiatives we take must be not only sustainable, but also durable.”
2nd Place – MONA NICOLICI, Radio Journalist, Sustainability & CSR Consultant
After more than 10 years as Sustainability Manager at one of the most important companies in Romania, where she managed important sustainability and CSR projects, she started in 2020 a radio show, called “Green Mission” on a top radio in Romania. For more than a decade, she has been involved in numerous projects in the field of sustainability and social responsibility and is a famous name in the Romanian media landscape.
The award goes to Mona Nicolici, Radio journalist and advisor on CSR and sustainability issues: “Thank you very much for this award. It is a very pleasant surprise. I really wanted to work in this field. I feel very good among people who believe in sustainability. I believe in sustainability, and I wanted my message to reach as many people as possible. Sustainability education is extremely important.”
1st Place – FLAVIA POPA, General Secretary, BRD Groupe Société Générale
In recent years, the company represented by the winner of this category has implemented various CSR projects with an impact on Culture; Education, Sport and Civil Society – Community investment is designed to build sustainable intervention mechanisms so that children and young people in difficult situations can develop their skills.
This award goes to Flavia Popa, General Secretary of BRD Societe Generale: “I thank those who voted for me and who voted for the sustainable and sustainable projects of BRD. I am grateful to my colleagues with whom I laid the foundations of important projects.”
LEADERSHIP IN SUSTAINABILITY
3rd Place – ARCTIC
This award goes to a manufacturer that has been named the leader in the sustainable home appliances industry in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, which assesses the performance of the world’s largest companies in terms of sustainability. They say: “We have become neutral in terms of sustainability. concerns carbon emissions in global production in 2019 and 2020, thanks to the carbon finance project for energy-efficient refrigerators in Turkey.”
The award goes to Arctic.
Gabriel Eremia, marketing director and product management, Arctic: “Sustainability is in our DNA, through the way we do R&D. Our products are designed to be sustainable. Our washing machines are made of recyclable plastic. The Ulmi factory is the most sustainable factory in Romania.”
2nd Place – ENEL
This company published the study “Circular Cities – Cities of Tomorrow”, its third study on circular cities, which addresses how sustainable urban landscapes can be. Also, the company’s leadership has been acknowledged in tackling climate change and fostering decarbonization of the global economy, promoting open innovation and responsible business management practices across its entire value chain.
For this, we award Enel.
1st Place – COCA COLA HBC ROMANIA
For the winner of this category , sustainability is a priority for the future and is an essential component in every aspect of business. At local level, this means transforming the beverage portfolio to become the 24/7 beverage partner of Romanian customers and consumers, a strong sustainability strategy to contribute to a waste-free world, investments made for the community, but also involvement constant in team development.
The award goes to COCA COLA HBC ROMANIA
Adina Tudor, Senior Community Affairs Coordinator, Coca Cola HBC Romania: “I receive this award with honour and responsibility. Thanks to those who voted for us. This award confirms our passion and involvement in the projects we carry out.”
PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR IN CIRCULAR ECONOMY
CONSTANTIN DAMOV, Co-Founder and Chairman of The Board, Green Group Romania
The winner of this award has over 20 years of experience in the recycling industry. He held the position of Executive Director of the Remat Employers Association between 2000-2005 and, since 2014, he has held the position of Vice President of ARMD (Romanian Association for Waste Management).
At the same time, he was part of the working groups organized by the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Economy for the transposition of the European environmental directives regarding waste management.
Currently, he is a shareholder and Group Advisor within the Green Group of companies, one of the strongest investors in the green industry in Romania, present on the local market since 2002.
Constantin Damov: “I am pleasantly surprised to receive this award. I talk a lot about the circular economy, so I started to understand it. I think the circular economy is the vaccine the economy needs. I think the circular economy means a natural way of life. Thank you for the award.”
