Ecociencia Gt

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When in a Costa Rican company, focused on the manufacture and marketing of cleaning products it was realized that the chemical compounds used in its formulations were affecting its employees’ health, it was decided to resolve the situation from a sustainable perspective.

How? Its owners began to invest in the research, development and use of less toxic compounds for people and the environment. Doing it solved the company’s internal problems and at the same time it contributed to reduce water sources pollution and to avoid that their product’s users could also become ill.

“This is how Florex started, as a company that did take care about its employees’ health problems. Obviously, the issue was also economic, and if such consequences did not occur –Florex’s collaborators were constantly absent from work–, perhaps the change would not have been made,” says Silvia Chaves Quesada, Florex’s vice president and co-founder.

However, she adds, “placing new products on the market was not only a matter of being environmental friendly, but we solved a need with them.”  

Photo courtesy: Florex

To date, Florex stands out as the first eco-factory in Costa Rica, a pioneer in including sustainability throughout the life cycle of its products and services. They carry out the search and generation of raw materials that are increasingly friendly to the environment, as well as the development of new formulations with less impact and greater performance. These are distributed in concentrated presentations to reduce both the water consumption during its production, the plastic use in its packaging and the emissions generations in its transport.

At Florex facilities they also have solar panels and use the captured energy for their plant and office’s operation; they collect rain, store it and then use it in some of their areas.

In addition, since 2008 this company is recognized by the Costa Rican Ministry of Environment and Energy as an institution that participates in the C-Neutral Pilot Plan initiative. Following this commitment, which meant changing their production, distribution and marketing standards, they have been certified in the carbon neutrality process for six years, which means they have reduced their carbon footprint or greenhouse gas emissions.

Florex's facilities. Photo courtesy: Florex

How do you manage to be productive, corporate social responsible and at the same time friendly to the environment?
There are several internationally recognized guidelines and frames of reference, which provide the basis to start being sustainable.

For example, there is the United Nations Global Compact, a call to companies everywhere to align their strategies and operations with universal principles on human rights, labour, environment, and anti-corruption, and to take actions that advance societal goals.

There is also the ISO 26000, a guide on corporate social responsibility; the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises; and recently, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that, although they are goals for countries, companies can contribute to achieve them, says Olga Sauma, the Business Alliance for Development’s Executive Director (AED, by its acronym in Spanish). AED is a Costa Rican organization aimed to the promotion of responsible and sustainable business models.

Olga Sauma, AED's Executive Director. Photo courtesy: AED

Of course, there is no single recipe, because each company is different and has its distinctive features, even within the same sector of economic activity.

However, to begin with, Sauma and Chaves suggest conducting a self-assessment to identify the critical issues to be resolved and follow up. Then, you must remember that any continuous improvement management system involves planning, execution, verification, evaluation and reporting, steps in which all the company’s operational areas should be involved.

Another key aspect is to set measurable goals in the medium and long term to be able to make before and after comparisons, and to determine if there were advances or setbacks.

Chaves adds that sustainable and responsible management includes not only having one or several projects focused on the communities where the company works. The employees’ internal conduct is also important. It is necessary to generate a corporate environmental culture, so all people who work in the company have to be involved in all the transformation processes towards sustainability, starting with their leader.

Photo: Pixabay

Advantages and challenges of being sustainable
Entering into business management that contributes to achieving sustainability or sustainable development, which means being capable of meeting current needs without compromising the resources and possibilities of future generations, involves meeting new market demands, but also attracting new customers.

Therefore, it is important to start focusing on this topic, because the products and services which processes involve the sustainability’s bases: economic, social and environmental, are already being demanded by the public and private sectors, both locally as internationally.

Including these bases in their business strategy will give business owners the opportunity to increase their performance, be better employers, offer better services and become environmental friendly, says Sauma.

In addition, the World Economic Forum’s Commission for Sustainable Development has indicated that there is a business opportunity -estimated at around 12 billion dollars per year- for products and services associated with the 2030 agenda. This agenda is he SDGs’ global plan, which aims to eradicate poverty, fight against climate change and reduce inequalities.

Therefore, those who adapt their offer will have important opportunities for economic growth to attend to that agenda approved by representatives of the UN member countries. Or, on the contrary, if they do not act towards that goal, they will probably be affected and will not concrete the commercial relationships they wish, says Sauma.

Business ranking of environmental performance
In Guatemala, the Guatemalan Center for Cleaner Production (CGP+L by its acronym in Spanish) recently launched a digital tool called Environmental Performance Diagnosis (DDA, by its acronym in Spanish), so that companies and organizations, both local and from other countries, perform a self-diagnosis of their environmental practices.

This free tool is available at www.desempenoambiental.net If you are a business owner, you must register (if you are not Guatemalan, you must click on the option “Other country”) and answer several questions that will send you to an illustrated report about the critical points that you must improve in your organization.

“It's a simple way to know what is being done and in what way; what are the environmental and economic risks the company is falling into and what are its improvements opportunities,” says Luis Muñoz, chemical engineer and CGP+L’s Executive Director.

Muñoz adds that the DDA is an important tool, because it is the first step for all types of institutions to begin to know themselves and make adjustments in its business management for reducing costs and environmental impacts purposes, and doing so in a preventive manner. It is also useful for small and medium-sized companies that sometimes do not have the necessary resources to pay for sophisticated technical assistance or environmental technology services.

This tool also aims to contribute to generating both sector and country indicators to have a ranking of the Guatemalan business sector’s environmental perfomance, which currently does not exist but is important to influence the creation of based evidence public policies, says Muñoz.

Each month the CGP+L reviews the reports generated by the DDA and in order to verify the data obtained through this tool, it is already working on an alliance with the country’s universities, so that students can carry out verification and research programs of each sector.

To promote that companies accept their data verification, the creation of a green seal is being planned, which will give them the backing that their business management is sustainable.

After carrying out the self-diagnosis, business owners who wish to do so can contact the CGP+L to request specific advice in the area that most interest them.

Regardless of the sector’s products or services they belong, each organization or company’s leaders, in addition to knowing well the market they serve, have to be aware of global trends which currently point to be more environmental friendly. A trend that is also profitable, because by investing in electricity or water alternative sources, as well as in good waste management, for example, as Florex demonstrates, costs and negative impacts on society and nature are reduced.