_thumbnail.jpg)
_thumbnail.jpg)
- Municipality of Beuningen
The municipality of Beuningen has formulated a vision to be energy-neutral by 2040. The municipality sees the potential for circular procurement and wants to take the first steps in this direction. Especially considering the connection between the material transition and the energy transition.
- Assignment:
The municipality of Beuningen is already paying a lot of attention to the theme of energy. There was still a lack of specific knowledge and a clear vision on circular purchasing. A dot on the horizon, a promise, an approach with which the municipality of Beuningen can realize its objectives, together with its employees and chain partners.
Because the municipality has the intention to start circular procurement throughout the entire municipality, PHI Factory has been asked to support them in taking the first steps in this area.
- The PHI approach:
The assignment is executed in 2 steps.
- Step 1: internal analysis
The first step was desk research. In order to get a good picture of the current situation, relevant internal documents concerning the vision and ambition of the municipality were summarized. This information was processed as input and starting point for the workshop of step 2.
- Step 2: defining the definition, ambition & strategy
The second step was to define the WHY and the frame of definition. Formulating a vision and ambition for circular procurement and which strategy best suits the municipality. This was done with the right stakeholders in an interactive workshop.
- The result:
The ambition session has been recorded and elaborated on, in a two-pager. This contains the jointly formed ambition. In addition, the definition of sustainability has been elaborated from three angels and preconditions have been taken into account. Finally, a piece of assurance and advice for follow-up steps has been incorporated that provides the municipality of Beuningen with tools to continue circular purchasing from here.
- Allen&Overy
Allen & Overy assists companies, financial institutions and government bodies with legal advice. They are active in 31 countries worldwide and employ 5000 people. In Amsterdam there are 335 employees, 190 of whom are lawyers. Allen & Overy has been working on sustainability for years by renovating the office building in cooperation with the landlord to label A and by various ISO certifications. The next step for the company was to make the development into a circular business operation.
- Assignment:
After the building and the ISO certifications, Allen & Overy wants to continue making its business operations more sustainable, including facility services and business travel, with a focus on circularity. They have asked PHI Factory to help develop a vision, ambition and roadmap for the Dutch department of the organization, located in Amsterdam.
- The result:
Interviews with employees and sessions with the greenteam showed that Allen & Overy considers sustainability of paramount importance. This belief is carried into all layers of the organization. This made it possible for the vegetable team to draw up an ambitious 5-year roadmap, called: ‘It’s time to be circular’. Objectives have been set for the theme areas of building, waste, food, purchasing, mobility and collaborations. The dot on the horizon: Take action, differentiate and collaborate to improve environmental sustainability.
With this roadmap, Allen & Overy takes responsibility for the impact of its own business operations and beyond: the company wants to set an example for its employees and for other companies. This also means that the objectives are not just on paper: What Allen & Overy says it wants to do, the company really wants to do well.
The roadmap was presented to all employees of the organization in Amsterdam and was immediately implemented. Allen & Overy has now taken steps to reduce residual waste through new waste separation units, the collection of coffee cups for recycling into toilet paper, and it is joining forces with surrounding companies for a Zero Waste Zuidas.
- Vattenfall
Fossil free living within one generation: that is Vattenfall’s ambition. As one of the largest energy suppliers of electricity and heat in Europe, Vattenfall sees sustainability as a major responsibility to which everyone can contribute.
They used the PHI Accelerator to mobilize its employees to become more sustainable, starting with employees from the departments RE&FM, Communication, HR, Sustainablity and Environment.
The Climate Smarter Offices Challenge: three weeks long, one challenge every week that encourages sustainability.
- Assignment:
The energy transition is an essential part of Vattenfall’s core business and therefore affects everyone in the organization. This requires that all employees are aware of the urgency and are able to translate it into their activities. Vattenfall has employed the PHI Accelerator to draw more attention to sustainability using the program name: The Climate Smarter Offices Challenge
- The PHI approach:
The Climate Smarter Offices platform, completely in Vattenfall’s house style, was developed and started on a small scale. In this way, the tool could be tailored as well as possible to the entire organization. After defining the overarching themes, PHI and Vattenfall jointly developed the substantive challenges for the pilot. The three-week program included challenges about: living without fossil fuels, an economy without waste and travelling sustainably.
- The result:
In September 2019, the Climate Smarter Offices Challenge was launched with an invitation to participate on a voluntary basis for 132 Vattenfall employees, located in the Netherlands, Germany, Sweden and Great Britain. Of these, no less than 83% took part in the challenges. 14 teams with creative team names such as REalgreenFM, The Climateers, The Green Optimizers and The Carbon Collective competing for 3 weeks to win.
In the challenges, participants were informed about their personal impact, the impact of fossil fuels, the impacts of their own business operations, the prevention and processing of waste and the impact of travel.
Vattenfall’s employees were already reasonably aware of their own impact and shared ideas for reducing their impact en masse. Nevertheless, 93% of the participants indicated that they had gained new knowledge about sustainability in the challenges.
Important themes that emerged from the shared ideas and results are measuring the CO2 impact of Vattenfall’s business operations, a mobility policy that encourages more sustainable travel, reducing the volume of disposable coffee cups and encouraging more sustainable choices by sharing figures and results.
