NEWS
 

The Romanian business community’s first environmental initiative

 
 

eMAG, GreenTech and Foundation Conservation Carpathia launch their Commitment to the Environment.

The business community is launching an unprecedented initiative in Romania: The Commitment to the Environment, an initiative that aims to bring together the Romanian business community in assuming a sustainable future, in harmony with the environment.

The project is initiated by eMAG, together with Foundation Conservation Carpathia and GreenTech, and aims to encourage and support companies in Romania to take measurable goals and concrete actions to protect the environment and prevent climate change. At the same time, the Commitment aims to contribute to reducing the carbon footprint of Romanian companies.

The economy will be transformed as a result of the European Union’s direction to reduce its net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030 compared to 1990 values and to achieve climate neutrality by 2050, with economic growth decoupled from emissions growth. This Commitment helps companies to transform earlier, to be more resilient, without suffering losses.

The Commitment can be accessed by companies that commit to five steps:

  • calculate their carbon footprint
  • reduce their carbon footprint
  • voluntarily offset unavoidable emissions if they want to get to net zero sooner
  • publish a non-financial report
  • join a global initiative.

Signatories can benefit from know-how and tools available through The Commitment to the Environment platform www.angajamentpentrumediu.ro which can help them calculate their carbon footprint and define a concrete action plan to reduce carbon emissions.

No single organisation can deliver the change we all need on its own, which is why we want to work with companies from all sectors of the economy to contribute to a sustainable future,” said Iulian Stanciu, Executive Chairman of eMAG. “The Commitment to the Environment is the first initiative that brings together the Romanian business community in the assumption of a sustainable future, in line with the European direction and represents an opportunity for all responsible companies in Romania to take action to reduce their carbon footprint. Companies that join the approach will benefit from the knowledge needed for this gradual transformation, which does not generate additional costs. This transformation is like digitisation 10-15 years ago: the earlier you start, the more advantage you will have.”

Any company can join the Commitment, regardless of the industry and regardless of whether they start from a high level of emissions, as a company is only as good as its improvement. So, the Commitment is for everyone.

By accessing the content on the platform, transformation should not be costly, but even cost optimisations can be made, such as those resulting from the use of green energy.

Companies can use participation in the Commitment to position themselves in front of their customers, as sustainability is an increasingly important criterion when choosing goods, services or business partners.

In its mission to contribute to the conservation and restoration of the natural ecosystems of the Carpathian Mountains for the benefit of biodiversity and local communities, Conservation Carpathia joins this endeavour with the conviction that sustainable results require the involvement of as many non-profit organisations and members of the business community as possible.

Every step we take, both as individuals and as organisations, leaves an environmental footprint that is increasingly visible in the climate change we are experiencing,” said Barbara Promberger, Executive Director of Foundation Conservation Carpathia. “Beyond raising awareness of this problem, we believe that we need to take real steps to slow this pace and change the way we do things. The Commitment to the Environment is part of the solutions companies can access to address climate issues. Companies that want to follow this path have the opportunity to learn from others or help others move towards reducing the carbon footprint of their business. What we at Carpathia do for nature is also supported by responsible companies through CSR projects, but for companies, the major impact comes from actions that are directly related to their operations, precisely by taking responsibility for reducing their carbon footprint.”

For its part, GreenTech, as a partner in offsetting unavoidable emissions, joins the initiative with the conviction that it will play an important role in stimulating companies in Romania to adopt real measures to reduce emissions for the benefit of all.

The Green Deal’s ambitious goal of an overall reduction of carbon emissions on the European continent cannot be achieved without the involvement of key market players in a strong approach, ” said Alina Elena Genes, CEO GreenGroup PET Recycling Division – Central and Eastern Europe. “We strongly believe that this platform is necessary and will play an important role in stimulating companies in Romania to adopt actual emission reduction measures with numerous environmental benefits. This is why we have enthusiastically joined the project as a founding partner, offering to those who join us our expertise of more than 20 years in recycling and circular material recovery solutions, as well as being the only European recycler to have received the Gold Standard validation for issuing carbon certificates for the voluntary emissions market.”

Through the only European Gold Standard accredited PET recycling emission reduction project, GreenTech closes the PET plastic waste loop by recycling 2 billion used bottles annually and uses the recovered plastic to create new products such as recycled PET pellets, synthetic polyester fibres or PET tape.

So far, the following companies have signed The Commitment to the Environment: Ascendis, AS Metal, Banca Transilvania, BIT Software, Carbon Expert, Chimica SA, Concelex, Conviv Media, Orhideea SPA Health Foundation, Filip & Co, ING Bank, Pehart, Restart Energy, Smart Living Cycle, SmartPoint, and Zentiva.

About eMAG

A Romanian company founded in 2001, eMAG is a pioneer in the Romanian e-commerce market and in 2022 it became the most valuable Romanian brand and the first e-commerce company to rank first in the Brand Finance ranking. For 20 years, the company has been constantly investing in digital services based on technologies developed in Romania that help customers save time and money, and has created a regional ecosystem, successfully exporting the local model to Bulgaria and Hungary. With an ever-growing range of products both through its own deals and through its Marketplace partners, eMAG is the place where anyone can search and order anything, anywhere. Customers benefit from value-added services such as easybox delivery and fast delivery via tazz by eMAG, Genius service for subscribers, 30-day right of return, fast money back via Instant Money Back, open parcel on delivery, 24/7 call centre, instalment financing via eCredit or instalment services such as Buy now, pay later or Slice it, and mobile app www.emag.ro/desprenoi.

About GreenTech

The Romanian company GreenTech is part of the Green Group, the largest integrated waste recycling group in Central and Eastern Europe. Founded in 2002 in Buzau, GreenTech pioneered PET waste recycling in Romania. With an annual PET waste processing capacity of 150,000 tonnes, and plants in Romania, Slovakia and Lithuania, GreenTech is today one of the largest recyclers of PET packaging waste in Europe. GreenTech is also a major European producer of r-PET (recycled food grade pellets) and PET tape (binder), as well as a supplier of recycled PET flakes for the production of synthetic polyester fibre. https://www.green-tech-global.com/ro