“walking presupposes that at every step the world changes in some aspect and also that something changes in us”
Walking together day by day
If every step, every gesture, can change the world,
how far can we go together?
It has been said that “walking presupposes that at every step the world changes in some aspect and also that something changes in us”. Nothing less than a grain of sand from Italo Calvino’s story “The Thousand Gardens“, contained in “Collection of Sand”. Nothing more, we might add, than an invitation to act consciously and react, to be protagonists of change, together.
And sharing the lead in working together is one of the principles on which partnerships are founded, i.e. cooperatives that, also under the terms of the UN Agenda 2030 sustainability goals, are indicated as primary organisations, because they are most capable of changing direction and shortening the distance between the world as it is and the world as we would like it to be. These are lofty goals, which can be achieved even with small everyday gestures - a jug of water, an egg laid outside the cage, a meal not wasted - multiplied by being in relationship and acting together. Because, as we like to say here at Camst: 'Together we can do better and more'. For this edition of the Sustainability Report, we surveyed our Group's offices and workplaces, where we met many attentive and welcoming people, relieved to be back working together in our various corporate communities. As in previous years, photographer Marika Puicher captured the fleeting moments that make up our reality.
Small gestures to counter big emergencies
In 2021, Camst Group continued its work to reduce water consumption in every sector, implementing its policy of the sustainable use of natural resources. A commitment that has affected both the catering area - with the continuation of the dry-cleaning project in our kitchens, involving 32 premises and saving 17.2 million litres of water, equal to 7 Olympic-size swimming pools - and facility management, an area in which the Group can count on Ecolabel® certification for its cleaning services (a mark that attests to the reduced environmental impact of a product in relation to a variety of parameters, including energy and water consumption).
Stakeholder stories
Voice over
On the issues most important to us, we requested contributions from people who have gained particularly impressive experience in the field through their work, life or activism: precious first-hand knowledge, which we wish to share with you.
Why is a sustainable company also healthier and better performing? Pierluigi Stefanini, president of ASviS (Italian Alliance for Sustainable Development) and an authoritative speaker on SDGs, reflects on the goals of Agenda 2030, focusing on Goal 17 and showing how - through a partnership between realities working together towards common goals - it is possible to balance economic and social sustainability with environmental sustainability.
Committed to politics from his youth, Matteo Biffoni has been Mayor of Prato since 2014. Under his administration, the Tuscan city has always tried to anticipate the country's economic and social transformations. This is the setting for the project to reduce single-use plastics in the municipality's schools, as Biffoni recounts in this podcast. A real call to arms, with the aim of making everyone - institutions, families, restaurant managers - aware of their responsibility to combat the pollution of the planet.
With more than ten years’ experience as the CEO of Cribis, a CRIF Group company, Marco Preti is involved in business development for the domestic and foreign markets. In his podcast, he explains how the development of companies - which is impossible today without an integrated sustainability strategy - is only possible by looking at the entire supply chain.
Co-founder of Plastic Free, an association active in the fight against plastic pollution, Lorenzo Zitignani talks about the role companies can play in actively promoting change, by making concrete commitments to the elimination of single-use plastics. All guided by the realisation that every small gesture can make a difference.
An Italian agronomist and economist, he is full professor of International and Comparative Agricultural Policy at the University of Bologna and scientific director of the Waste Watcher Observatory for the Circular Economy. Founder of Last Minute Market and creator of the Zero Waste campaign, he tells us how food waste is much more than what is left on the plate and how everyone can do their part.
Regenerative entrepreneur, he is co-founder of Nativa, the first Certified B Corp® and Benefit Corporation in Europe, recognized in 2016 as the Most Valuable Player in the global movement for the introduction of legal status for Benefit Companies.
Legal expert specialized in the international protection of human rights and in charge of Save the Children Italia’s Child and Adolescent Policies, Antonella Inverno explains why guaranteeing the right to having school meals means investing in the fight to ensure food education and prevent malnutrition in young children and adolescents.
Journalist and presenter for SkyTg24, she mainly deals with schools and social issues and is the author and coordinator of the "Ragazzi interrotti" format. In this podcast she talks about difficulties experienced by children and young people and how their lives were effected during the pandemic. She emphasizes the value of school as a space not only for learning but also for socializing, maintaining relationships and redemption.
National Councillor of D.i.Re, Donne in Rete Contro la Violenza – a national association that brings together 84 organizations in Italy seeking to combat violence against women – Mariangela Zanni tells us how cultural change (also) begins in the workplace and how economic independence is a vital factor for women to be free from all forms of maltreatment.
