Today we have to talk about a topic that is becoming more and more recurrent due to its importance: sustainability and sustainable development.
The terms global warming, renewable energies, recycling, ozone layer, etc., are already part of our everyday vocabulary. That in itself is a great progress because the first objective that sustainability has to achieve is to create a global awareness.
The basic idea is that a society should not use more resources than it renews, so that the next generation can have the same opportunities to access those resources: we must understand, once and for all, that we live on an interconnected planet, that our actions affect others and that the decisions we do not make today will have repercussions for our children tomorrow.
A bit of history on this topic in Europe...
European environmental policy dates back to 1972 when the European Council (following the Stockholm Earth Summit) recognized the need to establish an environmental policy to accompany economic expansion. As early as 1987, through the Single European Act, a title on the environment was introduced as the first legal basis for a common environmental policy, with the aim of protecting human health and ensuring the proper management of natural resources.
Subsequently, with the Maastricht Treaty, the environmental field became an official area of EU policy. In 1999 the Treaty of Amsterdam integrated the obligation to integrate environmental protection into all EU policies to promote sustainable development. With the Lisbon Treaty in 2007, the "fight against climate change" became a specific EU objective in relations with third countries, as did sustainable development.
And from this point on, Summits are continually taking place, let us recall the Leaders' Summit of the 25th Conference of the Parties (COP25) held in Madrid on December 2, 2019.
The last United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), World Leaders Summit, was in Glasgow (UK) on November 1, 2021. At it, the EU delegation was led by the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, who said:
"Human beings have declared war on nature and it is up to us to put an end to it. Planet Earth is our only home. We must limit global warming to 1.5 °C. The time has come to act, and to act together."
And what can Catering companies do to help meet these objectives?
Since November 2020, Artigot Catering S.L. is adhered to the United Nations Global Compact, for its interest in achieving Sustainable Development objectives in various areas, which make us improve as a company at a human and environmental level.
The objective of the Global Compact is to promote corporate sustainability through the implementation of 10 universal principles of conduct and action in the areas of human rights and business, labor standards, the environment and anti-corruption, in the strategy and daily operations of all types of entities and thus promote the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
In Artigot Catering we are committed and take these actions in favor of the environment at events:
- Minimize organic waste by calculating the quantities required per diner
- We serve food in edible carriers
- We use long-lasting tableware: slates, wooden, metallic, glass boards ....
- We do not use plastic at events
- When disposable material is used, it is compostable and biodegradable, including cups, cutlery and plates.
- We buy food in bulk in bulk.
- We collaborate with the social enterprise AUARA, which sells its water bottles in 100% recyclable PET.
- We use biodegradable garbage bags
- The office separates the garbage (organic matter, containers and caton) by color code.
- We take all waste to our facilities, where we have recycling containers provided by the City Council.
- We reuse decorations (artificial or freeze-dried flowers, stones, ceramics, glass, wood...).
- We use biodegradable and phosphate-free soaps and detergents for cleaning the enclosure.
Little by little we are becoming aware of the importance of reducing our environmental impact.
We would especially like to talk to you about a water supplier we have in Artigot, admirable for its social and environmental commitment: AUARA.
AUARA was born in 2015, when Antonio Espinosa, Pablo Urbano and Luis de Sande, three friends with experience in NGOs and a great professional background in different fields, set out to launch a social enterprise that would improve the conditions of access to water in the most disadvantaged countries: to this end, they dedicate 100% of their dividends to developing projects for access to drinking water, sanitation and agriculture.
Its projection is incredible: in 2019, only 4 years after its foundation, they already had 50 projects in operation in 15 countries and in 2022 there are 124 projects developed in 19 countries. For every liter of AUARA, 4 liters of water are generated in developing countries.
But their environmental impact is also very important, because they have a bottle with a unique design and sustainability: the first PET bottle in Europe made from 100% recycled and 100% recyclable bottles, which has saved 700,000 liters of oil to date - not bad, right?
AUARA is much more than water, they themselves say that they are the result of when one day you decided to recycle, if only all of us were able to do our bit to make the world a better place, in every way!
It goes on and on...
