12 Sustainability guides every decision – Barbara Bressem, Partner and Managing Director, DFI Dauerflora DFI International GmbH At Dauerflora we take a comprehensive approach to sustainability, considering different aspects. Our guideline is the comprehensive United Nations definition, which includes aspects like health, poverty prevention, gender equality, clean energy, fair labour practices and the reduction of inequality as sustainability goals. We take every chance to add more sustainability to all processes. Every single action may be small, but it contributes to the big picture. We use motion detectors for electric light and water so there is no waste. We use refillable writing instruments, recycling products for writing paper and packaging. Cleaning products are environmentally friendly. We practice strict waste separation and order food for our canteen from a supplier that uses compostable packaging. We buy secondhand furniture whenever possible. We have ordered electric cars, use green electricity and are considering options such as the use of recycled water and solar energy. When fulfilling our customers’ orders, we encourage them to choose environmentally friendly solutions by offering sustainable material and explaining the advantages. We prefer local suppliers and products manufactured in an eco-friendly way and try to bundle orders and deliveries wherever possible. Dauerflora has two sites, one in Hamburg, Germany, and one in Florida, USA. This ensures short transportation and travel distances. Quite a few of our employees are mothers and most of them work part-time and from home whenever possible. Our management team consists of two men and six women. Of course, the women and men working in our company get equal pay for equal work. We support training projects to enable our employees to expand their professional knowledge. The different nationalities of the people working for Dauerflora Germany and Dauerflora USA guarantee a lively exchange of views and enrich the creativity of Dauerflora. For us, this is one way of supporting the idea of equal rights. We pursue high occupational safety and health standards and examine our various working areas regularly so we can improve working conditions continuously. Safety shoes, back-friendly office chairs and regular training courses are a common standard for us. It is not always possible to put everything into practice the way we imagine right away. But working together and staying attentive always takes us further in our efforts to enforce sustainability in everything we do. SPONSOR STATEMENTS
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