Video tips from Annick, Ine, Joëlle & Fanny
How can we contribute to a better climate in a simple way? With that question, Annick, Ine, Joëlle and Fanny from the marketing team at Spouwen set to work. “A lot of ideas came out of the brainstorming,” Ine explains. “Both big and small. We chose to start small, so everyone could participate.”
Ideas for home and work
“We came up with ideas for home and work,” Annick explains. “Our goal is for people to become aware of habits so they can change them. The best part is if they then immediately benefit from that change.” Ine gives an example. “I have a vegetable garden and plants need water. I therefore no longer throw away the water from the dryer, but put it in a watering can to water the plants in the vegetable garden or flush the toilet. Another idea to reduce water use is to wash the car at home with water from the rain barrel.” Annick: “We also thought about giving old things a second life, turning off the light when you leave the room. Very simple things that everyone can do from now on. I notice that gives a positive feeling and good example follows good example. My children already speak to me when I leave the lamp on for once.”
It's nice to see these small changes in our behaviour really work.
Short and playful videos
The team portrayed their ideas in a playful way. “We made short videos on different themes,” Annick explains. “After all, we are a marketing team! The videos are about creatively reducing water consumption, giving things a second life, buying seasonal vegetables locally from the greengrocer and the Beach Clean Up, an Eneco initiative. On one such day, 3.7 tonnes of waste are collected. That's a wake-up call though that we really need to change!” Ine: “There is also a video about cleaning up the mailbox. Few people know that digital storage consumes a lot of (fossil) energy. It's a small effort to tidy up the mailbox, you benefit from that yourself, as it gives a tidy feeling and overview.” Annick: “It's nice to find that these small changes in our behaviour really work. Alone, no one is going to make a difference, but if we all do our bit, the impact of our actions is greater.” Ine: “I am proud to see that the topic is alive and well. We really do some things differently and more consciously.”
Read the other stories
Sustainable mugs
Litter on and around the Spijk site had been a thorn in Sietse Thuis's side for some time. “There was all kinds of stuff lying around, especially a lot of plastic coffee cups. After a brainstorming session, we came up with the idea of making coffee drinking more sustainable.”
Planting trees
Sustainability is a theme that resonates with colleagues Baptiste, Christian, Isabelle, Magali, Soukirah and Laurent in Halluin (FR). They came up with the idea of planting trees in the garden behind the office: a team-building activity with a green result.
Return to sender
Brick samples often end up in the trash after use. A shame, because those samples are usually perfectly reusable. Recovering brick samples is not only good for the environment - you create less waste AND need fewer new bricks - it also solves a practical problem.